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There have been a lot of rumors about who Marvel wants to play Carol Danvers in the upcoming Captain Marvel movie. Some of them have been great. Jennifer Lawrence, Emily Blunt, Battlestar Galactica‘s Katee Sackhoff or even Chuck star Yvonne Strahovski come to mind. And some have been not so great, including the very fan-driven rumor about Ronda Rousey, who found a much better role by signing on to a remake of Road House. The problem with someone like Ronda Rousey is that while she’s plenty tough, she’s not a good actress. The role of Carol Danvers will require an actress that can support the dramatic weight of the character. She’s not just big, strong fighter. She’s a rather normal sized human, a former pilot on the Air Force, who has been given the gift of flight, superhuman strength and the ability to absorb and dispense large amounts of energy. She’s closer in powers to Superman or Green Lantern, with plenty of skills as a pilot and an agent of espionage. She’s also quite charming, but is not without strong leadership and diplomatic skills.
The casting of such a character for Marvel’s cinematic universe could be the most important since they cast Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. They don’t need a blockbuster name (Downey was known, but wasn’t massive at the time of Iron Man), but they do need someone that will feel natural in the role and be able to elevate the character with a quality performance. This is why the most prominent names you are seeing are actresses with big dramatic resumes, such is the case with Lawrence or Blunt.
The latest rumor, which came to light this week via Heroic Hollywood, gives an indication that Marvel is on the right track. It’s now being reported that Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and The White Queen star Rebecca Ferguson has risen to the top of the studio’s list for Carol Danvers.
The rumor itself has already been well received. As Devin Faraci explains at Birth.Movies.Death, Ferguson recently turned down the female lead in the upcoming Gambit movie, which would be a sign that she’s looking for something more significant:
“It was a star-making turn and she was instantly courted by everybody in Hollywood, with Fox taking a run at her for Gambit. Wisely she turned the role down… but would she turn down any role at all? Carol Danvers is a juicy part, and a franchise lead. It’s the kind of foundational role that allows an actor to really do whatever else they want in between film, especially in a post-Ike Perlmutter world where maybe salaries get a little higher.”
As our own Jack Giroux pointed out in his review of Rogue Nation, Ferguson is more than worth a little more attention (and salary) to lead a franchise:
If Rogue Nation ended with some explosive, epic action, it would’ve been exhausting. Plus, because of the foot chase, there’s more time to spend watching Rebecca Ferguson and Cruise act together. Ferguson has a magnetic presence. In the opera house sequence, she’s wearing an extraordinary dress that McQuarrie and DP Robert Elswit just revel in, and it has an almost dreamlike effect. Ferguson’s performance is both fierce and vulnerable. If it wasn’t for the rest of the cast all being on their A-game, she would’ve stolen this movie.
Any performer who can hold serve next to Tom Cruise is someone who can lead a major superhero franchise. That’s why this particular rumor is going to find nothing but supporters from the pool of people who saw Rogue Nation. Hopefully there’s truth to it and Marvel gets Ferguson to sign on an lead their first major franchise that’s female-led. They should probably get moving, as DC’s Wonder Woman is reportedly shooting this fall.
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