Thanks to the
r/Marvel Studios subreddit, a recent podcast that hosted Nicole Perman, one of the co-writers of the
Captain Marvel script (along with Meg LeFauve) has been spreading like wildfire across social media (truly, there's no hiding on the internet). Perlman actually started out at Marvel in their Writer's Program and wrote the first draft of
Guardians of the Galaxy, which underwent an expansive rewrite after James Gunn was hired. Though she maintain a co-writer credit on that film, Gunn has previously gone on record as stating that
he pretty much reworked all of the characters and most of the story and pretty much maintains that he's the sole writer of the film that made it to theater screens. But unless history repeats itself and Marvel hires another writer-director for Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers' origin film will be the undisputed work of a woman (or women if we're being particular).
As for her guest spot on the podcast, Perlman disclosed that how Danvers acquires her abilities will differ from the "Kree radiation" origin of the '60s. Caught in a blast from an exploding Kree machine, the Kree warrior Mar-Vell saves Danvers' life by shielding her with his body only for the subsequent radiation to transfuse his Kree physiology into Danvers, giving her his superhuman abilities. In short, an alien comes to Earth and through extenuating circumstances, passes his abilities on to an unassuming human. At face value, that's pretty similar to the origin story for
Green Lantern Hal Jordan. According to Perlman that's something that will need to be tweaked for the Captain Marvel film.
"I don’t think I’ve ever had a project where I’ve been more mindful about the impact that it could have and the importance of it. She’s such an incredibly kick-ass character and Kelly Sue DeConnick did a great run with her story arc recently. But here’s the thing, if you were just going to do a straight adaptation of the comics, her origin story is very similar to Green Lantern. And obviously, that’s not what we want to do. There’s a lot of reinvention that needs to happen. And also, she’s her own person and she’s a great character. We have to be aware of what’s happened in other Marvel film and makes sure that her particular storyline is unique and fun and also fits in within this world that’s going on at the same time. It’s a little bit of an interesting story gauntlet. It’s been good to have a partner. It’s been an incredible experience. If we can pull it off it could be an incredibly important but also really fun and kick-ass superhero film.”
Based on Marvel Studios' previous work, it's probably safe to say that every comic book fan expected the origin to be changed, the question now is to what degree? What do you think is the best way to tweak Carol Danvers' origin? Should they skip Mar-Vell's introduction altogether? Let us know your opinions in the comment section below.
Captain Marvel will arrive in North American theaters on March 8, 2019.