Captain Marvel Stars Hilariously Sing A Star Is Born's 'Shallow'

Screen Rant

By Quinn Hough

Published Mar 3, 2019

Captain Marvel's Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson recently performed a dramatic rendition of the song “Shallow." Find out which star can wail.

Ahead of Captain Marvel’s theatrical release, Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson recently performed a dramatic rendition of the song “Shallow." While neither performer is known for their singing in feature films, one of them appears to have the necessary range and tone to carry a Hollywood musical.

In the 2018 film A Star Is Born, “Shallow” is performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. During a pivotal moment in the film’s first act, Cooper’s rock star character Jackson Maine invites Gaga’s Ally on stage to perform a song she briefly sings when the characters first meet and discuss songwriting. The moment sparks A Star Is Born’s primary narrative, as Ally becomes a star while Jackson slowly declines. Directed by Cooper, A Star Is Born is the fourth remake of the original 1937 film with the same name. The 2018 version received eight Oscar nominations, including one for Best Original song. Earlier this month, Cooper and Gaga performed a live version of “Shallow” at the 2019 Academy Awards, which matched the film’s melodrama.

Captain Marvel’s Larson and Jackson recently sang a brief portion of “Shallow” on The Jonathan Ross Show, a British comedy talk show. In the clip, both performers match the intensity of Gaga and Cooper, with their body symmetry mirroring the recent Oscar performance. But it’s Larson who steals the show, as she not only looks like Gaga with her blonde hair, but also shows remarkable range while comedically belting about the song’s chorus. Larson ends by exclaiming, “I don’t know the other words!,” however it’s more than clear that she’s performed the song once or twice before. Despite the inherent comedy of the moment, the performance led Ross to simply state “Wow,” and not in a snarky manner. Check out the full clip below.

In Captain Marvel, Larson portrays Carol Danvers, a Marvel character who first appears in the 1968 comic Marvel Super-Heroes #13. As for Jackson, he reprises his franchise role as Nick Fury, although the film’s 1995 setting flips the script on the character’s storyline and required that Jackson be digitally de-aged. Larson and Jackson starred together in the 2017 monster film Kong: Skull Island, and they collaborated for the upcoming Netflix comedy Unicorn Store, which marks the directorial debut of Captain Marvel’s leading lady.

Believe it or not, Brie Larson actually has a musical past, having released a 2005 solo album called Finally Out of P.E., along with a music video for the single “She Said.” Based on her recent “Shallow” performance, maybe Larson needs to consider a music-themed film project in the future. For now, though, Captain Marvel is her and Jackson's priority.