Captain Marvel trailer: feel the power of Brie Larson's superhero

Marvel Studios has finally released the first trailer for their female-led superhero movie Captain Marvel.

The film follows the story of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), a US Air Force Pilot who gains superhuman strength and the power of flight after a bizarre accident melds her DNA with that of an alien. 

Gemma Chan, the 35-year-old British actress currently starring in Crazy Rich Asians, plays alien scientist Minn-Erva, aka Doctor Minerva. Chan joins a cast that includes Oscar-winner Larson as the titular superhero and Jude Law as her mentor. Ben Mendelsohn plays the film's villain.

Slated to hit cinemas in 2019, the film is set on Earth in the Nineties, making it a prequel to other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), such as Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers film franchise.

Danvers first appeared as a Marvel comic book character in 1968, and took on the title "Ms Marvel", as a female counterpart to an earlier, male version of Captain Marvel (first introduced in 1939).

Explaining the decision to cast a female protagonist in 2014, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said: “Captain Marvel has gone by many names in the comics, has had many people who’ve inhabited that costume and used that power base. I want to make it very clear: This hero’s name is Carol Danvers.”