Brie Larson almost didn't take Captain Marvel role

I’m not sure if Robert Downey Jr. realized what he was getting into with Iron Man, but Brie Larson did with Captain Marvel, and it almost kept her from stepping into the role.

“I spent months thinking about whether or not I was going to do the film,” Larson said in a recent interview with Porter Magazine. “And I realized that it was a chance to tell a story on the largest scale possible.”

Stepping into the shoes of a Marvel character in a live-action film these days is, simply put, a life-changing decision. If you sign on with Marvel, you’re busy for the next decade.

“I know it is going to make me lose some of the things I love most about my life,” Larson continued. “But I think it’s worth it.”

“I couldn’t deny the fact that this movie is everything I care about, everything that’s progressive and important and meaningful, and a symbol I wished I would’ve had growing up,” she told Vanity Fair earlier this year. Captain Marvel will be the first female-led Marvel film, which means a big burden for Larson as she begins filming in February.

The movie takes the MCU back to the 1990s, and features Captain Marvel – Carol Danvers – battling Skrulls, a shapeshifting alien race that acts as a frequent enemy for Marvel heroes – alongside the recently-absent Nick Fury. And don’t be surprised if some beloved Marvel character turns out be a Skrull!

Captain Marvel is set to hit theaters in March 2019, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see her pop up in the sequel to Avengers: Infinity War, too. The film is being directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, with Geneva Robertson-Dworet writing.