We May Meet Captain Marvel Sooner Than We Think

Marvel

Will Avengers: Age of Ultron introduce new characters we have not yet seen in the marketing materials?

Director Joss Whedon recently said yes in an interview with Marvel.com.

The question since that interview, which hit the web late last week, has been which character. We already know that the current roster – Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Hulk – will be joined by some other familiar faces from Marvel’s first two cinematic phases: the likes of War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie). And we know that there will be several new characters involved in the battle against the James Spader-voiced Ultron, including Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Vision (Paul Bettany).

So who else might we see in Avengers 2?

According to a new report from superhero scoop sleuth El Mayimbe of Latino Review, we may be introduced to Carol Danvers, also known as Captain Marvel, ahead of schedule. Here’s his post via Instagram:

RT! HOT #MARVEL #RUMOR ABOUT #CAPTAINMARVEL #SPOILER Apparently, from what I’m being told, the rumor is that the studio has cast the role of Carol Danvers & keeping it top secret. I’m also being told we will first see her in #AVENGERS #AgeofUltron as originally written in previous drafts of the screenplay. In terms of the standalone film, the Marvel brain trust has blocked out the plot & story with the intention of bringing an established writer to write the script. Comic writer Kelly Sue DeConnick wanted to take a crack at writing the screenplay but I’m not sure if she got the gig. Also, I’m told legendary comic writer Jim Starlin, who has a rich history with Captain Marvel is aboard the project as a consultant. All of the above is #UNCONFIRMED so take with grain of salt until further notice but it’s within the realm of plausibility.

A photo posted by Umberto Gonzalez (@umbertogonzalez) on Mar 24, 2015 at 6:11am PDT

This report, while still considered a rumor by El Mayimbe’s own admission, does line up with previous reports that Captain Marvel has been in and out of the Age of Ultron script. A Badass Digest report from Devin Faraci cited the appearance of Captain Marvel in early drafts of the script. As he explained at the time, a cameo from Captain Marvel would be an important step toward setting up her own solo movie as part of Marvel’s Phase 3. Since that time we’ve learned that a Captain Marvel movie is confirmed for a November 8, 2018 release date. She’s on the books and it looks like Marvel may very well want to get her rolling early.

The one big question I’ve had with every forthcoming Marvel movie is this: how will it surprise and delight us? These movies are known quantities filled with familiar characters and often new faces are part of the marketing. But there’s still a bit of mystery to be had. And if we’ve learned anything from Marvel to-date, it’s that they enjoy a bit of showmanship. Even if this is right and we’ve just ruined the surprise for ourselves, a Captain Marvel appearance in Age of Ultron would be extremely cool. If for no other reason than it would introduce us to the actress cast in the role. It’s so good that I don’t really want to know any more.

The good news for all of us is that Avengers: Age of Ultron is in theaters May 1. Which is 37 days, but who’s counting?