These days when a new hero is introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the first questions that comes up (particularly once the role has been cast) is how their origin will be handled. That is to say whether or not we will get a “proper” origin story (as with ‘Iron Man’ or the upcoming ‘Doctor Strange’) or if their origin will be dealt with only in passing. The latter approach was seen with ‘The Incredible Hulk’, and tends to be favored with more established characters (for example, it appears that ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ will also follow this path).
In a conversation with Cinema Blend at a ‘Doctor Strange’ promotional event, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige responded to exactly that question as it relates to a pair of upcoming films.
‘Black Panther’ is not really an origin story, since we saw him already in ‘Civil War’. But his standalone certainly introduces you to 99% of his world that you never saw. And ‘Captain Marvel’ is certainly an origin. It’s an origin story from the start.
Feige’s statement is interesting for a few reasons, the most significant being the reference to ‘Black Panther‘ and the early casting of Captain Marvel. With regard to ‘Black Panther’, this seems to confirm what many have suspected for some time. Namely that, with the core of the Panther’s origin having been dealt with in ‘Captain America: Civil War’, his solo film will follow on from that. Also, Feige’s comments about the film introducing “99% of his world that you haven’t seen before” suggest that a good deal of the film will take place in Wakanda, which so far has not been seen on film save for a fleeting glimpse at the end of ‘Civil War’.
Back to ‘Captain Marvel’, in light of the way Marvel appears to be approaching ‘Black Panther’, Feige’s remarks seem to hint that the solo ‘Captain Marvel’ film will be the first we will see of the character. This is noteworthy, as the casting of Brie Larson in the title role was announced this summer. With the film currently scheduled for a 2019 release date, this led many to suspect that the character would appear elsewhere ahead of her solo debut, with the most logical guess being that she would have some involvement with ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. Of course, given the way Marvel likes to weave their films together, the fact that ‘Captain Marvel’ is shaping up to be an origin story does not preclude the character appearing in some form ahead of that film. After all, in the comics, Carol Danvers was an officer in the Air Force before she was a superhero. It’s entirely possible that Danvers could appear in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ or some other film in some capacity, and only gain her powers and become Captain Marvel in the solo film.
Be sure to check in with ScienceFiction.com for more information on ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Captain Marvel’ as it becomes available!
