Development By May 2013,
Marvel Studios' writing room had produced a script for a film featuring
Ms. Marvel, an alias used by the character
Carol Danvers before she took the mantle
Captain Marvel. Later that year, executive producer
Louis D'Esposito said the studio was interested in a female-driven superhero film and had plenty of "strong female characters" from which to choose, suggesting Captain Marvel,
Black Widow,
Pepper Potts, or
Peggy Carter as possible candidates.
Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, said that if Marvel was to make a female-led film, he would prefer it to be a new character to the
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) like Captain Marvel, for whom an
origin story could be told. In August 2014, Feige stated that development had begun on a Captain Marvel film, and said members of the public asked about the project more often than
Iron Man 4 or
Avengers: Infinity War (2018). In October 2014, Feige announced that
Captain Marvel would be the studio's first female-led film, and would focus on Carol Danvers. It was given a release date of July 6, 2018, as part of their
Phase Three slate of films. Feige said the film had been in development almost as long as
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and
Doctor Strange (2016), and one of its biggest challenges would be balancing the title character's "earthbound" adventures with her cosmic powers. He said a writer and director for the film would be announced soon, and female filmmakers were being considered for the project, but he could not promise that filmmakers from a certain demographic would be hired for the film. In February 2015, Marvel pushed the release date back to November 2, 2018, to accommodate
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). In early April, Feige revealed that Captain Marvel had been included in an early draft of the
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) screenplay, but Marvel chose to remove this appearance because they did not want to introduce the character before they were able to explore her backstory and personality first. He also said that Marvel would announce writers for the film within a few weeks, and by mid-April,
Guardians of the Galaxy co-screenwriter
Nicole Perlman and
Inside Out (2015) co-screenwriter
Meg LeFauve were announced to be writing the screenplay. The duo were put together as a writing team after impressing Feige with separate takes on the character, and began work on the film within a month.
Jessica Gao, who would later become the
head writer for the Marvel Studios television series
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), also
pitched for the film, as did
A. C. Bradley, who became the head writer of the Marvel Studios animated series
What If...? (2021–2024). LeFauve found the character being a female superhero to be both "wonderful" and a challenge, believing that the character's power-level could lead to the "Superman curse" of being perceived to be invulnerable. Additionally, LeFauve and Perlman found that writing a "story about a human and not get[ting] too overwhelmed by the worry of representing all women" worked best when approaching the story. An article about young girls who would quit learning to code after they encountered trouble made LeFauve and Perlman consider questions about females being taught they cannot make mistakes or embrace their own power. This helped the duo realize that "part of embracing your power is failure" and seeing it "more as feedback instead of your character". By May, Marvel had discussions with
Ava DuVernay about directing
Captain Marvel or
Black Panther (2018), which Feige confirmed a month later, saying that he had met with DuVernay amongst a number of other directors and expected a decision to be made by mid- to late 2015. That September, Feige said that the casting process would not begin until 2016, as the studio did not want to try to cast Carol Danvers until they had decided on the direction for the character in the screenplay, as well as the structure of the film and the character's role in the rest of Marvel's Phase Three films. Producer Jeremy Latcham elaborated that "getting the character right first is going to lead the charge". In October 2015, Marvel changed the release date again, this time moving it to March 8, 2019, to make room for
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). Feige stated in April 2016 that a director would be announced within a few months and that the first cast members would be announced in mid-2016. He also mentioned that the film would be about Carol Danvers becoming Captain Marvel. The next month, indie filmmaker
Emily Carmichael's name surfaced as a possible contender to direct the film, and by June,
Brie Larson emerged as the frontrunner to play Captain Marvel. Larson's casting was confirmed at the 2016
San Diego Comic-Con. She was set to earn $5 million for the film. Larson was initially hesitant to accept the role, but "couldn't deny the fact that this movie is everything I care about, everything that's progressive and important and meaningful, and a symbol I wished I would've had growing up". She was able to bring to the part "some of those [deep emotional] things" she had used in previous, more "dramatic roles". Larson felt this would differentiate
Captain Marvel from other superhero films. Also at Comic-Con, Feige said the search for a director had narrowed to ten candidates and he hoped to announce the final choice in the coming months. Perlman revealed in August that the character's origin story had been changed for the film because of similarities to the
DC Comics character
Green Lantern, with Feige explaining that the new story is centered on Danvers finding her limitations and vulnerabilities. He added that Danvers is the most powerful character in the MCU, and would become very important in the franchise. Producer Nate Moore said the film avoids the traditional structure of many MCU origin stories, which he described as a character having a problem before gaining "powers at the end of the first act, and the end of the second act they learn about the powers, the third act they probably fight a villain who has a function of the same powers"; instead, Danvers starts the film having already gained her powers. In October 2016, Feige admitted that the announcement for a director was taking longer than he previously expected, and explained that the studio was now waiting for more of the film's story to be defined in the script so they could then talk to potential directors about it. Once again talking about hiring a female filmmaker to direct the film, Feige said that he did not think it would be a requirement to make a "great version" of the film, but it was something that Marvel felt was important to consider, even if that female filmmaker did not know a lot about the comics, as "they just have to fall in love with it once they are presented with it. It's amazing to see all of the filmmakers read through [the source material] and know, 'Oh, a female's writing it now, speaking in particular to
Kelly Sue DeConnick's run in the comics. Feige expected a director to be announced by the end of 2016; however, Perlman and LeFauve turned in a script treatment around December, pushing additional meetings with director candidates into early 2017. In February 2017, Perlman stated that despite her and LeFauve being hired almost a year previously, the duo had only recently gotten their "marching orders" for the script, stating that one of the reasons for the delay was figuring out where the film would fit within the MCU. She explained that because of Marvel Studios' continually shifting plans for Phase Three and their culminating
Avengers films,
Infinity War and
Avengers: Endgame (2019), the duo were tasked with creating various different versions of what the film could look like. These were then discussed with Marvel Studios executives to determine what worked from each and how it would fit in with the
Avengers plans as they currently stood, before the writing duo would start the process over again; this "iterative" process occurred for over a year-and-a-half. Perlman also discussed the character's
femininity, feeling that it was important to make sure she is not "somebody who is a hero in spite of her femininity ... being a woman is part of [her] strength". The writers were also wary of tropes that could be diminishing to a female character but not for male characters, such as things they would not have been concerned about writing for
Iron Man but would not play the same way for Captain Marvel.
Pre-production Marvel hired
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck to direct
Captain Marvel in April 2017, after the duo impressed the studio over numerous meetings with their vision for the character and because of their experience working in both television and film. Feige said that he and Marvel were particularly impressed with Boden and Fleck's ability to create a diverse range of character-driven stories in all of their works. Feige felt the film had to focus on the complexity and relatability of Carol Danvers's character without being bogged down by the villains and the special effects, and thought that Boden and Fleck could provide this character focus. Filming was scheduled to begin in January 2018, at
Pinewood Atlanta Studios in
Fayette County, Georgia, but Feige said he did not expect it to begin until February. By July 2017,
Samuel L. Jackson was set to appear in the film, reprising his role as
Nick Fury. Larson, who had worked with Jackson on
Kong: Skull Island (2017), pushed for Fury's presence in the film. At the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con, Feige revealed that the film would take place in the 1990s and that the
Skrulls would be the film's villains, allowing elements from the "
Kree–Skrull War" (1971) comic book storyline to be used. By setting the film in the 1990s, Feige noted that Danvers would "be the singular hero" while still giving her a definitive placing in the MCU timeline. Executive producer Jonathan Schwartz said setting the film in the 1990s was an idea from early in the development process, and gave the character a special place and significance within the MCU. It also allowed the film to make connections to plot details from past MCU films that are set later in the timeline. Regarding the elements from the "Kree–Skrull War" used for the film, Schwartz said some paranoia elements would be featured but would not be related to the Anti-Superhero Act as in the comics. He added that the Kree-Skrull conflict would mostly be a "backdrop and mythological underpinning" for the film. In response to the Comic-Con announcements, Graeme McMillan of
The Hollywood Reporter compared the film to
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and the
DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film
Wonder Woman (2017), as they were also set decades before the present day. By setting the film in the 1990s, McMillan felt it would create the question "what happened to Captain Marvel to take her off the playing field ahead of the Marvel movies that we've seen to date?" in March 2019 Also in July, the
California Film Commission awarded a $20.7million tax credit to the production, going towards the first $100million spent on qualified in-state expenditures, making California the main filming location for
Captain Marvel. D'Esposito was excited about this since Marvel Studios' headquarters and post-production facilities are also in the state, allowing them to streamline the production process for this film and others. Awarding of the tax credit was dependent on filming beginning within 180 days. Marvel planned to spend $118.6 million filming in the state, for a net of $97.8 million after the tax credit was applied. Schwartz said one of the reasons Los Angeles was chosen for filming was because "not a lot of big movies shoot in LA anymore, so it weirdly feels like fresh territory for a movie like this".
Geneva Robertson-Dworet was hired by mid-August to take over the scripting duties for
Captain Marvel after LeFauve left the project to co-direct
Gigantic for
Disney Animation. Perlman also left the project, but stated that the story she and LeFauve had worked on in earlier drafts would be retained in the final screenplay. Robertson-Dworet described the film as an action-comedy, and likened her script to an initial one she wrote for
Tomb Raider (2018) before that film took a more dramatic tone. She added that it was important to the entire creative team to keep the comedic elements of the film and the sassiness of Danvers's character. Robertson-Dworet also credited Boden for helping to shape Danvers's voice in the film and for the desire "to carve our own path and make sure we weren't retreading the same territory [after the release of
Wonder Woman], and showing all facets of what women are capable of". Feige added that
Captain Marvel would have action scenes that would pay homage to 1990s action films, including
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), since the 1990s action genre was one Marvel Studios had yet to explore. He also stated that much of the film would take place in outer space.
RoboCop (1987),
The French Connection (1971), and
The Conversation (1974) also served as influences on
Captain Marvel for Boden and Fleck. Speaking specifically to
RoboCop, the directors were drawn to "this idea of a character who's finding himself and finding his past" from that film and how it could connect to the story they were telling in
Captain Marvel. DeConnick and quantum physicist Spyridon Michalakis, of the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter at the
California Institute of Technology, consulted on the film. By October, filming was slated to begin in March 2018. Feige said the film would play a significant role in setting up
Endgame, which was set for release after
Captain Marvel.
Ben Mendelsohn entered negotiations to play the film's main villain, having previously worked with Boden and Fleck on their film
Mississippi Grind (2015). They had him in mind for the
Captain Marvel villain when they first began working on the story, and Mendelsohn agreed to play the role shortly after discussing the film with the directors. By November,
Jude Law was in negotiations to join the film, which at the time was reported to be the role of
Walter Lawson / Mar-Vell.
Keanu Reeves had also been approached for the part but declined. In January 2018,
DeWanda Wise was cast as
Maria Rambeau, and Mendelsohn and Law were confirmed to have been cast.
Filming in April 2018
Location shooting occurred at the end of January 2018. Set photos taken at that time showed Larson in a green-and-black uniform instead of the character's familiar red-and-blue suit. Feige responded by saying that Marvel accepts the risk of set photos being leaked as a consequence of location shooting, and felt that "most people are savvy enough to know they're looking at a behind-the-scenes photo, completely out of context". He added that a large number of scenes in the film would be shot on location. A month later,
Gemma Chan joined the cast as
Minn-Erva. In mid-March, Wise withdrew from the film because of a scheduling conflict with her television series ''
She's Gotta Have It (2017–2019). Lashana Lynch entered into negotiations to replace Wise the next day, and was confirmed for the role by the end of the month. At that time, Marvel revealed that Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, and Clark Gregg were set to reprise their respective roles of Korath, Ronan the Accuser, and Phil Coulson from earlier MCU films; as those characters were all killed in their previous appearances, Richard Newby of The Hollywood Reporter'' described the film as a unique opportunity to "strengthen the presence of [the characters] who may not have lived up to their potential". Marvel also announced that
Algenis Perez Soto,
Rune Temte, and
Mckenna Grace had been cast, and revealed that Boden, Fleck, and the writing team of
Liz Flahive and
Carly Mensch had all contributed to the film's screenplay in addition to LeFauve, Perlman, and Robertson-Dworet. Bek Smith, who previously was a member of Marvel's screenwriter program, performed uncredited rewrites during production.
Principal photography began on March 19 in Los Angeles, at Sony Studios under the
working title Open World. Schwartz stated that
Open World was chosen because it likened the film to an
open world video game that could go in many directions, which is how the production felt about
Captain Marvels story at the time. A 1986 carnival scene was filmed later that week at the
Jim Hall Racing Club in
Oxnard, California. Filming of
Captain Marvel in Los Angeles, along with other big-budget films that took advantage of California's improved tax credit program, helped raise on-location feature film production in the area by 11.7% in the first quarter of 2018, compared with the same period in 2017, the first such double-figure increase since the fourth quarter of 2015. Filming at
Shaver Lake outside
Fresno, California, was set to take place in April but was pushed back to mid-May. In late April, Feige stated that almost half of filming was completed. The following month,
Annette Bening joined the cast in an undisclosed role. Additional location shooting in and around the Los Angeles area included
Simi Valley,
Edwards Air Force Base, and
Lucerne Valley. In late June, production moved to
Baton Rouge, Louisiana and
New Orleans for two weeks. A realistic cat puppet was used on set since Larson is allergic to cats. Scenes featuring the interior of the Quadjet were filmed on the set used to depict the interior of Quinjets on the MCU television series
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020) Filming concluded on July 6. Cinematographer
Ben Davis shot primarily on large-format
Arri Alexa 65 cameras, liking how the camera rendered the film's costumes. Davis, who previously served as director of photography for
Guardians of the Galaxy,
Avengers: Age of Ultron, and
Doctor Strange (2016), noted that there was a "point of departure" in the visuals of
Captain Marvel coming from its 1990s setting. To achieve the 1990s aesthetic, Davis first attempted to utilize post-production techniques to convey a period look, but found that it just softened the image. He then tried using vintage
Cooke Panchro and
Canon K-35 lenses, but they were not compatible with the large format of the Arri Alexa camera system. Davis ultimately enlisted Dan Sasaki of
Panavision to make new lenses for the period scenes that could work with the cameras. Davis initially intended not to use these lenses for scenes set in space, to differentiate them, but found himself using the lenses for some close-ups set in space because he liked the way they looked.
Post-production Additional photography was confirmed to have begun via set photos in late November 2018. With the release of the theatrical poster in early December, Marvel revealed that the writing team of Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse had worked on the film's story, while
Jac Schaeffer had contributed to the screenplay. Schaeffer had previously been hired by Marvel to write
Black Widow (2021). Bening's and Law's roles were officially confirmed in February 2019 as the
Supreme Intelligence and
Yon-Rogg, respectively. The film was edited by
Elliot Graham and
Debbie Berman, marking Berman's third time co-editing an MCU film after
Spider-Man: Homecoming and
Black Panther.
Captain Marvel was edited using
Avid Media Composer software in the
Avid DNxHD codec on
Apple computers. Berman first became involved with the film when she was working on
Homecoming and Boden and Fleck were hired, and was hired herself for
Captain Marvel the first week she was working on
Black Panther. In addition to Graham and Berman, the editing team was made up of first assistants Jessica Baclesse and Kimberly Boritz, second assistants Basuki Juwono and Christos Voutsinas, and assistant editor Joe Galdo, among others. Berman spoke fondly of this large team, feeling that they gave her the opportunity to focus on the film's story rather than the technical aspects of editing.
(top) and in Captain Marvel
(bottom). One Eight Seven
(1997) was used as a primary reference to de-age Jackson in Captain Marvel'', which is set in 1995. Visual effects for the film were created by
Animal Logic,
Cantina Creative,
Digital Domain,
Framestore,
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Lola VFX,
Luma Pictures, Rise,
Rising Sun Pictures,
Scanline VFX, Trixter, and Elastic, with Lola VFX working on the de-aging of Jackson and Gregg. Lola looked at several of Jackson's films, including
Pulp Fiction (1994),
Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995),
Jurassic Park (1993),
Loaded Weapon 1 (1993), and
One Eight Seven (1997), as a reference for his de-aging. However, some of these films were disqualified due to circumstances surrounding the character Jackson was playing:
Pulp Fiction because of the character's wig and facial hair, and
Jurassic Park because the character was made to appear older in that film. Lola VFX supervisor
Trent Claus said the final look was based partly on
Die Hard and
Loaded Weapon 1, but mostly on
One Eight Seven, which he described as the "hero movie". Jackson was de-aged approximately 25 years from the age of 70 at the time of filming, to 45 for the 1995 setting. To do this, both Jackson and Gregg had tracking dots applied to their faces during filming for which the VFX team could anchor the "hand-crafted" facial features that were composited primarily in
Autodesk Flame. Lola's team included 40 primary compositors with another 15–20 junior compositors, and created approximately 500 different VFX shots, of which 385 made it in the final cut of film. It was the first time Lola de-aged an actor without using a body double, as it would take too long to re-film all of Fury's scenes with the double. Trixter did initial development on the look of Danvers's Binary powers and contributed the majority of visual effects for Goose the Cat, including movements that were impossible for real-life cats to act. ILM handled Goose's alien features, as well as much of the final battle for which they used Trixter's work on the Binary powers as well as inspiration from comic books,
video games, and
anime. ILM also did work on the Supreme Intelligence's virtual environment alongside Animal Logic, who took inspiration from the interior of the
Louvre Abu Dhabi and the work they did with
fractals for
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017). These scenes were filmed in a white room without green or blue screen, so Animal Logic had to
rotoscope the actors out of the footage and place them in the digital environment. To maintain the quality of the actors' hair during this process, Animal Logic created digital hair for Larson and Bening. Luma Pictures was primarily responsible for the train chase sequence, nicknamed the "French Connection" scene after
the 1971 film of the same name. They had to make the footage look as if it were continuing along a single train line even though the sequence was filmed in multiple locations around Los Angeles. Digital Domain worked on the Skrull transformation sequences, Rise created the exterior environment of Hala, and Framestore handled the battle sequence on Torfa. Rising Sun handled all of the Kree forearm holograms, the interior of the Project Pegasus hangar, and the exterior of the Quadjet. Scanline worked on effects for the aerial chases and the accident scene where Danvers gains her powers. Elastic created the end titles, and
The Third Floor, Inc. provided
previsualization and postvisualization work. The film's mid-credits scene shows Captain Marvel meeting the Avengers, and was directed by
Anthony and Joe Russo. Boden described it as a lead-in to the Russos'
Avengers: Endgame. For
Captain Marvel, Marvel Studios modified their
production logo to honor
Stan Lee, who died on November 12, 2018, by replacing the characters in the logo with Lee's MCU cameos. The logo is followed by a black screen reading "Thank You Stan". Feige said this was done because the film was Marvel's first since Lee died, and they wanted to start the film by acknowledging him with a celebration of his legacy rather than add a somber memorial to the end of the film. == Music ==