Brie Larson had a hand in turning the story of the Skrulls around in 2019’s Captain Marvel. In the comics, Skrulls are wicked creatures who invade planets in secret using their shapeshifting abilities to infiltrate and overtake whole worlds. As devious as that sounds, the Skrulls in the movie were portrayed as victims.
The change that happened pertaining to the Skrulls in Captain Marvel indeed altered the future of the MCU. Brie Larson helped the writers gain a new perspective of the characters, eventually giving more substance to the story.
Why Skrulls Weren’t Really Evil In Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel
In the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, the Skrulls were revealed as refugees. Writer Nicole Perlman stated:
“It was really important that the Skrulls weren’t actually the bad guys; they were refugees.”
The major twist in Captain Marvel was that the Skrull leader and villain, Talos (played by Ben Mendelsohn), was not really the bad guy. He and his people were actually victims. As it turns out, Yon-Rogg and the Kree were the evil men who hunted down and killed Skrulls who refused to yield.
Perlman also shared that Brie Larson was a major factor in this character modification. She was so amazed by the actress’ trait that she had to incorporate it into the story and turn it into something remarkable. The writer further added:
“When Meg [LeFauve] and I first met Brie, we were just so bowled over by her empathy. I think that was the first time we started talking about empathy as a superpower, just being impressed by how Brie Larson really gives a sh*t.”
The Skrulls portrayed as victims was confirmed by Mendelsohn in his interview with Entertainment Weekly:
“We gotta deal with the Kree. The Kree are punks. And the Skrulls, I mean, we’re just misunderstood. At the end of the day, the Skrull is really misunderstood. Look, I don’t want to curse in print or anywhere else, but if I could, I would about the Kree.”
Mendelsohn seems to have so much hate for the Kree, and that’s the point – Skrulls are portrayed differently in Captain Marvel, and they weren’t evil all along.
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Captain Marvel Directors Explain Why The Skrull Twist Was Important
While Captain Marvel initially marketed the Skrulls as the movie’s main villains, co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck noted how important it is to show humanity as the core theme of the film. Boden explained to the Empire Film podcast:
“We knew from the beginning that this was so much about Carol’s journey towards finding her own humanity, but part of that is seeing humanity in other people even people you don’t expect to.”
The part where Carol Danvers realizes her mistake was a humbling experience, and it brought out so much more from the story. The director continued:
“The idea of having Carol go through that journey and seeing the unexpected humanity in Skrulls, realizing that she’s been wrong, and having to face that was really powerful for us. If we can make an audience member have that same experience of assuming that they were one thing and having their expectations subverted, we thought that would just be all the more powerful.”
Captain Marvel sent out a message that there is power in empathy and humility. The change in the description of the Skrulls in the movie definitely altered the course of the franchise.
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