Who's Captain Marvel? More on the hero Brie Larson will play

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Warning: Infinity War spoilers ahead. 

We know Captain Marvel has her own movie coming next year, before the next Avengers film. And while we're still not certain where she falls in the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, we're pretty sure the movie will focus on her origin story from the '90s -- and that Avengers: Infinity War end-credits scene makes it super likely she'll appear in the next Avengers film.

The 2019 film Captain Marvel will star Brie Larson as the Carol Danvers version of the character, a version created in 1968 by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gene Colan. Her complicated comics backstory: She worked to become a high-ranking Air Force pilot before she quit to join the CIA and eventually NASA. While Larsen has not technically appeared in the MCU yet, we saw her logo in the Avengers: Infinity War end-credits scene.

What are Captain Marvel's powers?

In the comics, she's gone through some changes over the years, but the current version of Captain Marvel has these powers:

• Flight 
• Superhuman strength and durability 
• Energy manipulation: She can shoot energy blasts (and lasers) from her hands.
• Energy absorption: She can absorb energy, like lightning, and this absorption actually augments her other abilities, making her even more powerful.

Where did Captain Marvel get her powers?

In the comics she got her powers from a Kree alien named Mar-vell, who was the original Captain Marvel. (Kree are the same race as Ronan from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie.) 

Why should I care about the Captain Marvel movie?

Too easy! There are so many reasons to get hyped for this movie.

1. This will be Marvel's first female-led solo film after 20 films. There's a lot to live up to after the success of Wonder Woman and the last few MCU movies, which have seen their female characters being given much more to do. Ant-Man and the Wasp comes out in July, but Evangeline Lilly's Wasp shares the title with Paul Rudd's Ant-Man.

2. Captain Marvel is being played by Brie Larson. If you haven't seen her work, just go watch Room (not The Room) and you'll understand why we're ecstatic over this casting. 

3. It's set in the 1990s. Yep, this is only Marvel's second period piece after Captain America: The First Avenger, which took place during World War II in the 1940s. The filmmakers are sure to find clever ways to make use of the time period. Which leads to my next point...     

4. The cast: With a film set in the MCU in the 1990s, you have some awesome casting options. First off, Samuel L. Jackson will play a younger (two-eyed!) Nick Fury. Other standouts are Jude Law and Ben Mendelsohn, plus Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou are returning as Ronan and Korath, respectively (both seen in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie). But by far the most exciting casting news, at least for longtime MCU fans, is Clark Gregg returning as Agent Phil Coulson. Coulson was last seen in the first Avengers movies and on the latest episode of Agents of SH.I.E.L.D. 

5. The Skrulls! We know the Skrulls will be a key component of the story, an exciting moment for fans of the comics. The Skrulls are a race of shape-shifting aliens that can not only take on the appearance of anyone, but also the memories, personality and powers, making them virtually indistinguishable from any being they've copied.

Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments if you think we skipped any reasons we should be stoked about the first outing of this larger-than-life character. 

Captain Marvel is set for release on March 29, 2019. The next chapter in the MCU timeline is Ant-Man and the Wasp, coming July 18 of this year. And finally, the next Avengers movie arrives May 4, 2019.

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