Jo Hunkin sits down with the cast & directors of Captain Marvel to talk about the next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
When Captain Marvel blasts its way into cinemas next week, it will mark a milestone moment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
For one thing, Captain Marvel is the most powerful superhero to join the universe so far - a photon-blasting powerhouse who kicks more ass than the entire assembly of Avengers. She's also a woman.
The film, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, marks the first feature in the franchise's 11-year history to be led by a female superhero. It's also the first to have a female director attached.
And although that is certainly something to celebrate, it also comes with a side of frustration for Boden.
"I really look forward to the day when we don't even need to talk about it," she says, when asked about becoming the first female Marvel director. "But obviously, that day hasn't arrived yet."
Anna Boden is the first female director to helm a feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The 42-year-old Boden says it's upsetting, as she grew up being told girls could do anything boys could do.
"And yet we're in 2019 and it's still a big deal," she says. "I do appreciate that we need to have more women behind the camera, more diversity behind the camera especially on these big films. Marvel's hired two female directors since I came on board. And that's really exciting."
Diversity is a key talking point when it comes to this film, thanks its leading lady, Brie Larson. The Oscar-winner has been a champion for change in Hollywood, becoming one of the first A-list stars to introduce an inclusion rider to her contract, which sets specific parameters around the race and gender make up of both cast and crew.
Larson's rider also extended to the international press tour for the film, meaning the usually male-dominated press pack instead featured more than 50 per cent women.
Initially, Larson was reluctant to take on the supercharged role, which is a big-budget departure from the human dramas in which she normally stars.
"It didn't have anything to do with the character or the movie itself," she says of her reservations. "It was just the stuff that comes with doing a movie like this. The places your face goes. Where people just know you and know what you look like. I'm an introvert and I wasn't sure if that was an experience I would be able to handle or thrive in."
She was ultimately won over by the chance to help influence and shape such a high-profile release.
"This film is giving me a great opportunity to have a little bit of power and say," she says modestly, speaking about the inclusion rider in her contract.
"I think the real Captain Marvel is interested in uplifting people and that's what I'm interested in too. I remember every person who lifted me up and gave me a shot or got me in the door. I'm just trying to freshen it up a little, find some new people to get some new opportunities."
Co-star Gemma Chan, who many will recognise from her breakout role in Humans and last year's hit comedy Crazy Rich Asians, is effusive in her praise of Larson and her efforts to diversify Hollywood.
Gemma Chan stars in Captain Marvel, alongside Djimon Hounsou and Jude Law.
"That's part of what attracted me to the project," Chan says. "I could tell they were hoping to do something really special and I am thrilled to be part of it.
"I think it's great. I think she's been an incredible leader, using her position and her platform and her voice to speak up. I really admire it. In terms of inclusion riders, I think whatever we need to do to improve the statistics and improve parity and to give people who wouldn't necessarily have been given the opportunity before - whether that's women or whether that's people of colour, or people who have been marginalised ... I think it's great, it's definitely going to move things in the right direction."
For Boden, who co-wrote and directed the film alongside her long-term partner Ryan Fleck (the couple met on the set of a student film and have directed three features together since), taking on a Marvel movie was a daunting prospect - and one she had to consider carefully.
The couple, who directed the acclaimed drama Half Nelson, had been encouraged by their agent to interview for the role. But first they turned to fellow director Ryan Coogler for advice, who was in pre-production on Marvel's Black Panther at the time.
"He said something really important for us, which was: 'Make sure you absolutely love this character and this story because this will be the hardest movie you've ever made. It's really tough, it's a long process, it's really gruelling'. We really took that to heart. We pitched the story of a character that we really wanted to live with for two years and we really cared about."
Captain Marvel leads a team of intergalatic crimefighters.
That story centres on Carol Danvers - a US Air Force pilot who becomes part of an elite intergalactic crime-fighting force.
"I have to admit that when we started really digging into the role and looking through all the comics, we went back to Carol Danvers first appearance in 1967 and we were reading through all the comics, there were moments where we weren't sure we had someone that we totally connected with," says Boden.
"There were good parts and fun parts but it wasn't until we hit Kelly Sue Deconnick's run where she takes on the mantle of Captain Marvel that we were like 'this is a character we want to see on screen'.
"This is somebody who has that grit and determination and who's flawed and doesn't always make the best decisions for herself but still has that power and that humanity and that heart that we care so much about."
Now Marvel is banking on the rest of the world caring as well, as Captain Marvel is rumoured to play a central role in the upcoming mega blockbuster, Avengers: Endgame, which hits cinemas in April.
Brie Larsen stars as Captain Marvel, becoming the first female superhero to lead a feature film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
THE COSTUME
One of the most striking things about Captain Marvel is her costume, which is fiercely androgynous without a skirt, tiara or cleavage-boosting bustier in sight.
"It was definitely part of the conversation, what is this iconic superhero going to wear?" explains director Anna Boden.
"We wanted it to be practical and we wanted it to be something that a warrior would wear. We meet Captain Marvel when she's a space warrior. She has an iconic sash in the comics that we loved but it didn't feel right for a space warrior to wear a sash and everybody was on board with having a costume that reflected who this character was."
For Brie Larson, it wasn't about making a statement but, rather, allowing the character to do what she needed to do.
"We're kind of replicating and going off the comics so that foundation was built long before we were making the movie but really it's about functionality. It's not about trying to say anything other than 'she's this person trying to accomplish this task and this is part of the tools that get her there'.
"I love functional clothing, personally, and it's something that I talk to the costume designer about on every film. What is this character trying to achieve and how can these clothes get us there."
LOWDOWN: Who: Brie Larson What: Captain Marvel When: In cinemas next Thursday
