and offering a truce, and the movie flips the
whole notion of Skrulls — bad guys in the comics
since the 1960s — on its head. “We wanted the
bad guys and the good guys to have this grey
area,” says Boden. “It was important for Carol to
tap into her own humanity, but also find humanity
in others, and see that even in this pointy-eared,
scary-looking, green alien there is a humanity.”
This scene was one of the first they wrote for
Mendelsohn. And while it seems to be another
nod to Pulp Fiction and Samuel L. Jackson —the
scene where he drinks Frank Whaley’s soda —
again, that’s not the case. Right director, though.
“The inspiration for that moment comes from
Reservoir Dogs,” says Fleck. “The moment when
Mr Blonde shows, drinking a soda.”
JUDE LAWLESS
Another twist sees Jude Law’s Kree soldier, Yon-
Rogg, who has been Carol’s mentor throughout,
revealed as the film’s true nemesis, a narcissistic,
preening popinjay. The choice of a poster boy for
toxic masculinity in the MCU’s first solo female
superhero movie was not accidental. “That came CAPTAIN MARVELIS OUT NOW ON DVD, BLU-RAY AND DOWNLOAD
REVIEW
out of the writing, finding more and more ways to
relate it to our own experiences in everyday life as
women,” says Boden. Not for no reason does Carol
tell him, “I have nothing to prove to you,” before
sending his whimpering backside into deep space.CAROL SUITS UP
Having decided to give her costume an overhaul,
largely to reject her Kree background, Carol cycles
through some options, including a neon number
that would have rocked. “Kevin Feige wouldn’t let
us!” jokes Boden. The costume she settles on is
very faithful to the comic book design by
renowned artist, Jamie McKelvie. “It doesn’t have
the traditional sash,” adds Boden. Fleck explains
why: “In the comics, the sash implies movement. In
a movie, you don’t need to imply that.”SAVAGED BY A GOOSE
After much build-up, the cat, Goose, reveals itself as
a flerken, an alien that just looks like a cat. And has
tentacles. And pocket dimensions, which means it
can consume unwieldy items. “It seems like the
right moment,” says Fleck. Goose’s unique abilitiesmade him the film’s accidental star. “We knew he’d
break out,” says Boden. “As soon as we met Reggie
[the cat who played Goose], we knew. He’s adorable.
Sam [L. Jackson] was pissed about it. He’d say, ‘He’s
stealing my scenes!’”NOT-SO-SUPREME
Captured, Carol finds herself communing with
the Kree’s leader, an advanced AI known as The
Supreme Intelligence, which can’t resist gloating
over its imminent victory. That backfires massively,
of course, giving Carol the motivation to kick
Kree butt. Throughout the movie, the Supreme
Intelligence takes the form of whoever Carol
admires most — her mentor, Mar-Vell (Annette
Bening). It was nearly very different for this
sequence. “We experimented with concept art of
a big, green, giant floating head,” admits Fleck,
referencing the Supreme Intelligence of the comics.
“We eventually wanted to keep it more intimate and
personal for Carol.” Annette Bening over a giant CG
head? Not a difficult call. CHRIS HEWITT