Aired on TF1 on December 28, 2025, at 9:10 PM, Captain Marvel) brings back the heroine played by Brie Larson, whose casting was long debated before being accepted. The film, released in 2019, tells the origin of Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel) and is part of the MCU. Behind the scenes, directorial choices, reception, and links with The Marvels shed light on this free-to-air broadcast.
A free-to-air broadcast that puts the heroine at the center
TF1 scheduled Captain Marvel on Sunday, December 28, 2025, at 9:10 PM. The channel offered the film in multilingual version (VM), with audio description and subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing, and the indication not recommended for under 10s.
Behind the programming event, the feature film (released in 2019) remains a useful entry point into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): it presents the origin of Carol Danvers and connects with already established characters — notably Nick Fury, here still far from the shadowy boss we know.
The essential facts: what is ‘Captain Marvel’ about?
In Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers wakes up with powers she poorly controls and a patchy memory. The story unfolds in a 1990s aesthetic, which is not just a backdrop: it serves as a temporal marker and a contrast with the rest of the MCU.
The film opens with an interstellar war between two alien races, the Kree and the Skrulls. Carol, enlisted on the Kree side under a partial identity, gradually confronts what she has forgotten — and what she has been told. Returning to Earth, she meets Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) and uncovers a conflict where appearances, precisely, do not tell the whole story.
The TF1 broadcast sheet notably mentions Brie Larson (Carol Danvers), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Ben Mendelsohn (Talos), and Jude Law (Yon-Rogg), as well as the co-direction by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.
A pivotal film in the MCU timeline
While the MCU has been built on a succession of chapters, Captain Marvel functions as a controlled flashback. Officially, Disney presents the film as the first MCU feature film with a female Marvel character at the center, emphasizing this period choice — "diving into the 90s" — to tell an "upside-down" origin: the heroine already possesses her powers but must reconstruct her past.
This structure allows the heroine to be linked to motifs already present in the saga. It includes agencies, artifacts, and conflicts. Thus, it does not require the audience to have followed everything.
On the industrial level, Captain Marvel remains an important moment: according to box office data compiled by specialized databases, the film grossed about $1.13 billion worldwide. This performance reinforced the idea of a blockbuster centered on a heroine. This happened at a time when the debate on the representation of Marvel heroines was already occupying the public space.
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck: a closely watched co-direction
The broadcast on TF1 also highlights a fact often recalled at the release: Captain Marvel is presented, in France, as the first MCU film to be directed by a woman — namely Anna Boden, in co-direction with Ryan Fleck.
The statement deserves to be formulated precisely: it is a co-direction, and the scope is that of MCU-branded production. But the symbolic effect is real, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe had, until then, entrusted its feature films to male filmmakers.
In Captain Marvel, this signature is less read in a claimed "auteur" style than in a balance: a highly codified action film, but traversed by attention to memories, doubt, and the gaze of others. The heroine advances in fragments, and the script plays with this idea — powers are not enough, one must also understand who made them possible, and at what cost.
Brie Larson, a role first refused then accepted through discussions
One of the most instructive angles, away from promotion, lies in the behind-the-scenes of casting. Brie Larson recounted that she refused a first approach in 2016, when her team mentioned Marvel’s interest in the character. In a video published on her YouTube channel, the actress explains having felt too strong anxiety. Her statements were picked up by the press. She felt she could not handle a blockbuster.
According to this account, the studio did not give up the idea. Marvel reportedly came back several times, until a meeting with the executives and a more concrete presentation of the project. The actress then describes a progressive process, made of discussions and script elements. Moreover, she discovers an intention that touches her.
On the studio side, Kevin Feige recounted that the synopsis was presented to the actress when she expressed interest in the universe, and that the casting announcement was among the highlights for Marvel. Put together, these versions describe the same journey: hesitation in the face of the project’s scale, then adherence to an intention and a character.
A heroine, a symbol… and a film that remains a popular cinema object
On screen, Captain Marvel progresses like an investigation: memory fragments, movements, and alliance reversals. The free-to-air broadcast also serves as a simple reminder: a franchise can be watched in pieces, provided it offers an autonomous story.
From Captain Marvel to The Marvels: a sequel with a disrupted schedule
The broadcast on TF1 comes after the release of The Marvels, a sequel directed by Nia DaCosta. The film underwent several schedule changes before being set for November 2023. The specialized press recalled that it was initially announced for December 2022, then moved to July 2023, before this new postponement.
The film brings together Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), against Dar-Benn (played by Zawe Ashton).
Box office databases indicate about $206 million in worldwide revenue for a production budget estimated at $270 million. However, this result contrasts with the first film.
These discrepancies also refer to a different context: multiplication of releases, competition from offers, and possible fatigue with shared universes. Television, meanwhile, sometimes rekindles interest over time.
Practical information for the public
Here are the useful details to remember for the broadcast on TF1:
- Broadcast: Sunday, December 28, 2025, at 9:10 PM on TF1.
- Accessibility: audio description and subtitling (deaf and hard of hearing audiences), VM.
- Signage: not recommended for under 10s.
- Indicative duration: 124 minutes (about 2 hours 4 minutes).
- Main cast (according to the channel’s sheet): Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law.
For those who prefer on-demand viewing, Captain Marvel is also regularly offered on video and, depending on rights periods, on platforms (including Disney+).
In short, why watch the film today
By programming Captain Marvel, TF1 puts back into circulation a film that is not just another episode in a franchise: it is an origin story constructed like a puzzle, a symbolic milestone for on-screen representation, and a reminder of the behind-the-scenes of a long-hesitated casting. For the audience, the free-to-air broadcast has a simple virtue: allowing to rewatch — or discover — how Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, established herself as one of the key figures of the MCU, before the more dispersed developments of its sequel.