Captain Marvel will probably be played by Oscar winner Brie Larson

Captain Marvel has been fan-casted and rumored to the point where it's impossible to remember who is actually in the running. Dig deep enough into the reports and it turns out that no-one was, not Emily Blunt or Olivia Wilde or err...Sienna Miller? Until yesterday that is, when the first proper frontrunner for the part was announced. Oscar-winner Brie Larson is, according to Variety, being considered for the role by Marvel.

Apparently, negotiations are currently happening as Larson is the studio's top choice to play Carol Danvers. The site adds that she is "leaning towards" accepting the role. This would be absolutely huge for Marvel and a major win for fans too; there's barely been any backlash since the news broke, and most fans of the character think Larson is a terrific fit for the role. It's hard to argue with them, she's pretty damn great.

With Captain Marvel expected to make her debut in Infinity War, it's about time the character was cast. Marvel head Kevin Feige teased a major casting announcement for this coming summer, so it's likely a matter of time before an official casting release hits the web.

However, even with an actress locked in, there's still the matter of a director for Marvel's first female-led superhero movie. By the look of things, the studio plans to keep the movie's main creative positions female-centric. The two writers currently bashing out a script are Inside Out's Meg LeFauve and Guardians Of The Galaxy's Nicole Perlman, and an additional story from THR confirms that two new filmmakers in consideration are also women: The Babadook's Jennifer Kent and Whale Rider's Niki Caro. Both directors have displayed enormous skill in their respective arenas. Kent's chilling debut and Caro's character-driven pieces make them both exciting prospects for Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel is scheduled to open in the US on March 8, 2018 with a UK release date yet to be confirmed.

Images: Marvel, Universal

Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.