Back in April, while promoting the summer blockbuster Captain America: Civil War, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige teased that the cast and director for the studio's long-awaited Captain Marvel will be announced at some point this summer. Then in June, reports surfaced that actress Brie Larson, fresh off her Best Actress Oscar win for Room, was the studio's top choice, but her involvement was never confirmed. At the very end of the Marvel Studios Hall H panel, all of the cast members and filmmakers had gathered to take a huge Marvel family photo, when Kevin Feige revealed the newest member of the Marvel family, Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel. For those who couldn't make the journey to SDCC this year, we have video of this very special Hall H announcement.
Many had suspected that Marvel would make this news official at their Comic-Con panel, especially since Brie Larson was already confirmed to be in Hall H earlier on Saturday, as part of Warner Bros. panel which included Kong: Skull Island. What wasn't confirmed during this panel, however, is who will be directing Captain Marvel. Just before Brie Larson reportedly entered talks with Marvel for the Carol Danvers role, the studio was reportedly also in talks with acclaimed short film director Emily Carmichael to direct Captain Marvel, which would mark her feature film debut. Her involvement has never been confirmed at this time.
Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) are writing the script for Captain Marvel, but there is very little we know about the story yet. Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, first debuted in 1968's "Marvel Super-Heroes" #13. She was a U.S. Air Force security chief who is transformed into Captain Marvel following an explosion that involved Kree technology. Among Captain Marvel's powers are superhuman strength and the ability to fly after her DNA was infused with a Kree alien. It's possible that we could see Captain Marvel get her powers at some point during Avengers: Infinity War Part I, which arrives on May 3, 2018, 10 months before Captain Marvel debuts on March 8, 2019.
It's worth noting that Kevin Feige previously admitted that Captain Marvel was included in an early version of the Avengers: Age of Ultron script, but they didn't want to introduce her as a "fully-formed hero" before fans got to know how she came to be. However, Avengers: Infinity War directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo let it slip that Captain Marvel will be featured in Avengers: Infinity War, which starts shooting this coming November. It's certainly possible that Captain Marvel was cast this early so she could come aboard for Avengers: Infinity War, but that hasn't been confirmed at this time.
Brie Larson beat out a number of actresses who expressed their interest in the role early on, such as Ronda Rousey and Kathryn Winnick, with Emily Blunt once rumored for the role as well. Brie Larson won her first Oscar earlier this year for her performance in the indie drama Room. She will next be seen in indies such as Wiener-Dog, in theaters June 24, and Free Fire from director Ben Wheatley. She will also star in the highly-anticipated Kong: Skull Island, which hits theaters on March 10, 2017. Take a look at this new video from the end of Marvel's Hall H panel, where Brie Larson is announced as Captain Marvel, along with a photo Brie Larson tweeted out shortly after the panel.