Avengers: Endgame star Brie Larson talks about Captain Marvel's Audi E-Tron and more
We chat up Captain Marvel herself about the joys of electric cars, both inside and out of the MCU.
It's a movie event most of us have been waiting over a decade to see. Avengers: Endgame is upon us (read our CNET spoiler-free review here and our spoiler-packed review here) and with it, comes an avalanche of press, collaborations, merch and more. You may not have realized it, but Audi is one of the longest-running Marvel Cinematic Universe partnerships. The German automaker has been involved since the first Iron Man in 2008. Tony Stark drove an Audi R8 supercar in that movie, but he trades that in for the all-electric E-Tron GT concept in the newest Avengers film.
For Endgame, Audi released a new ad spot that gets Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) up to speed on the progress she's missed on Earth during her absence, including the company's newest electric SUV -- the E-Tron -- which is due to arrive in reservation holders' driveways in the next few weeks. Roadshow had the opportunity to sit down with Larson this week, to find out more about why she's such a fan of Audi's new EV.
Roadshow: Your "Debriefing" spot was a fun way to get Carol up to speed with the times. But Carol can fly. So I have to ask, what features in the E-Tron would entice her to stay on the ground and drive?
Brie Larson: Well, the car can actually go really fast. I think that's the key point, is if the car couldn't go super, super fast-paced and have great pickup, then I don't think she would be as interested in it. But it's a great way for her to transport friends; you know, she can only carry one person at a time. So being able to drive around with a car full of people I'm sure would be an important aspect.
True. I guess you would need to take Goose to vet appointments too, maybe?
Of course, exactly. Goose I'm sure needs lots of checkups, being a Flerken and all.
Have you gotten a chance to drive the E-Tron? And if so, what do you think?
I haven't. I have not had a chance. I mean, I've been in the car, because I sat in the back of it. But I haven't had a chance to drive it myself. It [the ride] was really zippy and super smooth.
Have you driven any other EVs? Or have you had any experience with other electric vehicles so far? Do you own one?
I do. I have an electric car right now. And I'll be getting this car [the E-Tron] pretty soon. But it's really, really important to me. Once electric cars were available, I did my research on them. And I just found it to be undeniable: The importance on the impact of the planet, from an environmental standpoint -- and also just from a human being standpoint -- to get out of the way of fossil fuels and the things that we're arguing over on a global scale.
It feels really right to me, and there are so many perks that go along with it. Like, the fact that I got my electric car almost three years ago, and I've never had to get it serviced? That's something that I always like to tell people. There are so many aspects of gas-fueled engines that need a lot of maintenance that electric cars don't need. And we're just not used to that. We're not used to the fact that you can just have a car, drive around and not have to deal with like, continually bringing it into the shop to be serviced.
What do you find the most interesting about EVs, aside from the obviously important environmental impact? Are there any features you hope to see added someday?
I mean, there are a lot of small features that I really love, like I the help that I get when it comes to parking. Parallel parking in particular, especially in Los Angeles, it's like a huge, helpful feature. And the other thing I think is interesting is how quickly the cars charge, that it doesn't really take very long at all to get charged back up.
People I think have the misconception that not having access to gas stations will be a hindrance to them; but in fact, at least for me, for many years, it's never been a problem. In fact, it's been a huge convenience that I can just charge my car at home. And it doesn't really take very long at all. And you can go pretty far. I think this car [the E-Tron] is what, like 200 and something miles per charge? [204 miles is the official EPA estimate of the E-Tron's range.] It's surprising how far you can go on one charge.
The other thing is just the cost of it as well. It's so much cheaper to charge your car yearly than it is to buy gas. I don't know if people really understand that fully. You're doing good for the planet. And it's good. It's good on your pocketbook, too.
I also talked to Brie about her time playing Captain Marvel, which female hero she wants to see star in a future MCU film and if she's interested in directing a blockbuster superhero movie someday. Look for that interview to hit CNET in the coming days.
Avengers: Endgame is scheduled to open in theaters worldwide April 26. In the meantime, you can watch every other Endgame trailer and teaser right here.