Higher, further, faster: Captain Marvel 2 officially in development

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

In a move that will surprise absolutely no one, Disney's Marvel Studios has announced that CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 starring Brie Larson is officially in development. Since the film made over $400 million domestically and $1.1 billion at the global box office, a sequel involving Earth's newest Avenger was, as Thanos said in AVENGERS: ENDGAME, "inevitable." The adventures of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel was also a rousing success with critics and fans earning a 78% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and an "A" CinemaScore.

While Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck helmed the ship for Captain Marvel's first solo outing, the duo will not return for the sequel. Disney at this point is said to be looking for a female to take over directing duties, although there's no word on who exactly the House of Mouse is eyeing at this point. It's not all bad news for Boden and Fleck however. The pair are primed to take over an untitled Disney+ Marvel series. (She-Hulk maybe?)

Additionally, writer Megan McDonnell will pen the script for CAPTAIN MARVEL 2. McDonnell already has prior experience with Marvel having been part of the writing team for the upcoming series WandaVision. The sequel will not be set in the 1990s as the original was but in the present day. It's also important to note that the character of Monica Rambeau (played by child actresses Akira and Azari Akbar in CAPTAIN MARVEL) appears as an adult in WandaVision. Monica Rambeau is likely to show up in CAPTAIN MARVEL 2, although there's no word if Carol Danvers' best friend Maria Rambeau (played by Lashana Lynch) will return. If Maria does return it will be interesting to see how they approach it considering the character would be in her 50s and Lynch is thirty-two. I guess they could always go full prosthetic like with Cap in ENDGAME. Or perhaps Lynch actually plays the Monica character all grown up ala Michael J. Fox in BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II?

A key thing to note about this news is that CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 will NOT be part of Marvel's Phase IV. Phase IV will consist of Marvel films that release this year and in 2021. However, the CAPTAIN MARVEL sequel isn't expected until 2022. Marvel has three official release dates lined up for 2022: February 18, July 29, and October 7. Currently speculation predicts both BLACK PANTHER 2 AND ANT-MAN 3 will release in that same year. Going off of previous patterns, it's likely BLACK PANTHER 2 gets that February slot while ANT-MAN 3 grabs the July date. That leaves the October slot for CAPTAIN MARVEL 2. Obviously CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 is in the very early stages of pre-production and the MCU is fluid, so release dates are subject to change.

Are you guys hyped for a sequel to CAPTAIN MARVEL? Who do you think should direct Carol Danvers' newest adventure? Who should be the villain? Did you enjoy the first movie? Sound off in the comments below!