It was the kind of blunt answer you don’t really see from an A-lister. Press events for Disney films are, usually, all wooden smiles and tight-lipped platitudes; all the actors have to focus on is gently batting back softball questions without dropping any spoilers. And yet, when Brie Larson was thrown exactly this kind of innocuous inquiry last weekend at the Disney D23 fan expo, she seemed reluctant to play ball. The question was simple: How long will she keep playing Captain Marvel? “I don’t know,” she said. “Does anyone want me to do it again?” She smiled, but her delivery suggested this was no joke.
A bit of context. Larson joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) – the world’s biggest superhero film franchise – back in 2019, with Captain Marvel. Larson played Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel, a US air force pilot turned space-travelling amnesiac who becomes imbued with godly superpowers. Larson was the first woman to front an MCU film, a full 21 entries into the canon. Prior to being cast as Danvers, she was an actor of considerable critical cache, having shone in 2014 indie flick Short Term 12, before winning the best actress Oscar for the harrowing 2015 drama Room.
