One of the biggest mysteries about Carol Danvers’ role in Avengers 4 has just been answered by the new Captain Marvel trailer. Brie Larson will make her MCU debut as one of the most powerful Marvel heroes ever in just a few months, before reappearing on the big screen in Avengers 4. The two movies are separated by just two months in real time, but in the MCU continuity, there will be a gap of more than 20 years.
Although this can be extended if the time jump rumors for Avengers 4 are proven to be true, the bulk of the gap comes on Captain Marvel’s end. In order to tell Carol’s origin without worrying about most of the MCU’s ongoing canon, Marvel Studios and directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are going to introduce Carol in the 1990s - 1995 to be exact. This decision came as a surprise, but fans have been debating what it means for Carol’s Avengers 4 role and look ever since. One of the most common beliefs was that be brought to the future through time travel, although the cleaner explanation suggested by many is that Carol’s nearly identical look will come from slowed aging thanks to her half-Kree DNA.
Thanks to the new trailer for Captain Marvel, it is finally confirmed that Marvel is taking the latter approach. Annette Bening’s mystery character lays out part of Carol’s MCU origin by confirming the Kree found and rescued Carol in a state of need and without a memory. She goes on to say, “We made you one of us. So you could live longer, stronger, superior. You were reborn” It is the middle of this statement that contains the piece of information fans have been looking for, with Bening’s character confirming that Carol will now live longer than regular humans and age at a slower rate.
With Captain Marvel taking this route for Carol, it will mean that she’ll have barely aged at all between the time of her accident and when she arrives back on Earth. The events of her solo movie are not expected to span too much time either, although it is also unknown how long ago her accident was and how long she’s been working with the Starforce as a result. Even if that is a few years, Carol looks to have barely aged a day. Jumping forward another twenty years or more to Avengers 4’s place in time may not change her look too much either. But the more important aspect of her slowed aging is that it means Carol can still be alive, active, and very much in her prime when she gets Nick Fury’s page.
This is probably the best way for her character arc to go too. While there will be years of unknown adventures for Carol, it means that she won’t have to be added to the Avengers 4 lineup via time travel. This would line-up with how Scott Lang is expected to escape the Quantum Realm and how Avengers 4 is expected to see the heroes travel back to previous movies, but may be too tight a connection between the movies that will be entering a heavy marketing push at the same time. Thankfully this does not need to be an issue with Carol’s slowed aging that Captain Marvel is introducing, and we can finally say one question pertaining to Avengers 4 has been answered.
MORE: Captain Marvel: Every Update You Need To Know
- captain marvel Release Date: 2019-03-08 The Avengers 4 Release Date: 2019-04-26 spider-man homecoming 2 Release Date: 2019-07-02
