Captain Marvel–Two tie-in books arrive as latest MCU film hits theaters

As the last Marvel Cinematic Universe film arrives in theaters before the climactic conclusion to the decade-long journey culminates in Avengers: Endgame, one new book celebrates Captain Marvel, the film (reviewed here at borg), and another provides a new adventure for the superheroine expanding from the pages of Marvel Comics. Captain Marvel: The Official Movie Special is the film’s official “souvenir book” full of photographs behind the scenes as well as screen images tied together with interviews from the cast and crew. It’s the kind of book fans of the film can go to to find details of the production process, and learn more about the actors and how they approached the characters.

Also now in print is Tess Sharpe’s novel Captain Marvel: Liberation Run, which is not related to the film, but provides a new story bringing together Carol Danvers, Mantis, Medusa, Ant-Man, and more, as the Captain goes to a distant planet to save a group of women aliens from an oppressive autocracy. Readers will find the novel closer to the most recent comic book series than past comics or the character as seen in the film. Captain Marvel: The Official Movie Special is available now for pre-order here at Amazon (shipping Tuesday), and Captain Marvel: Liberation Run is available here.

Readers of Captain Marvel: The Official Movie Special will get a sense in the cast interviews (Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Djimon Hounsou, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Algenis Perez Soto, and Rune Temte) of the approach each actor took for their characters, how they worked with the directors and other actors, and share their thoughts on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general.

The actors reveal how little each contributor knows about the other parts of the production– clearly the cast and crew are focused on the task at hand, only working with those limited people they need to in order to get the job done.

Readers will also learn some of what changed between script and final film edit. Brie Larson said Carol Danvers is half-human, half-Kree, which isn’t what comes through in the film. Gemma Chan said her character Minn-Erva and Danvers (called “Vers,” pronounced “Veers” in most of the film) are rivals, since Minn-Erva was the head of Starforce and then pushed aside, which isn’t all that clear in the final edit either. Nearly all the actors are asked about wearing their costumes, and marvel at their elaborate designs. The most interesting interview is with Clark Gregg, the MCU old-timer who has played Agent Coulson since Iron Man in 2008.

Other interviews include production designers Drew Petrotta and Lauri Gaffin, stuntmen Walter Garcia and Hank Amos, costume designer Sanja Hays, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.