There are plenty of classic comic book superheroes that share lots of similarities. This is unfortunately just the nature of the beast when dabbling in the world of archetypes. Some of these similarities though come about merely because creators were trying cash in on a trend/craze, while others are just coincidental. Exactly which umbrella Marvel’s Captain Marvel or DC Comics’ Green Lantern would fall under is hard to say, but there’s no denying their similarities.
Strip away the complexities and minutiae, and both characters superhero origins involve high-flying US Air Force pilots gaining incredible powers when they came into contact with an alien artifact which prompts them to go off on cosmic adventures. And while most people would just like to forget that the Green Lantern movie actually exists, there are many that still do. And when Marvel eventually releases Captain Marvel, these folks are probably going to notice the comparisons. Which is why screenwriter Nicole Perlman is doing something about it.
Speaking on the Any Time With Vin Forte podcast, Perlman revealed that the story of Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel, is getting some tweaking.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a project where I’ve been more mindful about the impact that it could have and the importance of it. She’s such an incredibly kick-ass character and [comic book writer] Kelly Sue DeConnick did a great run with her story arc recently. But here’s the thing, if you were just going to do a straight adaptation of the comics, her origin story is very similar to Green Lantern. And obviously, that’s not what we want to do.
There’s a lot of reinvention that needs to happen. And also, she’s her own person and she’s a great character. We have to be aware of what’s happened in other Marvel films and makes sure that her particular storyline is unique and fun and also fits in within this world that’s going on at the same time. It’s a little bit of an interesting story gauntlet.”
Marvel have of course up to now shown themselves quite adept at adapting characters for the big screen, tweaking and merging comic book characters so that they fit in with the far-in-advance Marvel Cinematic Universe plan, while still the retaining the core essence of what makes them work in the first place. Case in point: Guardians of the Galaxy which Perlman provided the first screenplay draft for before handing over to writer/director James Gunn.
Marvel has yet to announce a director for Captain Marvel, but Perlman already has a writing partner in Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur scribe Meg LeFauve. Speaking about writing with somebody else like this, Perlman stated that “It’s been good to have a partner”. More than likely one of the benefits of Perlman sharing this gig, is that there’s a lot less pressure on just one set of shoulders to get this movie right. It’s the first female solo film for Marvel, who for the very first time in this comic book movie arms race will have found themselves lagging behind DC Comics since Wonder Woman is already set to debut next year (and looking fantastic). But Perlman believes that this is still a good project despite starting out the blocks a bit slower than the competition.
“It’s been an incredible experience. If we can pull it off it could be an incredibly important but also really fun and kick-ass superhero film.”
With Marvel Comics heavily pushing Captain Marvel as the premiere female comic book superhero in the universe for the last few years, it’s clear that they have huge faith in this movie too. The fact that they cast Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson in the title role tells you that they mean business here.
Captain Marvel is set for release on March 8, 2019.
Last Updated: August 12, 2016
