Spider-Man: Far From Home Is the First Time Anyone Calls Carol Danvers “Captain Marvel”

The second Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer, released Monday, marks the first time a character in-universe calls Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) “Captain Marvel,” a superhero name that went unused in her solo film and Avengers: Endgame.

When super spy Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) hijacks the European vacation of a freshly resurrected Peter Parker (Tom Holland), he partners the teenage superhero with Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), an armor-wearing superhero allegedly hailing from a different Earth.

But tasked with thwarting elemental-powered monsters alongside a costumed crime-fighter from the multiverse proves overwhelming, and the reluctant Spider-Man suggests recruiting Thor (Chris Hemsworth) for the job. When he learns Thor is off-world, Spider-Man has another suggestion: “Captain Marvel?”

Fury’s longtime right hand, Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), reports the cosmic superhero is “unavailable,” forcing the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to step up and defend Europe as the continent comes under fire by dimension-hopping creatures.

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, directors of the 1995-set Captain Marvel, previously explained why Danvers’ superhero call sign went unused in the Larson-led blockbuster when appearing on the Empire podcast:

“I don’t think we set out to not call her Captain Marvel in the movie,” Fleck said, explaining Carol’s need “to come up with the name at some point by the end of the film” resulted in Fury singing The Marvelettes classic “Please Mr. Postman” when washing dishes.

Added Boden, the cheeky use of the Marvelettes song was “just a little, like a little kind of tease as to what’s to come, why her name is what it is.”

Though Carol is never seen officially adopting “Captain Marvel,” the Air Force pilot-turned-cosmic protector took the name in honor of late mentor Mar-Vell (Annette Bening).

“Of course there’s Mar-Vell, she’s taking the mantle from her hero, Mar-Vell,” Fleck said. “But of course Nick Fury changes the pronunciation, slightly [laughs].”

“The whole movie is about Captain Marvel inspiring Nick Fury to change his whole outlook and to make S.H.I.E.L.D. now a place that can deal with an entirely unexpected world that he didn’t know existed before,” Boden added. “So in a way the whole movie is about how Captain Marvel inspires him to form the Avengers. So we just wanted to make it very specific at the end.”

Spider-Man briefly met Captain Marvel in Avengers: Endgame, when he was tasked with keeping the Infinity Gauntlet forged by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) away from Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his forces.

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