Spoiler Warning: This post contains spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War.
While most die-hard Marvel fans have been busy regathering their brains after the decimating Avengers: Infinity War ending, which saw many franchise staples pfft out of existence, some were left questioning what happened to one character in particular: Captain Marvel. Or, more to the point, why she didn’t show up at all.
But now we have an explanation. Though they teased her arrival in a post-credit scene, directors and brothers Anthony and Joe Russo have stated that they’re saving her for later. Captain Marvel, who will be played by Brie Larson, is being kept on the back bench until the fourth — and likely — last Avengers movie, which is slated to drop in May 2019.
Talking to Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Russo brothers reasoned that “sav[ing] her reveal” was super important to them because they wanted to “commit to this ending very hard. We didn’t want to go past the ending very much.”
“We considered not doing any tags. Then we thought maybe it was too brutal. Everything’s about trying to find balance,” Joe continued. Adding on that, Anthony offered, “she will be a part of the MCU at that point. And part of the promise of these movies is that they are a road forward for all the films.”
Captain Marvel’s standalone film is slated to release in March 2019, two months prior to the (tentative) release of the unnamed forth Avengers movie.