Taking on the role of Captain Marvel in the MCU wasn't an easy decision for star Brie Larson, who has revealed why she almost turned the part down. Larson made her Marvel debut as Carol Danvers in 2019's Captain Marvel, and has since starred in Avengers: Endgame and The Marvels. Despite winning an Oscar in 2016, it was her Marvel role that made Larson a household name.
Brie Larson has made it known over the years that accepting the role of Captain Marvel wasn't an instant yes for her, but she's now revealed the exact reason why she almost rejected the part. While on a panel at Space Con in San Antonio (shared via @spideysbrie on X), Larson said she was "really nervous about saying yes" and had to sit down with a list to understand why. She realized that her apprehension was not about the part, but instead a fear "about all the things that would come after," as Marvel films are roles on a global stage akin to almost no other:
"I was offered the role of Captain Marvel and I was really nervous about saying yes to it. I had to sit down, I literally sat down with a piece of paper, and wrote down why it made me so scared to say yes. And what I realized in doing that is it had nothing to do with Carol, it had nothing to do with the film or the opportunity itself. I was really an introvert and I was very worried about all the things that would come after."
Larson listed her fears, including a "lack of privacy" and "stage fright" from being in such a large spotlight.
"I was worried about lack of privacy. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to have a voice or I'd have stage fright doing something like this, and I felt like I'd let people down, and I wouldn't be a person anymore if I did it."
The MCU actress then joked that she would "need a therapist," before explaining that her method to overcome this hesitancy was to use the time between accepting the part of Captain Marvel and the movie's release to "figure out what matters to be in my life."
Larson said it was important for her to still be able to "go to the grocery store" because it was crucial to her acting process of "playing real human beings that you relate to." The star added that once she'd figured this out, she was able to "take the big bite that I was afraid to take:"
"Once I broke it down, I was able to go, ok, looks like I need a therapist [laughs]. And I was able to say, ok, well, I know when this movie is coming out, I've got a couple of years. That gives me three years of a runway to figure out what matters to me in my life, what I'm gonna protect, what's going to be private for me.
And to also make sure that I always have the right to go to the grocery store, I have the right to go to an art museum, because I want to keep playing real human beings that you relate to for the rest of my life. And for me, the only way that I feel that I can do that is if there are parts of my life where I just get to be, you know, the person that's annoying you in line, like I want the right to be that. So once I was able to figure that out, I was able to do the thing that I love and take the big bite that I was afraid to take."
Larson has previously spoken about her hesitancies around her MCU role, notably how her fear of failure led to her intense exercise regimen to play Captain Marvel. However, she is also an example of what success can come from pushing through that fear.
The actress once said that she wanted to "create a symbol" for others to feel empowered with Captain Marvel, which clearly resonated after her solo film became a billion-dollar blockbuster for the MCU. Despite waves of toxic backlash to her portrayal of Carol Danvers, Larson has endured the noise and continued to portray Captain Marvel with the same steadfast commitment, earning her character a key spot among the Avengers.
What Is Brie Larson's Future In the MCU?
Since she accepted the Captain Marvel role in 2016, Brie Larson has appeared as her character seven times, including leading two major studio films. While The Marvels did not reach the heights of Captain Marvel, the character is reportedly still a priority for Marvel Studios.
While Larson's name did not appear on the back of a chair in the official Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement, rumors are still rampant that Captain Marvel is a part of the next Avengers film (which Larson has artfully dodged answering).
Larson's character is one of the strongest out of the Avengers, and could be a key weapon in the fight against Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. Adding to that is Carol's connection with Monica Rambeau, who was stuck in an alternate timeline after the events of The Marvels, leaving her with a crowd of unfamiliar X-Men (who are confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday). This ties the plot of Larson's second major MCU film to that of Avengers 5, making it very likely that her character will be involved somehow.
