Samuel L. Jackson Admits He Made Up Captain Marvel’s Time Traveling

Nick Fury talking to Carol Danvers

It's a very exciting time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are just two movies left in Phase Three, with over a decade of filmmaking coming to a head when Avengers: Endgame finally arrives in theaters. The surviving heroes will have to unite with some new faces in order to fight Thanos after his finger snap of death wiped out half the galaxy. Assistance will come from Ant-Man and Captain Marvel, with the latter being described as the most powerful hero in the MCU.

Captain Marvel's powers will finally be revealed in her solo movie this weekend, before she crosses over in Endgame a month later. It's unclear how the Avengers will be able to reverse Thanos' snap, although time travel has been a common theory. This was given extra wight when Samuel L. Jackson teased that Carol Danvers could time travel during press for Captain Marvel. But now he's admitting he was pulling our leg, recently saying:

I made stuff up. I said she could time travel one time. I was just blowing smoke. It was actually a mistake, we were tired, end of the day, they had a bunch of people on set... They bring reporters to set and you're working all day and they want you to stop in the middle of the day and go talk to a table full of people for no reason. It's like, ‘really?’

Well, that puts one rumor to bed. Captain Marvel isn't typically a character who could hop around time and space. So Samuel L. Jackson admitting he was messing around will no doubt help to calm the nerves of hardcore comic book fans who took umbrage with this bold change in the canon.

Samuel L. Jackson told the truth during an appearance on Kroq radio alongside Captain Marvel co-stars Brie Larson, Ben Mendelsohn, and Clark Gregg. When doing press for the upcoming Marvel blockbuster, it turns out that Jackson accidentally made his time traveling comments out of mere exhaustion. It seems to have its origin in a set visit, and then snowballed as the news hit the internet, and Marvel fans began collectively losing their minds.

Aside from making Captain Marvel even more powerful than she's already rumored to be, giving Carol Danvers time traveling abilities would have presumably had major implications for the events of Avengers: Endgame. Time travel seems all but inevitable in the upcoming ensemble film, especially as reports from the set indicated a return to The Battle of New York from The Avengers. While many believed this would be accomplished through Ant-Man's exposure to The Quantum Realm, Samuel L. Jackson's comments about Captain Marvel made things all the more confusing.

Nick Fury laughing

The talks about Captain Marvel’s time traveling powers dumbfounded comic book fans. Marvel Studios had already been hyping up just how incredibly overpowered Carol Danvers was, so having her be able to manipulate time and space without the Time Stone seems like it might be overkill. But it turns out that Samuel L. Jackson was messing around all along.

Samuel L. Jackson first mentioned Captain Marvel’s apparent time traveling skills during a set visit for Captain Marvel. When speaking about Carol Danver’s mass powers and influence over the greater MCU, Jackson said:

She's pretty much the strongest character -- in terms of someone with powers are able to do things -- in the Marvel universe. So, for Carol Danvers to be that person and for Brie to become that person, it's gonna be a dynamite thing. I mean, [the Avengers] are up against some really, really tough odds right now -- we saw throughout Infinity War -- so now we know that we need something that's as powerful as Thanos. And at some point, we'll find out how powerful she is and all the things that she's capable of. She's one of the few people in the Marvel universe that can time travel, so…

His final line is the one that started it all, and began endless fan theories. With Marvel Studios keeping its cards so close to the chest in the year between Infinity War and Endgame, it seemed like anything was possible. Samuel L. Jackson has a role in both Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home, so he’s privy to more information than the average joe.

Samuel L. Jackson added more fuel to the fire in a separate interview, as the road to Captain Marvel went on. In a separate comment, Jackson once again teased Carol's ability to travel through time, and even directly teased its connection to Nick Fury's end-credits scene from Avengers: Infinity War. He expanded, saying:

I guess we might figure out that she can do things that nobody else can do. She can time travel so maybe she can get ahead or behind or whatever, and figure out what all that is. The fact I have the pager 20 years later – it gets addressed in an interesting sort of way.

With two separate quotes on the books, it seemed like Captain Marvel would be popping through various time periods throughout the MCU, possibly serving as the catalyst the heroes' victory in Endgame. But now Samuel L. Jackson has clarified his comments, revealing he was joking the whole time. That realization should illicit a variety of reactions from the fandom. Comic purists will be relived that the character wasn't being changed in such a major way, while other fans might be tiffed that they'd been sold a false bill of goods. But Jackson has been in the MCU for a long time, and he's not usually one for spoiling movie's contents. So why would he start now?

Luckily for moviegoers, answers are finally on their way. Captain Marvel will arrive in theaters this week on March 8th, and Avengers: Endgame will follow suit on April 26th. Sam Jackson will also help kickstart Phase Four with Spider-Man: Far From Home July 5th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.