Marvel appears to be including three heroes that have bore the name Captain Marvel in their ‘Captain Marvel’ movie. Obviously, Brie Larson portrays the film’s main character, Carol Danvers, but we have also learned that Jude Law is portraying Walter Lawson, a slightly obscure alias used by the company’s first CM, Kree spy-turned-hero Mar-Vell. Now DeWanda Wise has signed on to portray Monica Rambeau, the character who was technically the publisher’s second Captain Marvel.
Wise took to Instagram to make the announcement:
This marks Wise’s first major motion picture. She has worked steadily over the years, making appearances on shows such as ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’, ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and ‘The Mentalist’. Last year, she starred on the FOX police series ‘Shots Fired’ but her big break came later in 2017 when she starred on the Netflix romantic comedy/drama ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ created by Spike Lee. A second season has already been ordered. Wise plays the main character Nola Darling, an artist living in Brooklyn engaged in a number of romantic entanglements.
Wise joins Larson and Law, as well as Samuel L. Jackson, who will be making his long-awaited return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a pre-eyepatch Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn who is reportedly playing Kree villain Yon-Rogg. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are directing with a script by Geneva Robertson-Dworet, who came onto the project following Meg LeFauve and Nicole Perlman.
In the comics, Monica Rambeau was a member of the New Orleans harbor patrol who gained the ability to transform into various forms of energy, allowing her to fly and fire light blasts. As the second Captain Marvel, she joined the Avengers, eventually becoming their leader. For a time, she was among Marvel’s most visible female heroes and the fact that she was a person of color, with the distinguished codename of Captain Marvel, earned praise.
Sadly, things didn’t go well from there. After her co-creator Roger Stern left the ‘Avengers’ comic, Monica fell out of favor. Eventually, a new Caucasian male Captain Marvel, Genis-Vell the son of Mar-Vell, was introduced, so Monica gave up her old name to become Photon. Then for whatever reason, it was decided that Genis-Vell wanted to be known as Photon so Monica once again had to change her codename, this time to Pulsar. Nowadays, she goes by Spectrum. She returned to full-time superheroics, first leading the ‘Mighty Avengers’, then ‘The Ultimates’.
Though they haven’t worked together extensively, it has been established that Monica and Carol are friends in the comics. It’s unclear what their relationship will be in the movie or if Monica will exhibit any powers of her own or if she will be a civilian friend/ally. Of course, she could follow in the path of War Machine and The Falcon and become her own hero in future movies.
Are you intrigued about Monica Rambeau’s inclusion in ‘Captain Marvel’? What type of role would you like to see her play?
‘Captain Marvel’ is due to hit theaters on March 8, 2019, so production should begin soon. Stay tuned for more updates!
