Ever since Marvel made its flashy announcement about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2014 and officially confirmed that a Captain Marvel movie was in the works, fans have wondered who would be putting on Carol Danvers’ iconic sash thing. The studio has said virtually nothing about the project since then. But it has become one of the MCU’s biggest question marks, due to the fact that it’s still the only Marvel movie in development that centers around a female hero—even though Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige keeps saying that a Black Widow solo movie would be a good idea.
Now, according to Variety, Marvel may have found its Captain Marvel. A new report says that recent Oscar winner Brie Larson is “in early talks” to star in the film, with the site’s “sources” suggesting that she’s the front-runner and is even “leaning towards playing the part.” No director is attached yet, but Variety suggests that the studio wants to have a star lined up early so she can be introduced in a different MCU movie before her solo entry (like Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War). Marvel itself, of course, hasn’t commented on any of this yet.
For those who aren’t familiar with the character, Captain Marvel used to be an alien dude named Mar-Vell (because sometimes deadlines are tough), with Carol Danvers as a spin-off character called Ms. Marvel. Mar-Vell died from cancer in the ’80s, and about 30 years later, Danvers decided to drop the Ms. Marvel name and become the new Captain Marvel. She can fly, she has superhuman strength, and she can shoot energy blasts, all of which are the sort of CG-friendly powers that Brie Larson could believably pull off, being an Oscar winner and all.