Who will play the lead in Marvel Studios' first female solo superhero movie? It's a very important and timely question given the industry and studio's push towards expanding diversity in their roster of superheroes just as they are in Marvel Comics.
When Marvel hosted a media and fan event last Fall to unveil the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 3 schedule of films, several long-awaited characters were announced to be getting their own movies; Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel. Out of these and the upcoming sequels to established properties, Captain Marvel is the only project without its star cast but news on that front could be coming sooner than you'd think.
Just last week reports had Disney and Marvel already looking at potential shooting locations in Australia for Captain Marvel and Thor: Ragnarok but yesterday it was confirmed that the latter would shoot stateside in Atlanta where the studio is now producing most of its films going forward. We expect Captain Marvel will shoot in Atlanta as well, but what really matters is the question of who will play the character of Carol Danvers and when she may first be introduced in the MCU.
HH is claiming they heard a rumor, although unconfirmed, that Rebecca Ferguson is of interest to Marvel Studios as being their top ideal choice to play Danvers. We can't tell at this point if the initial source is just speculating based on the obvious star potential of Ferguson after she stole the show in this summer's hit Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation or if Marvel has actually spoken with her reps.
Ferguson's performance in the well-received and financially successful fifth M:I film immediately skyrocketed her to the top of the A-list and she quickly became a top contender for Twentieth Century Fox in their search for a female lead to star opposite Channing Tatum in the X-Men spinoff Gambit. She reportedly dropped out of the process to star alongside Emily Blunt in The Girl On The Train but if she had a choice between a superhero role in Gambit or playing Captain Marvel, the latter is far better choice given that such a role would involve many high profile films, including the two-part Avengers: Infinity War saga in 2018-19.
There's no rush at this point for Marvel Studios to cast Captain Marvel since it doesn't begin shooting until 2017, unless of course the studio is aiming to introduce Carol Danvers earlier in the franchise as a (non-superpowered) military officer similar to her Marvel Comics origin story. We suggested that Captain America: Civil War would be a good spot for Danvers to cameo should Marvel be looking to plant more seeds for the future.
Danvers has served as one of the most important Avengers over the last decade of comics, especially in recent years since dropping the Ms. Marvel codename to take the mantle of Captain Marvel. She co-leaders The Avengers with Captain America and can eventually serve as character who can bridge elements of the Marvel cosmic (Guardians of the Galaxy) to the Earth-based stories of The Avengers. For more, check out our lengthy analysis of what we know about Captain Marvel from earlier this year
And for those worried about hair color, Ferguson sported blonde hair in 2013's The White Queen.
More: Captain Marvel Co-Writer On Crafting A ‘Strong Female Superhero’
Captain America: Civil War opens in theaters May 6, 2016; Doctor Strange – November 4, 2016; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – May 5, 2017; Spider-Man– July 28, 2017; Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017; The Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 – May 4, 2018; Black Panther– July 6, 2018; Captain Marvel – November 2, 2018; The Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 – May 3, 2019; Inhumans – July 12, 2019.
Source: HH
Captain Marvel art by Kay Fix.