‘Captain Marvel’ Will Reinvent Origin To Avoid ‘Green Lantern’ Similarities

Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel

It was an exciting moment for fans of Captain Marvel, fans of Marvel films, and fans of, well, awesome things in general when, at SDCC 2016, Brie Larson was finally confirmed to be playing the titular hero in the upcoming ‘Captain Marvel’ film. However, the movie’s still got a while to go before its March 2019 release date, and it doesn’t even have a director yet. But it does have two more-than-accomplished screenwriters: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy‘ co-writer Nicole Perlman and ‘Inside Out‘ co-writer Meg LeFauve.

Nicole Perlman was recently a guest on the podcast ‘Any Time with Vin Forte’. There, she gave plenty of neat tidbits regarding her influences, her writing process, her time in the Marvel writing workshop, etc. But one of the most interesting bits of info came at the 45 minute mark, where she discussed ‘Captain Marvel’ and the challenges of bringing this character to the big screen. Obviously, there’s a mountain of pressure that comes with being the MCU’s first female-led outing. But the origin itself is tricky to crack, mainly due to its similarities to the origin of another cosmic-based superhero, Green Lantern.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a project where I’ve been more mindful about the impact that it could have and the importance of it. She’s obviously such an incredibly kick-ass character and Kelly Sue DeConnick did a great run with her story arc recently. But here’s the thing, if you were just going to do a straight adaptation of the comics, her origin story is very similar to Green Lantern. And obviously, that’s not what we want to do. There’s a lot of reinvention that needs to happen. And also, she’s her own person and she’s a great character. We have to be aware of what’s happened in other Marvel films and make sure that her particular storyline is unique and fun and also fits in within this world that’s going on at the same time. It’s a little bit of an interesting story gauntlet. It’s been good to have a partner. It’s been an incredible experience. If we can pull it off it could be an incredibly important but also really fun and kick-ass superhero film.”

Captain Marvel

In the comics, before she was Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers was an Air Force officer who befriended a doctor named Walter Lawson. Lawson, however, was in reality Kree soldier Mar-Vell turned Earth-defending superhero Captain Marvel. In a later issue, Captain Marvel shielded Danvers from the explosion of a Kree device, but the ensuing radiation gave Danvers the same cosmically-gifted superpowers of Marvel. She started her superhero career simply as Ms. Marvel, but years later, she finally took up the “Captain Marvel” mantle from her old friend. Hal Jordan, of course, was a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft. He was gifted the Green Lantern ring/mantle by the dying alien Abin Sur and made a member of the Green Lantern Corps.

Both government-employed pilots? Both given fantastic abilities by cosmic beings? Both important links between Earth and the rest of the galaxy in their respective comic book universes? Yeah, it’s hard not to see the similarities. As Marvel and DC flesh out their cinematic universes concurrently, it’s going to be funny when we start noticing the parallels between certain characters. Whether it be accidental or intentional, there’s a vast catalogue of characters who share traits with someone on the other side. Aquaman/Namor, Martian Manhunter/Vision, Green Arrow/Hawkeye, Darkseid/Thanos, Batman/Daredevil, etc. What matters is giving each film a voice of its own and making each character stand out. And luckily, it seems as though Nicole Perlman and the folks at Marvel recognize the importance of making ‘Captain Marvel‘ special.

How do you think they’ll tweak the origin? I look forward to seeing what they do, as long as Captain Marvel is the same bad-ass hero that fans have fallen in love with. ‘Captain Marvel’ will star Brie Larson and will be released on March 8, 2019.

Source: ‘Any Time with Vin Forte’ (via Comicbookmovie.com)

Alan Gunn

Alan Gunn

Cali boy. Disciple of Spider-Man. Still a million bucks shy of being a millionaire.