Brie Larson says ‘the great love’ in ‘Captain Marvel’ is its female friendship

There’s a lot to love about Carol Danvers, and that is exactly why Brie Larson was excited for “Captain Marvel,” despite any concerns she had about playing a superhero.

Larson was on hand to discuss this excitement at the “Captain Marvel” press conference on Friday along with cast mates Samuel L. Jackson, Lashana Lynch, Jude Law, Gemma Chan and Clark Gregg. Joining them on stage a the Beverly Hills ballroom were the film’s directors, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, as well as Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige.

“I was a little worried about playing a superhero that would be perfect,” said Larson. “Because I don’t feel like that’s realistic or something aspirational at all.”

But Carol is “a major risk-taker,” and as fans will soon see when “Captain Marvel” hits theaters, it means things don’t always work out.

“Those are the defining moments of her character,” said Larson. “Where she doesn’t lay down. She gets back up. That’s everything. There isn’t a person that can’t relate to that, I think.”

Twenty-one films in, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is finally preparing for its first solo movie focused on a female superhero to be released. And while questions about representation and the need for diverse stories were touched on, the event generally kept its spoiler-free focus on the film and the characters.

The affection between Larson and Jackson was easy to notice, and Larson took time to specifically address how important Lynch and her character Maria Rambeau are to “Captain Marvel.”

“It’s like the movie shifts when she’s on screen,” said Larson while addressing Maria and Carol’s friendship.

“It’s not something that we made a big deal about, but this is the love of the movie,” said Larson. “This is the great love. This is the love lost, this is the love found again, this is the reason to continue fighting and to go to the ends of the Earth. Her best friend and her best friend’s daughter.”

Of course in trailers, it seems as though one of the great loves in the movie might be between Jackson’s Nick Fury and Goose the cat. So when the news conference opened up the floor for questions, someone was quick to use the opportunity to ask the team about their experience working with a cat on the film.

“I’m not a cat person,” Jackson said, before adding that he was also not a dog, fish or even a bird person either.

“Captain Marvel” hits theaters on March 8.

tracy.brown@latimes.com

Twitter: @tracycbrown