When they’re not out saving the world, the heroes of the Marvel Universe are spending time with their pets. In some cases, their loyal furry companions are fighting with them side by side, getting in on the action. Thor has his mystical goats, Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder who pull his chariot, and the unbeatable Squirrel Girl has a squirrel named Tippy-Toe. Captain Marvel, on the other hand, has what appears to be an ordinary house cat named Goose.
When the furry co-pilot makes her debut in the “Captain Marvel” movie, audiences awed as she rubbed and nuzzled against Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Although she looks like an average, orange Earth tabby who wouldn’t harm a fly, looks can be very deceiving.
Here’s everything you didn’t know about the feline that stole the show.
What the Flerken?
Whether you’ve read the comic books or have seen the movie, you’re aware that Goose is more than just a cat.
It turns out the lovable purr machine is a rare alien species called a Flerken, a creature so threatening that there’s a cat-like muzzle made specifically for their tiny snouts. While both cuddly and extremely dangerous, Flerkens are living gateways to pocket dimensions that are located inside their little bodies. This means they can hold just about anything in those pockets, from eggs to all manners of inter-dimensional horrors, such as fanged tentacles and even the Tesseract.
On top of their infinite bubbles of space-time, Flerkens can also survive the vacuums of space, as well as teleport from one place to another. Having a teleporting alien-cat might be the coolest way to travel, but it’s a messy process that involves pink goop.
While they’re known as vicious killers throughout the galaxy, Flerkens will defend themselves and their loved ones, and they’re highly intelligent. Their scratches are lethal enough to even take out an eye, and they can lay up to 117 eggs at a time. Yep, you read that right — they reproduce by laying eggs. Not your every day house cat, indeed.
From Chewie to Goose
In the comics, Goose’s name is actually Chewie, who Carol Danvers named after Chewbacca from “Star Wars.” So, why did the film’s directors opt to change the name of the cat? The answer is fairly simple.
The filmmakers decided to reference the ‘80s film “Top Gun” to add to Captain Marvel’s past. If you weren’t aware, Carol Danvers was a talented pilot in the U.S. Air Force.
The second reason for the name change came from an interview with Collider, when directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were asked why they decided to change the cat’s name from Chewie to Goose for the film.
“It wasn’t a big thing. It just felt like ‘Star Wars’ was so part of the culture that, it just felt like we wanted to remove it a little bit, you know, the nostalgia for the ‘Star Wars’ movies which there are so many of around us,” Fleck said. “You know, when we were kids, ‘Star Wars’ felt like it was something from the ‘70s and ‘80s, and I think that was the spirit of Chewie from the comics but we felt like we wanted to sort of just slide away from that slightly.”
It’s a bummer they didn’t keep Chewie as the original name, mostly because a majority of today’s generation won’t get the “Top Gun” reference.
Will She Return for More Marvel Films?
Although Goose stole the show with her cuteness and everyone definitely enjoyed watching Nick Fury turn to mush, it’s not certain that she will return in future movies.
If you weren’t aware, Brie Larson has a severe cat allergy and had to consistently take allergy medicine “every day, no matter what.” There were parts of the film where they had a stuffed cat stand in for Reggie, the cat that portrayed Goose, so Carol didn’t have touch her feline co-star. Producers also made sure Reggie wasn’t on set when he wasn’t supposed to be.
While Larson is highly allergic to Reggie, Samuel L. Jackson said, “No, I am not a cat person. But I’m also not a dog person or a fish person either … Reggie is like most animals that people bring to the set that have been trained to do this, that, or the other. He’s snack-orientated. He shows off. You give him something to eat, you talk softly and nice to him, give him something to eat again. There were actually four cats, but Reggie did the majority of the heavy lifting, most of the time.”
Although Larson is allergic to cats and Jackson isn’t the biggest fan of the four-legged furball, the question is, will fans be able to see Goose in future films? If they were able to keep Larson’s allergy under control, it could be a possibility. She should be in future films, because it would add more humor to the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
Conclusion
Although “Captain Marvel” featured Goose’s killer tentacles and immense cuteness, fans are hopeful they’ll go further. Maybe we’ll get to see the messy teleportation that Flerkens are capable of. Or maybe she’ll be in “Endgame,” with Rocket Racoon, who’s obsessed with weapons of sorts. Goose is, after all, basically a weapon.
Either way, fans can enjoy reading about her in the comics, and should definitely check out the movie.
