‘Captain Marvel 2’ Officially Greenlit With Brie Larson Returning Despite Digruntled Fans
Marvel enjoyed a record-setting year in 2019 as three of its movies – including Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel – made over a billion dollars at the box office. The studio is hoping to keep that momentum going and has already started development on Captain Marvel 2. Larson is set to reprise her role as Carol Danvers in the sequel, despite a growing number of disgruntled fans who want to see her gone.
Marvel moves forward with ‘Captain Marvel 2’
It has only been a year since Larson appeared in Captain Marvel, a film that took in a total of $1.2 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Apart from Black Panther (which made $1.3 billion), Captain Marvel is the studio’s highest-grossing debut for a franchise.
One interesting thing about Captain Marvel is that it was Marvel’s lowest-grossing film in 2019. Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home made more at the box office last year.
Captain Marvel was also not the first female superhero movie in the history of cinema. There have been other movies that feature a female superhero as the lead, including Catwoman, Elektra, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman.
But none of these projects enjoyed the success of Captain Marvel. DC’s Wonder Woman came the closest, making $822 million at the box office. Given the numbers, fans fully expected Marvel to move forward with Captain Marvel 2, though some were unhappy with the decision to keep Larson on board.
Larson set to return to the MCU
Despite some disgruntled fans, Marvel has put its full support behind Larson. The actress, who has one Academy Award under her belt, reportedly inked a deal with the studio that includes seven movies.
She has already appeared in two MCU films — Avengers: Endgame and Captain Marvel — which leaves five more films under her contract.
Marvel has been very tight-lipped about Captain Marvel 2, though the studio made one move that confirms the sequel is in development. According to We Got This Covered, Marvel just filed an LLC under the name “Warbird Productions II.”
As fans may recall, the studio called Captain Marvel “Warbird Productions” when it started development a few years ago. Marvel has not confirmed that the project is related to the sequel, but it is safe to assume that it is.
Fans start a petition to remove Larson from ‘Captain Marvel 2’
Although it is clear that Marvel is moving forward with Larson in the lead, there is a group of fans that want her out of the MCU altogether.
Last year, these disgruntled viewers launched an online petition in a bid to fire Larson and force Marvel to hire a “gay woman of color” to play Carol Danvers. The petition got around 25,000 signatures, which is actually pretty impressive considering the success of the film.
Larson, of course, came under a lot of fire in the months leading up to the release of Captain Marvel. Naysayers and online trolls claimed that the studio was fully expecting the film to flop, and there were also rumors that Larson was difficult to worth with.
The actress has not said anything about the backlash she has received for playing Carol Danvers. Brie Larson is a very outspoken support of women’s rights and the LGBTQ community, which makes the petition even more head-scratching.
Did Kevin Feige almost leave the MCU?
While we wait to learn more about Captain Marvel 2, Mark Ruffalo — Hulk himself —recently revealed that Marvel president Kevin Feige pushed hard for more female superheroes in the MCU.
Ruffalo revealed that Feige almost quit when they were making The Avengers and that he had to convince the CEO of Marvel, Isaac Perlmutter, that fans would enjoy a female-led film.
“When we did the first Avengers, Kevin Feige told me, ‘Listen, I might not be here tomorrow. Ike [Perlmutter] does not believe that anyone will go to a female-starring superhero movie. So if I am still here tomorrow, you will know that I won that battle,'” Ruffalo shared.
If Feige had not stood up and voiced his concern, it is possible that a movie like Captain Marvel would never have been made in the first place. Fortunately, the film’s success proved that Feige was right, and it is great to know that Larson will continue to play an important role in the MCU moving forward.
Marvel has not announced a premiere date for Captain Marvel 2, but the movie is expected to open in theaters in 2022.
