‘She was the one that was schooling us’: Brie Larson was not the mentor you might expect on ‘The Marvels’

The Marvels is set to mark the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s last big theatrical hurrah of 2023, and with Brie Larson, the star of the $1 billion-grossing Captain Marvel, spearheading the film’s cast, there’s no question that a palpable splash of some sort will be made.

But while she certainly has the most Marvel seniority between her and fellow leads Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani, Larson was far from the authority figure one might have expected her to be on set, and according to the actress herself, it was a role she seemed happy to cede to the true mastermind.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Larson revealed that Vellani, the youngest cast member among them, was far and away the most helpful co-star in terms of mentoring and characterization, noting how the Ms. Marvel lead seemed to know more about Carol Danvers than the face of Carol Danvers herself.

“I’ve just learned to trust Iman because she really has her timelines in order. She’s the one that’s always schooling us. I wouldn’t know how old Carol is without her. She really does the math.”

Of course, it should be no surprise that Vellani, the self-proclaimed Marvel superfan who has admitted to hopping into Reddit MCU debates using burner accounts, was the leading authority on the ins and outs of the MCU; indeed, anyone familiar with the collective mental machinations of the Marvel fandom knows that they’re arguably better versed in all the nuances than Kevin Feige himself. At this rate, we reckon it won’t be long before Vellani finds herself with a producing credit to her name.

The Marvels soars into theaters on Nov. 10.