Here's Why Captain Marvel Turned Mar-Vell Into A Woman

One of the biggest surprises in Captain Marvel had to do with some gender-swapping. Although people had been expecting Jude Law to be revealed as Mar-Vell, it was a totally different actor who actually took on the role. Interestingly, a woman actually came up with the idea of turning the Kree scientist into a woman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe flick.

Kevin Feige recently spoke to Entertainment Tonight about Captain Marvel. One of the first things that the Marvel Studios president discussed is the casting of Annette Bening as the Supreme Intelligence/Mar-Vell. Not surprisingly, Feige admitted that they didn't actually consider using Bening for the role until co-director Anna Boden came up with the idea.

"Frankly, as we were approaching shooting, we were casting male -- We were looking for a male Mar-Vell and developing the script at the same time, as we often do. We spoke to a few people, but as you've now seen in the movie, it's a limited role, because of the nature of the structure of the story. It was, I believe, Anna who came up with the suggestion in a script meeting that, 'Why don't make the S.I., the vision that she sees, Mar-Vell?'" Feige said.

Not surprisingly, the Marvel Studios head loved the thought because they had just cast Bening for the role of the Supreme Intelligence.

"The idea was just before we brought Annette on. So, it was relatively late in the development process and one of a handful of things that happened as the script was taking on its final form, that was an epiphany that Anna had, and it was like, 'Oh, of course! That's perfect!' And we stopped looking for another actor," he said.

We're certainly glad that it worked out for the film. It was definitely a practical move (they didn't need to look for another actor) and one that fits with Captain Marvel's girl power vibe (I've been told that Goose is supposed to be female as well).

Captain Marvel is currently screening in theaters worldwide.

Related: Kevin Feige Explains Touching Stan Lee Tribute In Captain Marvel