'Captain Marvel' Won't Be Your Typical Superhero Origin Story

Origin movies are the bread and butter of the superhero movie genre. But while every superhero needs one, not all audiences want one. It may be because we've seen Peter Parker get bitten by a spider twice in the past two decades. Or because we've seen Bruce Wayne's parents shot in an alley about 80 million times — even in movies that aren't even about his origin. It's no surprise that a few superhero franchises are foregoing the origin story altogether — Spider-Man: Homecoming leapt right past it, Guardians of the Galaxy throws you right into the fray.

But there's no avoiding an origin story for Captain Marvel. Marvel's first solo female superhero is relatively unknown to mass audiences, and thus needs a proper introduction, including a classic origin movie. But the Captain Marvel origin story may be a little different than what you would expect.

We all know the basic beats to a superhero origin. The hero is a regular nobody with a sad past — either they're a nerd, an outcast, an orphan, or just an arrogant a**hole with a chip on their shoulder — who gets bitten by a radioactive animal, or gets toxic sludge spilled on them. Sometimes they go through a dramatic transformation through a hostage situation or an extraterrestrial encounter, but for the most part, origin stories are just a compulsory part of the hero's bigger picture.

But while Carol Danvers' (Brie Larson) origin in the comics is pretty cut-and-dry — an Air Force officer gets exposed to a Kree explosion — Captain Marvel producer Nate Moore promises that the film adaptation will be anything but.

In an interview with CinemaBlend, Moore said that Captain Marvel will feel different from all the typical superhero origin movie:

"I think there is a structure to origin films that audiences sometimes can get ahead of very quickly. So, if we do origin films, internally, we talk about how we can subvert that structure. For instance, Captain Marvel is an origin movie in that you haven't seen her before, but we think we've stumbled upon a structure there that isn't the traditional structure of what origin movies typically are, which is you meet the character, they have a problem, they get powers at the end of the first act, and the end of the second act they learn about the powers, the third act they probably fight a villain who has a function of the same powers.

That's a lot of times what a typical origin movie is structured like, but as we introduce new characters moving forward, we want to find ways to subvert that structure, so at least the experience of the film feels new to audiences. We're very conscious of making sure that audiences don't get things that feel like they've seen them before."

I'm positive that Captain Marvel will feel unique simply because it is a superhero movie about a woman. Wonder Woman's origin was incredibly familiar, but felt revolutionary because of the complex female cast and the utter sincerity with which director Patty Jenkins approached the story.

Carol Danvers "is a heroine that you haven't seen before," Moore added. And I believe him. If we could reach the sheer heights that Wonder Woman achieved last year, than Captain Marvel could be an incredible origin movie. Plus, who wouldn't want to go back to the '90s?