In a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, actress Annette Bening revealed the lengths Marvel Studios went to accommodate her schedule during the filming of the hit ‘Captain Marvel,’ saying they had her flying across the country on a private jet for a scene.
According to the actress, she was attending a gala in New York City and needed to be on set in California the following morning. In her own words, here is what happened:
“On the Monday night, we had to be in New York City. [Captain Marvel] was a huge movie — you know these movies, God knows how much money they spend making them, and they needed me in California Tuesday morning. I said, ‘I’d really like to do this, but I can’t because I have to be in New York City at the gala.’ So, I went to the gala, they put me on a private jet, I flew to Fresno, they picked me up in a car, at 3:00 in the morning, drove me to the mountains to this lake.”
Bening then continued, recalling this effort was for the scene where her character died:
“There’s a scene where I die, remember? When I get out of the plane, that’s the scene! So then I went to a condo for 3 hours and slept, got up, went to the set, and they have this huge plane wreck that they’ve staged at this lake. It was unbelievable! Then I’m in the wreck, and I get out and die in the sand, I tell to carry on. It was like, ‘I couldn’t believe [this]. Is this my life? Am I doing this?’ I mean, it was a blast.”
You can watch the interview below.
Annette Bening’s Role in ‘Captain Marvel’
Bening joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Dr. Wendy Lawson, also known as Mar-Vell and the Supreme Intelligence in ‘Captain Marvel.’ The Supreme Intelligence is the collective consciousness of the Kree people and the ruler of the Kree Empire. The character appears differently to each person, taking the form of Mar-Vell for Brie Larson’s character, Vers.
Interestingly, while Mar-Vell was initially conceived as a male character and a love interest for Carol Danvers, co-director Anna Boden later suggested casting a woman for the role. This led to Bening’s casting. Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, noted that this gender swap was crucial for the development of the main character, Danvers, giving her a female mentor figure.
Set in 1995, ‘Captain Marvel‘ follows Carol Danvers as she becomes Captain Marvel. Starring Brie Larson in the titular role, it was a financial success and marked the 21st entry in the MCU. The cast also included Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Clark Gregg, and Jude Law.
The sequel to ‘Captain Marvel,’ ‘The Marvels‘ was released on November 10, 2023. Directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Megan McDonnell, the film features the return of Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, along with Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris reprising their roles from the Disney+ series.
As for Bening, her upcoming projects include ‘Apples Never Fall,’ ‘Other Plans,’ and an untitled Maggie Gyllenhaal project.
