Brie Larson is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, along with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So far, Larson has starred as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel in three MCU movies and appeared in another (Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings). She also appeared in Disney+'s Ms. Marvel, which set the stage for The Marvels, released in theaters on Nov. 10, 2023.
To celebrate Larson's role in the MCU, we ranked the three MCU movies that Larson has starred in from worst to best. While she's far from starring in the most Marvel movies so far, she'll be on the list of actors and actresses who starred in the most MCU movies soon!
We also considered Larson's role as Captain Marvel in each movie. Obviously, there's one movie that Larson stars in that's considered one of the best Marvel movies of all time, but her role in the film is not quite as big as the movies where her character is prominently featured.
Here's the list of Larson's Marvel movies:
- Captain Marvel (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
- Ms. Marvel (2022)
- The Marvels (2023)
Let's get the ranking started with The Marvels, which is unfortunately the worst of the MCU movies starring Larson.
3. The Marvels
The Marvels premiered in theaters in November 2023, and sadly, it was far from a hit! It's unfortunate that the movie didn't do well at the box office. In my opinion, it's actually a good movie. Sure, it's not the best of the MCU or what we've come to expect from Marvel, but that's almost a good thing! It's not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, as I've mentioned before. It's just different and lands at a weird time for the MCU.
Larson is incredible as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel in Nia DaCosta's film. She has great chemistry with Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel and Teyona Parris as Monica Rambeau. It tells the story of the three characters who become dependent on each other after their powers begin to malfunction. They have to work together to make things right and stop the villain, Kar-Benn, played by Zawe Ashton.
Again, The Marvels is not nearly as bad as it was billed to be when it was released in theaters. I hope more people will see this good movie now that it's available to stream on Disney+.
Up next is Avengers: Endgame!
2. Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame premiered in theaters on April 26, 2019, just a month after Captain Marvel premiered in theaters. Is Avengers: Endgame the better movie than Captain Marvel? Yes, absolutely, but Larson is much better in Captain Marvel, and that's what's important here!
In Avengers: Endgame, the remaining Avengers find a way to travel back in time to stop and kill Thanos. They must travel through the Quantum Realm and to the past to stop Thanos from acquiring the Infinity Stones. It goes almost according to plan, right? There are only a few major hiccups and deaths. Captain Marvel, however, survives the events of the movie, unlike some of the powerful Avengers.
In the film, Captain Marvel appears early, helping the Avengers locate Thanos, but then she disappears until the final battle with Thanos, which she provides some major assistance with, wiping out some of Thanos's forces. We learn in The Marvels why Larson's character wasn't involved in the major sequences of Endgame.
Overall, I think Endgame is a great movie, although it might be a little bit overrated. It's definitely not Larson's best performance in the MCU, though. That's in Captain Marvel, which is up next on the list!
1. Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel features the best performance we've seen from Larson in the MCU so far! The film premiered on March 9, 2019, and it was a huge success for Marvel. The film grossed more than $1 billion at the global box office.
I'm a big fan of Captain Marvel. It's a tier below some of the best MCU movies, for sure, but it's up there in the top half for me. Larson is easily one of the bright spots of the film. The story lacks a punch at times. It's a bit too predictable, and the visuals are so-so, compared to some of the other MCU movies from this era. But, I still think Captain Marvel needed an origin story like this one for audiences to understand the character. Yes, the movie was predictable, but the MCU has carved out its own genre and rubric for its movies, and Captain Marvel checks all those boxes.
Larson was surrounded by a stellar cast in this movie, too, including Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, and of course, Lashana Lynch, who crushes her role of Marie Rambeau, the mother of Monica, played by Teyona Parris, who we meet in The Marvels.
Captain Marvel also launched the MCU into a different direction, specifically with the Kree and Skrull storylines that play out in other works, including Secret Invasion and The Marvels. Obviously, it hasn't been a completely successful venture, but that's not Captain Marvel's fault. The film does a great job of laying the groundwork for Carol Danvers' story to be told, and I don't think we've fully seen that pay off yet. It will, though!
So, that's the list of Brie Larson's best MCU movies! We'll be sure to update when the next MCU movie starring Larson is released!