Remember that time I visited the set of Captain Marvel as a guest of Marvel Studios? WOW! It’s definitely one of the most amazing moments of my life and it was so hard to keep the secret for so many months and keep the details hidden for almost a year!

We were in town for the Avengers: Infinity War World Premiere, which was epic, to say the least, and Captain Marvel comes out tomorrow (March 8th) and next month, we get to see Avengers: ENDGAME, too! It’s a big year for us MARVEL fans!

Meeting the cast and filmmakers on the set of Captain Marvel

While we were on the set, we watched Samuel L. Jackson (Agent Fury), Brie Larson (Carol Danvers), and Reggie (the amazing kitty who plays Goose) film a scene.

We were just a few feet away from them and we could see how the scene looked in those monitors, and that’s Producer Johnathan Schwartz giving us the scoop of what was going on.

We also had our picture taken on the set of Captain Marvel! Can you believe it? Here we are, posing with Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Reggie the cat, and the Directors, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck! 

Touring The Set Of Captain Marvel

Now that I’ve been on a live set for both film and television shows, I’ve learned that you have to be very careful because there are many hazards on a working set. When we got our tour of the CAPTAIN MARVEL set, they were cutting walls, and pulling some walls up for an action sequence they were getting ready to do.

All the walls of the set were removable so they can put cameras at different angles and shoot from the outside. They use styrofoam to get a desired shape and they age the ship, adding scuff marks, to “make it look nice and old.”

Building a ship on set looks like building a house, you have all the woodwork, the structure, and then they’ll start putting on the walls, and then the agers and stagers come in. There were about 200 people total working on the Captain Marvel set and about 50-60 guys when we were touring the set. 

We saw another ship that was a little more futuristic looking, with so many set-ups, and we were told it would take about 6 weeks for it to be done.

Captain Marvel Blaster Weapons

We also got to play with the weapons. These blasters interact with the sphere and are programmed to light up. They told us that they didn’t have the technology in Avengers 1 to make them, which tells you what to expect in Captain Marvel!

I held a stun version, which is soft and it doesn’t light up or have batteries, which makes it lighter than the real version and easier to carry. They also find creative ways to hide the batteries to make the weapons look more authentic.

That’s supposed to be my fierce face – what do you think?

Inside the Skrull ship

We also got to play with the Mind Fracker inside of the Skrull ship and they told us there would be a big scene there with Brie Larson, but unfortunately, we didn’t know how it worked and we took the pictures all wrong.

I had so much fun with it because I couldn’t really reach it and my arms wouldn’t go in at all. 

Look at how The Rock Father’s arms are all the way in LOL

Captain Marvel Ships

Since Captain Marvel is a prequel to all the Marvel movies, the plane jet they were shooting on was actually the cockpit from Avengers 1 and the body is the back of the Quinjet from Civil War. Because it’s the iteration before the Quinjets – they call it the Quadjet.

These sets are photographed and then cut into pieces and stored in a warehouse in Los Angeles, not far from the undisclosed location where the Captain Marvel set was. The Quinjet and all the ships they’ve used for the Marvel Cinematic Universe are stored there and they can be put together for future movies.

Captain Marvel Costumes

One of my favorite parts was going through the costume trailer and looking through our favorite actors’ clothing. 

We saw what Captain Marvel wears – the bottoms and the top and the gauntlets that are added. We were able to feel them and try them out. I wish I had footage of that!

They have multiples of every costume in case it gets damaged and they also have different stages – like an aging process that they board throughout the movie and to match the script, to break up the script depending on the costume she is wearing.

For example, they showed us a very clean hero that didn’t have many scrapes or anything on it, as opposed to another one where it looked like she’s been through some battles.

We also saw some of Nick Fury’s costumes. Usually, they have about 3 or 4 of each costume, so three or four of the same shirt, ties, and then also because sometimes the stunt double may need to wear the costumes as well, so they have the same amount for the stunt double.

Fun Fact: Since Captain Marvel is set in the ’90s, it’s a period piece (which is insane!), and the costumes pre-date all the Marvel movies. In Captain Marvel, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has both eyes.

We saw some duplicates of the Nine Inch Nails shirt Brie Larson was wearing while we were on set, and we also saw her flight suit from the Air Force.

At the end of the movie, just like the set pieces, all the costumes will go into the Marvel costume warehouse in Los Angeles and they all get archived for future use.

Goose the cat

It was so fun to chat with Producer Jonathan Schwartz, who had come off of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 when he started his work on Captain Marvel. He shared everything about Goose:

Carol Danvers, who is on this mission to Earth, and then a younger 90’s version of Fury, get on an adventure together and are both on the run from some alien forces. The cat is significant, the cat plays a bigger role in the movie than one would otherwise imagine, and definitely the biggest role for any Marvel Cinematic Universe animal to date. We can only teach each cat one trick, because they’re cats.

Captain Marvel Producer Jonathan Schwartz also said he would have never guessed he would ever audition so many cats. An Orange Tabby was necessary to be faithful to the comics, and they were able to get their “hero cat squad:” Reggie, Gonzo, Archie, and Rizzo.

Fun Fact: There are big cat wranglers in Hollywood. The cats have their own carriers.

Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN MARVEL is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that follows the journey of Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes.

This is why Producer Jonathan Schwartz is so excited:

Part of the fun of the movie is that it has one foot in the cosmic realm and a lot of outer space, and one realm on Earth, playing against each other.

Captain Marvel filming dates, times, and locations

Director Ryan Fleck told us they had started shooting around the 17th of March, so they were about a month (4-5 weeks) into the movie when we visited the Captain Marvel set. They said they would be shooting until July 6th, and most of it would be done in LA, which is nice, because they don’t get to shoot mostly in Los Angeles, except for about 10 days at the end of the movie in Louisiana (New Orleans and Baton Rouge).

The filmmakers said a 75-day shoot is about average for a movie, and it’s nice to shoot in Los Angeles because “you get to go home at the end of the day.’

Captain Marvel Producer Jonathan Schwartz agreed it was nice for the film crew to be “able to go home and sleep in their own beds and hang out with their kids.”

Usually we try to shoot 10 hour days which is a no break, no lunch day, sometimes we break for lunch, that ends up being a 12 hour day. Today was early because we have to get people over to the premiere.

It was fun seeing them all at the premiere that night. They were super friendly and remembered us from the earlier visit to the Captain Marvel set.

It was also fun chatting with Director Anna Boden and share her excitement about how fierce Carol Danvers is and about Captain Marvel being the first female superhero in the MARVEL Cinematic Universe, but let’s not forget that Anna Boden is making history as a female director, as well.

Power Women: Anna Boden and Brie Larson 

Brie {Larson} is great, she’s been doing all of her own stunts, wirework, and she’s really done a cool amazing job with the film and she’s really super into it. It’s really inspiring to me. ~ Anna Boden, Captain Marvel Director

CAPTAIN MARVEL also stars Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Rune Temte, Algenis Perez Soto, Mckenna Grace, with Annette Bening, with Clark Gregg, and Jude Law.

Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN MARVEL is produced by Kevin Feige. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jonathan Schwartz, Patricia Whitcher, and our beloved Stan Lee are the executive producers for CAPTAIN MARVEL. 

What was your favorite secret, photo, or fun fact from my visit to the set of Captain Marvel? I’m so grateful for this unforgettable opportunity and blessing thanks to Marshall Studios – I mean, Marvel Studios!

CAPTAIN MARVEL is finally in theaters TOMORROW, March 8th, 2019, just in time for International Women’s Day and I was so fortunate to attend an early screening, so stay tuned for my review.

Like CAPTAIN MARVEL on Facebook, follow CAPTAIN MARVEL on Twitter, follow Marvel Studios on Instagram, and visit the official CAPTAIN MARVEL site to stay in the know!

Keep up with #CaptainMarvel, the official hashtag on social media to join the CAPTAIN MARVEL conversation.

Elayna is a single mom of 4, award-winning Storyteller, Story Strategist, and Student of Pain. She’s a bestselling author, internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, and 4x TEDx speaker. Founder of the Positive MOM® and creator of the S.T.O.R.Y. System: a blueprint to craft and share powerful stories that will transform your results, so you can have the wealth, opportunities, and freedom you deserve. Connect with Elayna Fernández at thepositivemom.com/keynote-speaker and follow @thepositivemom. To receive a gift from Elayna, click HERE.

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