'Captain Marvel' IMAX Featurette Peeks Behind the Scenes

A new featurette for the highly anticipated "Captain Marvel" offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the visual effects were crafted for IMAX screens.

"Captain Marvel" is the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and follows former Air Force pilot Carol Danvers, played by Oscar-winner Brie Larson, as she becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes. Marvel Studios released the featurette ahead of the film's cinematic debut on March 8. 

Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, is a member of the Kree military organization called Starforce, on a distant world called Hala. The Kree are up against an invading race called the Skrulls. However, a failed mission lands Danvers on a mid-1990s Earth, where she is faced with fleeting memories of her past in the Air Force. As she hones her superpowers, Danvers travels down the path of self-discovery. 

In the new featurette, members of the film's production team talk about how they brought the story to life, including the intricate design behind the Skrulls' unusual look, the '90s costuming and cutting-edge de-aging effects used for Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg, who reprised their roles as Agents Nick Fury and Phil Coulson, respectively. 

"One of the interesting things we had on this film was youthening Sam Jackson," Chris Townsend, the film's visual effects supervisor, says in the featurette. "We had to try and maintain his character and his performance throughout the entire [film] and never let the youthening stand in the way of the performance."

The featurette also explains how the film was specially formatted for IMAX theaters, including key sequences that are presented with up to 26 percent more picture than standard theaters. 

IMAX "turns the movie into such a different experience," Camille Friend, head of the hair department, says in the featurette. "The colors, the richness — it brings the whole movie-making experience to a heightened level." 

"The showmanship of IMAX, the scope of it, and how you're immersed into it — you don't get that at home," adds Shane Mahan, head of makeup.

"Captain Marvel," which is directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, is the first female-led Marvel film. You can purchase IMAX tickets here.

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Samantha Mathewson
Contributing Writer

Samantha Mathewson joined Space.com as an intern in the summer of 2016. She received a B.A. in Journalism and Environmental Science at the University of New Haven, in Connecticut. Previously, her work has been published in Nature World News. When not writing or reading about science, Samantha enjoys traveling to new places and taking photos! You can follow her on Twitter @Sam_Ashley13.