Four years after Marvel confirmed Captain Marvel would come to the MCU, we finally have our first look at the superhero in action. It was well worth the wait—for the wonderful ‘90s fashion and heroic action.
With Captain Marvel, Marvel is doing something it hasn’t done in a long time: introduce audiences to a brand new hero. The film also marks the first time ever that a Marvel movie has been led by a female, so it’s a significant release in that regard.
There are a few things to know before you watch the trailer: Captain Marvel isn’t an origin story, and it features a few familiar faces, including Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. You’ll notice that in the movie he has two good eyes, so we’ll probably find out how he got his eyepatch.
Also know that this is just an introduction to Captain Marvel. If you saw Avengers: Infinity War, then you know that she was teased in the film’s post-credits scene. Marvel has already confirmed that she’s the most powerful character they’ve ever introduced, and that she’ll play a big part of Avengers 4.
The trailer kicks off with Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers (a.k.a. Captain Marvel) falling from space and crashing onto a Blockbuster Video—a nice touch that immediately dates the movie.
It’s unclear how far into the movie this take place, but since she already has her powers, it probably happens when she comes back to Earth.
“War is a universal language,” Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury says in a voice over. “I know a renegade soldier when I see one. Never occurred to me one might come from above.”
Danvers walks around a subway, looking as though she’s experiencing the outside world for the first time. That becomes a theme throughout the trailer. Although she’s from Earth, she seems to have little to no recollection of her time there, which begs the question: how long has she been away?
We find Danvers now entering into a secret lab wearing decidedly ‘90s fashion. It’s hard to tell where she is, but the next scene sees Fury and two other characters dissecting a body of a Skrull warrior.
Fury’s voiceover continues as the trailer cuts between a spaceship appearing in Earth’s atmosphere, while a car chase unfolds in a busy city.
Then we see Danvers’ Captain Marvel in action, as she effortlessly scales a moving train and projects energy beams from her hands. Notice that she’s still wearing her green Kree military uniform, rather than the iconic red and blue suit she’s known for. It’s hard to tell which city is in the background, but it looks like Los Angeles.
Fury talks about nearly quitting his job at S.H.I.E.L.D., but decides against it after meeting Captain Marvel. The trailer doesn’t reveal how the two initially cross paths, but they wind up developing an important relationship.
We then start to see more of Danvers’ life before she came back to Earth. We see her on the Kree planet of Hala, where she’s a prominent figure in a military group known as Starforce.
Curiously, as Danvers is interacting with Fury, she talks about old memories she has of her time on Earth—the trailer cuts between Danvers going through training as an Air Force pilot and when she was much younger. We also get a quick look at Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), one of her oldest friends and a fellow Air Force pilot.
“I think I had a life here,” Danvers tells Fury.
Then the trailer cuts to Danvers, possibly back with the Kree, in some machine that could be brainwashing her, which could explain why she has no memory of Earth. We cut to her with Starforce, where we get a good look at Jude Law’s character, although Marvel still refuses to acknowledge his character’s name.
“We have no idea of what threats are out there,” Fury says, as we get a quick glimpse at Skrull invaders on a beach.
Captain Marvel looms over an elderly lady on a train and then clocks her in the head. It’s a shocking moment, until you realize that the Skrull are capable of shape-shifting, which means it must be a moment when Danvers finds one disguised as a human.
A quick shot of what looks like Ronan (Lee Pace) looking over Earth, followed by a shot of Clark Gregg’s Phil Coulson. We then see Captain Marvel with her Starforce team on an underwater mission. The effect of them underwater looks super cool, with them using some kind of technology that allows them to see and breath without bulky equipment.
The shot also gives us a look at Danvers wearing her helmet and sporting a mohawk, which comic fans will love.
We find Danvers back on Earth in a woodsy area where she takes the full power of an explosion. This could be a brief memory when Danvers gained her incredible powers—perhaps she found an ancient Kree artifact?
As the trailer concludes, we get a shot of Captain Marvel fully at the height of her power while wearing her iconic red and blue suit. Whoever she’s facing off against doesn’t stand a chance.
Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 8, 2019.
