Captain Marvel 2 has Officially Achieved Liftoff

Carol Danvers, better known as Captain Marvel, will soar again. Marvel’s 2019 hit that introduced Brie Larson’s half-alien superhero is getting the sequel fans have been waiting for. The Hollywood Reporter writes that the studio has is in final negotiations with rising star Megan McDonnell—currently a staff writer on Marvel’s WandaVision on Disney+—to draft the sequel.

Captain Marvel directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are not returning, however, but they are in talks with Marvel to direct a Disney+ series. This news helps answer why, during last summer’s San Diego Comic-Con, Captain Marvel 2 was not mentioned in Marvel’s Phase 4 planning; it’s because the sequel will likely drop in 2022, and everything Marvel announced in San Diego was for 2020 and 2021. Phew. Larson has been absolutely winning in the role (she’s appeared twice now, in Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame) and Captain Marvel is a character that could carry her own films well into Phase 5 and beyond.

Larson’s Captain Marvel made a big splash in the MCU when she arrived last March. Her origin story was deftly handled by Boden and Fleck (they co-wrote the script along with Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Nicole Perlman, and Meg LeFauve), giving us Carol Danvers backstory, both her earthly and cosmic connections and offered a tasty little twist to boot. When we next saw her, she’d become a crucial new member of the Avengers, arriving on the scene in the Russo Brothers Avengers: Endgame and ultimately helping turn the tide in the climactic final battle against Thanos.

It should also be noted that by tapping McDonnell to write the script, Marvel might also be signaling an important character in the sequel. WandaVision has a connection to the original Captain Marvel; Monica Rambeau (who was a child in the film) will appear as an adult in the Disney+ series. That makes us wonder if she’ll be a big part of Captain Marvel 2, along with her mom Maria (played by Lashana Lynch). In the comics, Monica Rambeau eventually takes over for Captain Marvel. Hmm.

As for who’s going to direct Captain Marvel 2, THR writes that Marvel is looking for a woman to take the helm. Whoever steers the sequel will be working on a film set in the present day, according to THR, but whether that means 2022 or whatever is the present for a galaxy-spanning superhero like Captain Marvel remains to be seen.

We’ll share more when we know more.

Featured image: Captain Marvel. Courtesy: Walt Disney Studios