Marvel has made it official: Academy Award-winning actress Brie Larson will play Captain Marvel in the studio’s first female-led film.
Marvel made the announcement Saturday night during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con. Shortly after, Larson herself tweeted, “Call me Captain Marvel.”
Larson has been rumored to be taking the part since June. The superheroine role will mark quite a change for the indie darling actress, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of a woman held captive with her young son in 2015’s “Room.”
It wasn’t always clear the film would center on a female iteration of the Captain Marvel character — an Air Force officer who acquires superpowers. Then in 2014, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige put speculation to rest at a publicity event when he said “I want to make it very clear: This hero’s name is Carol Danvers.”
The standalone Captain Marvel film is being planned for the third phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is currently set to debut in March 2019.