Brie Larson might be leaving her “Captain Marvel” character behind, as a new report claims the MCU actress is disillusioned with the backlash her role has been receiving.
Larson first appeared as Carol Danvers in 2019's “Captain Marvel,” which ended up grossing over $1 billion at the worldwide box office. However, she’s been at the forefront of some brutal backlash.
According to MCU writer, Joanna Robinson, via The Watch podcast, Marvel is preparing for Larson’s exit and is planning a “soft reboot” of the MCU with 2025’s “Avengers: Secret Wars”:
"[Marvel Studios] put Brie Larson in [a prominent place in the MCU]. I don't know if Brie Larson was the wrong person for the role, necessarily. But the toxic backlash means that Brie Larson doesn't want to play Carol Danvers anymore."
Last week, I published the long-range tracking for “The Marvels,” which was way below expectations. The film could lose a lot of money, but is it necessarily Larson’s fault?
The future of Marvel is not necessarily up in the air. Boss Kevin Feige has hinted that the 32 movies released so far “barely scratched the surface” of what he wants to further accomplish.
However, Larson’s departure would come off franchise anchors like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and, sadly, Chadwick Boseman also leaving their respective superhero suits. The ‘Guardians of the Galaxy‘ cast are also Goners.
Still, if you’re wondering where all this hate for Larson comes from, it seems to stem from her vocally political activism. For example, she once whined that Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time” garnered bad reviews because the majority of film critics are “older white dudes.”
Larson is a gender equality activist. She’s, many times, used her fame to speak out on social and political issues, asserting, "I'd put it all on the line and be an activist for the rest of my life because it doesn't feel right to me to be quiet."
In 2018, Larson also collaborated to set up the now defunct Time's Up initiative to protect women from harassment and discrimination. Larson has made it one of the core principles in her career to speak up.
Marvel's "Ghost Rider" just hired one of the best cinematographers working today. Linus Sandgren will serve as DP on Shawn Levy's MCU flick, and, most notably, the project will be shot on film.