Kelly Sue Deconnick rebranded Ms. Marvel as fan-favourite character Captain Marvel in 2012, and the success of that relaunch caused Marvel Studios to realise that there is indeed a huge demand to see this character on the big screen (arguably more so than before she went by her original moniker). However, the comic book scribe - who isn't signed with Marvel as of right now -was actually just as surprised as the rest of us when the announcement was made earlier this week! "I was gobsmacked. I did not see that coming, and I would have bet high dollar against it. I could not be more thrilled to be wrong. The only thing I know [about the movie] is what [Kevin] Feige said at the announcement, which is, she's an Earth-based Carol who has cosmic-based powers. So the tone of the film is very much up in the air. It'll depend, I'm sure, on the screenplay, what direction they want to go with it, and the vision that their director has. There's a lot of different ways they could go with Carol. I have every faith that they'll do well by her. The films have been utterly fantastic. But without knowing anything about the film, the only thing that I could say that's new is, hey, yeah, female protagonist. I could not be more excited about that."
The writer was quick to point out in her interview with IGN that she isn't responsible for creating Carol Danvers (she's actually been around since 1968 and received her powers in 1977), pointing out that it was editor Steve Wacker who decided now was the time to give the character a new look and name. However, that doesn't take away Deconnick's role in changing the perception of Captain Marvel, and she had this to say about the appeal of the character. "I felt like my challenge was to nudge her character back to someone who would be easy to cheer for, someone who could carry a solo book and be indisputably the hero. So my pitch was, 'Carol Danvers as Chuck Yeager,'" Deconnick said. "She has kind of a dorky sense of humor that's a good, fun thing to play up with her. She's short-tempered; that's something most of us can relate to at one time or another in our lives. She means well. I think if you focus on that stuff and you focus on the fact that she's incredibly driven, she wants to win, she's unapologetic about wanting to win -- if you focus on all of that stuff, then she's an incredibly American hero. She's very easy to root for in that way."
As for who she believes should play Captain Marvel, Deconnick declined to mention a specific name, but did offer some insight into how she imagines seeing the character brought to life on the big screen. "The voice in my head for Carol [is] Kathleen Turner from about 1984. I like how grounded her voice is. That's the Carol that lives in my head. There are a number of contemporary actresses who could bring a lot of really cool stuff to it. I'm really excited to see who they get. But whoever it is, I'll be first in line, no matter what." What do you think?