What’s up with the make-up? That’s what fans wanted to know after the second trailer for Avengers: Endgame, which finally added Captain Marvel into the manic mix of superheroes. Many noticed that in her solo outing, which was directed by a man and a woman, Carol Danvers didn’t wear much make-up, but in Endgame, which is directed by two men, she was glammed up. Questions arose regarding the perspectives of the different directors.
At the junket for Avengers: Endgame, one of those directors, Joe Russo, gave io9 his explanation. Russo said he and his brother Anthony offer suggestions to actors but the actors largely settle on individual character looks themselves. For example, the Russos may suggest to Chris Evans that he grow a beard but Evans decides how big that beard is. Or they suggest to Scarlett Johansson that Black Widow have a new haircut because time has passed, and Johansson decides on the style of the haircut. “We empower them to have control over their characters because they need to be comfortable playing those characters,” Russo said. And the same can be said for Carol Danvers’ look in Endgame.
“This was Brie’s first time playing the character ever,” Russo continued. “First day on set as the character ever. And those are the choices that she and her hair and makeup team made. I think as it approached the [Captain Marvel solo] film, [when] she started to think more about the character, she made other creative choices. But everyone should be given the right to have the freedom to make whatever creative choices they want to make. And those are the ones that she made that day with us.”
At the Endgame press conference, Larson confirmed the Avengers sequel did, in fact, film before Captain Marvel. She hadn’t even seen a full script for either, and therefore maybe didn’t quite have a full grasp on Carol Danvers just yet.
“[Endgame] will always be personally dear to me because it was my first time playing Captain Marvel,” Larson said. “We shot this first, so I had to stumble and figure out who this character was with no script for this and no script for Captain Marvel, and perform for the first time in front of legends.”
The writers of Endgame, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, explained how the whole situation of writing Captain Marvel for Endgame was slightly challenging. “It was fun, [but] it was odd in that not only is she in that movie but that movie is 20 years earlier,” Markus told io9. “You’re like ‘OK. Are we factoring in 20 years of experiences and changes to the character? Are we treating her just like the person in that movie?’ [There were] a lot of weird little factors.”
Thankfully, McFeely explained that Captain Marvel directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were on set when filming with Larson’s Captain Marvel started. “They watched their character start with someone else and we certainly got their blessing,” he said.
Avengers: Endgame, the first Captain Marvel performance but second appearance, opens April 24.