Lashana Lynch has landed her biggest role to date in Captain Marvel as Maria Rambeau, an Air Force fighter pilot who just so happens to be Carol Danvers' best friend and the mother of a young girl called Monica, someone comic books fans know ultimately becomes Photon (Maria's call sign in this movie). However, while she may not have superpowers, Maria still sounds like a force to be reckoned with.
"Maria’s got a strength that’s undeniable, in that you don’t feel like you need to help her," Lynch says. "She is thrown into many a situation in this movie that she’s never been a part of, never seen, never experienced — and she just learns it, immediately. She’s very resilient and very strong."
As for her relationship with Carol, the actress teases a tight friendship. "There’s a certain level of female sisterhood that I haven’t seen in a superhero film before, that we have in abundance."
Lynch also explains that she's excited to introduce a woman like Maria who is not only an accomplished pilot but also a single mother. "I, especially after watching Black Panther, want to keep the black community in a place where they trust that every single African-American character in the Marvel universe is going to be represented positively, is going to be represented accurately, and is going to have a real through-line that the black community or people of color will be proud of," she says.
"I want Maria to be upstanding," she adds. "I want her to have a voice, I want people to understand her and relate to her, and I want mothers to be proud that there’s a single mother in the MCU."