Now that everyone has seen the trailer to Captain Marvel, we know Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) lands in a Blockbuster Video store in 1995, back when Blockbuster was prolific. VHS tapes and posters of ‘90s movies are prominently displayed in the film’s Blockbuster scene.
Most prominent is a True Lies standee with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. However, co-director Ryan Fleck said Arnold wasn’t their first choice.
“I think we tried to use The Mask with Jim Carrey because of the Skrulls,” Fleck said. “The studio did not give us permission to use it.”
Captain Marvel’s Skrulls are green faced aliens who do bear a striking resemblance to Carrey’s visual effects extravaganza. Good thing True Lies studio 20th Century Fox approved instead.
“I actually worked in a Blockbuster in 1995 so that brought back a lot of memories creating that set,” Fleck said.
Blockbuster is not the only ‘90s artifact in Captain Marvel. The film features a soundtrack of ‘90s hit music.
“We made a big playlist at the beginning of the movie and we shared it with the crew and some of the cast,” Fleck said. “Some of those songs were in the movie but it was really just in post we put the scenes together and just threw songs in and see what stuck.”
The atmosphere got everyone involved with the film reminiscing about the ‘90s. Fleck himself said he misses VHS tapes. His co-director Anna Bolden misses ‘90s junk food.
“I was a big candy eater in the ‘90s,” Bolde nsaid. “Do you remember those little kangaroo things, Dunakroos? I like the vanilla with the little chocolate. Anyways, [Captain Marvel] do[es]n’t eat enough in the movie so we couldn’t get those Dunkaroos in.”
Bolden also misses pay phones “because then I wouldn’t have to check my e-mail all the time,” she said.
Captain Marvel herself, Larson said she missed butterfly clips.
Captain Marvel opens March 8 everywhere.