The Captain Marvel fan event on Thursday had an emotional beginning for Marvel fanatics when the cast and crew of the film paid homage to comic legend Stan Lee, who passed away last year at the age of 95.
It is a bittersweet moment that the much anticipated Brie Larson-fronted movie is the first Marvel film to be released after Lee's death in November 2018.
'ExcelsiorThank You Stan1922-2018' appeared on the screen as the team paid tribute to Lee, the co-creator of iconic superheroes like Spider-Man and The Hulk. What followed next was the post-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War that showed Nick Fury calling for Code Red and barely managing to page Captain Marvel before vanishing into nothingness as Thanos snaps his fingers wiping off half of earth's population.
After waiting for the longest time, the fans' frenzy was piqued by more than a notch when the sound of an airplane announced the entry of the Captain Marvel team. A special segment of 'Super Fans', who were chosen from contests on social media, were stationed in the StarForce box an obvious hat tip to Captain Marvel's association with the Kree elite tactical unit.
Life-like posters of Larson and co-star Gemma Chan flanked the beams at the city-based Marina Bay Sands hotel.
Some fans stood out in the crowd with their choice of outfits. A husband and wife had turned up dressed as a Captain Marvel couple, sending a strong message of gender parity while another fan turned up as the Spider-Man. A fan got close to assembling the Avengers when he got Jackson to sign the Captain America shield as Fury. He has already managed signatures from Captain America (Chris Evans), Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Agent Carter (Hayley Atwell).
Larson, Chan, Samuel L Jackson and director duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck entered the arena with the Marvel Studios theme playing in the backdrop.
Boden and Fleck, dressed in red and blue respectively, were the first to enter. They were followed by Jackson who was greeted with loud cheers. He stopped at the beginning of the walkway to apparently go live on one of his many social media accounts.
One of the fans, who had brought along a light sabre as a nod to the veteran actor's Star Wars character Mace Windu, got both his attention and autograph. Jackson spent a lot of time talking and clicking selfies with the media, which made the restless fans fighting for his attention chant his name.
Jackson, who donned white Armani, cheekily waved to the fans only after they started calling Chan's name.
Chan, who shot to global fame as the independent, sophisticated and ambitious Astrid from Crazy Rich Asians, directly dived into fan boxes to give autographs and selfies.
Dressed in printed white dress, she interacted with the media for a brief period of time, which left more than a few shutterbugs disappointed. The loudest cheers and deafening screams were reserved for Captain Marvel herself, who entered guarded with heavy security detail.
The Oscar winner was dressed in a custom black Oscar De La Renta pant and stylised top and sported a golden Captain Marvel badge on her back. This was Larson's first time in Singapore and like Chan, she too went head on first to meet her fans. A generous Larson interacted with fans and members of the media alike.
The actor said it was the well roundedness of the character that attracted her to the role.
"A lot of times, the film is about getting to the thing, saving the thing. But what it's really about is getting to herself. So we go along with her on this journey of finding herself. It starts with her being tough and strong. But it's really the vulnerability that comes in play that brings her to herself," Larson said.
Boden got a round of applause as she is the first female director to helm a Marvel film. She said they did not expect such an "overwhelming" response and it was a slightly "scary" feeling.
Talking about his role in the 1990s set origin story, Jackson said he missed his youth from the 90s, which elicited a roaring laughter from the audience. "I was years younger then. I don't know about bringing her (Captain Marvel) into this world as much as helping her get a lost part about herself. I'm growing as a person myself" he said.
The film was special, Jackson said, as he got to work with Larson who is "someone he liked", leading to another round of laughter. This is the duo's third project together.
The fan event was all about getting women at the centrestage. Jackson and Fleck gave a shout-out to the women in their life. A selected number of Singaporean women - lawyer, reporter, writer, swimmer, race car driver and others - were celebrated by the film's team. A group of children were anointed as agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. by Jackson.
The much anticipated film is set to be released in India on March 8, celebrated as Internati
