In the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the origin story reigned supreme. Alas, times have changed, and the format of these movies has changed with it. That's something that audiences will see with the release of Captain Marvel next year, as Marvel producer Nate Moore recently opened up to CinemaBlend while talking about Black Panther's home release and explained that Carol Danvers' solo movie will feel very different from a typical origin story. Specifically, he noted that the progression of Carol Danvers' arc will feel different from what we've seen before, and the structure of the story will have a lot to do with that. According to the Marvel producer:
I think there is a structure to origin films that audiences sometimes can get ahead of very quickly. So, if we do origin films, internally, we talk about how we can subvert that structure. For instance, Captain Marvel is an origin movie in that you haven't seen her before, but we think we've stumbled upon a structure there that isn't the traditional structure of what origin movies typically are, which is you meet the character, they have a problem, they get 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. That's a lot of times what a typical origin movie is structured like, but as we introduce new characters moving forward, we want to find ways to subvert that structure, so at least the experience of the film feels new to audiences. We're very conscious of making sure that audiences don't get things that feel like they've seen them before.
While Nate Moore wouldn't actually explain the specific differences between Captain Marvel and movies like Iron Man or Doctor Strange, he did offer up some valuable pieces of information about the upcoming origins --but maybe not so usual origins-- film. Captain Marvel won't follow those well-worn origin story beats of the hero discovering his or her powers, learning to use the powers, and then fighting a villain with similar powers. It's still an origin story because it will explore the origins of Captain Marvel in the MCU, but he says it won't be quite as predictable or follow the same notes as other stories like this.
From what he told me, it also sounds like the setting will factor into the flavor of the Captain Marvel origin story, as well. Nate Moore continued his conversation with CinemaBlend and explained that the 1990s setting would similarly help make it feel like a unique narrative compared to other Marvel origin stories of a similar ilk. Moore explained:
I think the way the film opens is much different than an origin movie, and because she is a heroine that you haven't seen before, we're able to tell this story structurally in a way that will feel unexpected and hopefully will keep audiences off balance. Still balanced enough that they can enjoy the film, but even just making it a period film is sort of interesting in that it's not just a function of the world as we know it in the MCU today.
Warning: spoilers ahead for Avengers: Infinity War! Read ahead at your own risk!
Of course, it's also worth mentioning the fact that Captain Marvel does have the bonus of Avengers: Infinity War's lone post-credits scene. Nick Fury calls the seasoned hero to action at the end of Infinity War after Thanos unleashes the power of the Infinity Stones, and we see her logo pop up on the screen in the movie's final moments. We don't see the heroine at that moment, but it should help to lay the groundwork for her eventual arrival.
End of Infinity War spoilers.
We aren't getting into specifics about Captain Marvel's plot beyond basic character information and setting at this point, but the movie is filming right now, and Captain Marvel will official bow for audiences next year on March 8. For now, make sure to catch Avengers: Infinity War in theaters, and pick up your copy of Black Panther on Digital HD, Blu-ray, or DVD today!
