Why Captain Marvel is important.

With the first trailer for Marvel’s Captain Marvel bring released I thought now would be a good time to discuss the weight that this film carries. This is a film that has been in discussion for a long time but now we finally have our first trailer and it is a very interesting one introducing a lot of new concepts and characters. A lot is riding on Captain Marvel as it will be the precursor to Avengers 4 so in this blog post I want to discuss some of the ways in which Captain Marvel is important and why it carries a lot of weight.

Avengers 4

Captain Marvel is the last film before Avengers 4 so it needs to make audiences leave the cinema excited for the next one. Avengers: Infinity War blew audiences away and Avengers 4 needs to not only match it in quality but succeed it. Captain Marvel will presumably lead us directly into Avengers 4 and so if this film fails both critically and commercially then it will leave a bad taste in audience’s mouths going into the next film. Additionally, Captain Marvel herself is set to be one of the most powerful heroes in the entire MCU so if her character turns out to be boring and underwhelming then it will tarnish Avengers 4 as a whole. However, I am optimistic and with Brie Larson as Carol Danvers I feel like at the very least she will provide a good performance that will carry over into the next Avengers film.

The Skrulls

The Skrulls are a mainstay in Marvel continuity and they have very close ties with the character of Captain Marvel. People have been eagerly awaiting their introduction into the MCU and it feels like Captain Marvel is the perfect time to introduce them. The Skrulls themselves have to ability to shape shift into different individuals, even taking on their memories and powers. This creates a very interesting dynamic and it presents the potential for some of our current heroes to have been alien impostors all along. I feel like this use of the Skrulls will culminate in a story reminiscent of Secret Invasion and might be the next big event after Thanos. My only worry here is that Marvel doesn’t have a great track record with generic alien villains (for example Malekith and Ronan the Accuser.) The Skrulls need to be interesting and have a well developed motivation rather than just “wanting to take over the world”. Either way I am excited for the introduction of one of Marvel’s biggest threats and I hope that this will pave the way for more Skrull oriented films.

The first female led MCU film

It seems a bit mind-blowing that it took 20 previous films too finally have a solely female led MCU film. There have been other female led superhero films before, with Wonder Woman being the stand out, but I feel like this film is still important in terms pushing for further diversity in cinema. With a Black Widow film on the horizon as well potentially, the success of Captain Marvel will really indicate to the producers at Marvel that there is a space for female led films. With the success of Black Panther earlier this year, Marvel may be suspecting the same kind of reaction to Captain Marvel. Both are the first of their kind within the MCU with Black Panther being the first to use a predominantly black cast and crew and Captain Marvel being the first to have a female in the lead role and behind the camera.

Overall, I think that without a shadow of a doubt, Captain Marvel is something you should be excited for. The introduction of Captain Marvel herself and the Skrulls will be something the MCU could really benefit from and could help contribute towards more stories later on down the line. Additionally, because it’s the first female led MCU film it is important and hopefully it will match this importance with quality. If you have any opinion on the new Captain Marvel trailer feel free to leave them as a comment.