Here's Everything We Know About Captain Marvel's Role In Avengers: Endgame

Captain Marvel is set to join the rest of the MCU and, being Marvel's most powerful hero, she could be the game-changer in Avengers: Endgame. Brie Larson's Carol Danvers has yet to debut on the big screen, but fans are already counting on her to help the Earth's Mightiest Heroes take down Thanos (Josh Brolin).

Captain Marvel will be entering the fold after Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) sent her a message before disintegrating into dust in the post-credit scene of Avengers: Infinity War. This gave fans the notion that the first solo, female, headlining hero in the MCU will play a pivotal role in the upcoming battle in the Phase 3 capper. At the moment, though, not much is known about Danvers herself - something that her origin film, Captain Marvel, will soon solve. Set in 1995, Captain Marvel will reveal Danvers' existing connection to Fury and how exactly the Kree-Skrull war fits in the MCU's overall narrative.

While the Captain Marvel movie appears to be isolated from the rest of the franchise given where it fits in the timeline, it's no coincidence that her introductory movie is set before Endgame, meaning that whatever goes down in the flick may have something to do with the ongoing debacle with Thanos. Here's everything we know about Captain Marvel's role in Avengers: Endgame.

This Page: Captain Marvel Joins Avengers: Endgame & Nick Fury's Plan
Next Page: How Captain Marvel Appears In Avengers: Endgame & MCU's Future

Captain Marvel Joins The Avengers In Endgame

Captain Marvel and the Original Avengers

Debuting first in her solo film directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Captain Marvel will eventually join Earth's Mightiest Heroes' fight against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. As previously mentioned, considering that she's dubbed to be the most powerful character in the MCU, Danvers will definitely a key role in the upcoming bout. While it remains to be seen how she fits in the franchise's narrative, her connection to Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. may reveal potential information that will help the Avengers in their final mission.

Like Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Danvers also sat out the events of Infinity War. Her whereabouts for the last two decades continue to be a mystery and something that is a favorite topic of conversation among fans. There are several theories regarding her current location. Since her adventures are mostly cosmic-based, many are convinced that she's in outer space. Another theory claims that she might be in the Quantum Realm similar to how Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) was trapped in the alternate dimension before she was saved in Ant-Man & the Wasp. Regardless of where she is, it's important for Marvel Studios to establish why she's been missing for the last two decades and how come she's unable to help the MCU heroes in their previous missions. Otherwise, it's odd that she's opted to not lend a helping hand when Earth was attacked by various threats in the past.

Based on what we've seen in the Captain Marvel trailers, it appears that Danvers also has a strong personality, and it will be interesting to see how the established MCU heroes take her on. Considering that they have no idea who she is and Fury is not around to brief them, chances are that the core Avengers will be skeptical about her. But we can expect all of them to eventually band together in accomplishing their common goal of defeating Thanos.

Captain Marvel Is Fury's Plan

The first-ever indication of Captain Marvel's existence in the MCU came via Infinity War's post-credit scene. Before Fury turned into dust after Thanos' snapped his fingers and wiped out half of life in the universe, he sent out a mysterious message using a beat-up beeper which we now know will also appear in the Captain Marvel movie. The former S.H.I.E.L.D. director was apparently reaching out to Danvers after her insignia appeared on the device, giving fans the impression that she's the universe's last hope. It's safe to say that wherever she is, she got the message, prompting her return to the spotlight to help on the ongoing crisis.

Despite the excitement for her arrival, mystery still clouds everything about Danvers, especially the notion that Fury waited so long to call Captain Marvel for her help. Over the last 10 years, the MCU has gone through some dire situations. Loki attempted to take over Earth with the aid of Thanos' Chitauri army as seen in The Avengers, and not long after that, Malekith the Dark Elf attempted merging realms, returning all reality to darkness in Thor: The Dark World. Even when the Avengers were compromised and on the brink of losing against Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Fury stayed put, letting them handle the situation themselves. For the most part, they always came through, but not this time as the Avengers were finally dealt their first real loss at the hands of the Mad Titan.

Whatever goes down in Captain Marvel may have driven Danvers from Earth - giving strict instructions to Fury to not call her unless it's absolutely necessary. And while he's seen dark times in the last decade, this is undoubtedly the worst he's encountered. On top of not knowing what's really going on, the Avengers are nowhere to be found with Stark even missing (though it's already been confirmed that Iron Man survives, at least at first). With no one to reach out to for help, Fury had no choice but to draw her out. Perhaps Danvers even warned Fury of a similar situation prompting to immediately resort to calling her just in time before he died.

Page 2 of 2: How Captain Marvel Appears In Avengers: Endgame & MCU's Future

Captain Marvel in the Quantum Realm with Thanos and Ant-Man

How Does Captain Marvel Get To The Future?

Since Captain Marvel's narrative will be set in 1995, it's curious how she eventually gets introduced in Avengers: Endgame, which takes place more than two decades after her origin story. There are several theories floating around regarding this matter, one of which claims that Danvers may be in the Quantum Realm. As explained by Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) in Ant-Man, the Quantum Realm is "a reality where all concepts of time and space become irrelevant." Granted that Janet aged in the alternate dimension, Kevin Feige noted that there are different layers to the Quantum Realm, and the deeper you get, the more laws of reality cease to apply. Considering that Ant-Man was trapped inside the Quantum Realm in Ant-Man & the Wasp, couple that with a separate theory linking Danvers' power to the alternate reality, she might come to his rescue prompting the both of them to get out.

Another hypothesis suggests that Captain Marvel may still be in the past, and since Avengers: Endgame will dabble in time travel, heroes might pick her up at some point in the past and bring her to the present day to help out with Thanos. This, however, will render Infinity War's post-credit scene useless as Danvers would be fetched, instead of her coming in to join the fight against Thanos after receiving Fury's message. Otherwise, she may just have been lurking in the shadows for the past two decades - perhaps she swore off conflict after getting caught in the Kree-Skrull war, and has been operating independently while keeping a low profile until she gets the call from her Fury.

Captain Marvel Is The Future of the MCU

It's no secret that Avengers: Endgame will be the final MCU movie for many characters, if not all founding Avengers. That means that Marvel Studios needs to introduce new faces of the franchise that can carry the torch moving forward, and Captain Marvel is one of them. Despite coming late to the game, she will eventually join Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) will be at the forefront of the film series after Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Captain America (Chris Evans) leave - either temporarily or permanently.

This only makes sense considering that she's the most powerful introduced in the franchise thus far. The decision to set her origin story before Iron Man implies that Marvel Studios is ensuring that she's a well-established figure in the franchise long before we find out about her. This way, it's easier for fans to buy into the idea that she'll take over from the beloved Phase 1 characters once the baton has been officially passed. After Infinity War, Earth's Mightiest Heroes' morale is at an all-time low. Perhaps with the help of a hero as powerful as Captain Marvel, they'll regain their confidence about taking down Thanos in Avengers: Endgame.