Everything We Know About Goose, The 'Captain Marvel' Cat Everyone Loves
Captain Marvel is now in theaters, and everyone who has seen the movie can agree on one specific thing: Goose the cat rules. The feline steals the show, and Marvel knows it – they even gave her (yes, Goose is female) her own poster. If you've seen Captain Marvel (or even if you haven't), and you want the low-down on Goose, we're here to help. Here's everything you need to know about Goose, the Captain Marvel cat. Spoilers follow.
Goose Isn't Actually a Cat
Let's get this out of the way first: technically speaking, Goose isn't a cat at all. She's actually a Flerken – an alien species that resemble cats. Here are the far-out abilities Flerkens possess (via the Marvel Wiki):
All of these abilities pop-up in Captain Marvel – save for the last one. Goose swallows several people (and the Tesseract) into her alternate dimension; and she uses her tentacles several times, which spring forth from her nested mouth. Fun!
Goose is Named Chewie in the Comics
Captain Marvel's cat does exist in the comics, but under a different name: Chewie, named after Chewbacca from Star Wars. Goose is a reference to the character Anthony Edwards played in Top Gun – a film an Air Force pilot like Carol Danvers might be fond of.
"We just wanted it to feel more specific to nostalgia, for Carol and to feel more specific to her '80s background on Earth, you know?" co-director Ryan Fleck told us. "And we live in a very present Star Wars world right now. And it just felt like Chewie was maybe just more present than we needed it to be."
"It feels contemporary now," co-director Anna Boden added. "It feels contemporary again. At the time the comics were written, it was a throwback and it was a throwback to a very specific idea and like character choice for Carol. And now it's just it's contemporary, it's present. It doesn't have the same cultural meaning, I think."
There's a slight hiccup here. Fleck's comment, that the name Goose would feel more specific for Carol and her '80s background on earth, suggests that Carol is the one who named the cat Goose. But that's not the case in the movie. Let's just move on before we think about this for too long!
Four Cats Played Goose
During a /Film set visit, Captain Marvel producer Jonathan Schwartz broke down details on the many cats who play Goose, and what their specialties are:
"Goose is played by a team of four cats, who all have their own specialty. There's Reggie, Archie, Rizzo, and Gonzo. They're an A-team of cats who can all do one trick, because you can't teach cats...So one of them is, like, the face cat, who's the pretty cat, that's Archie. No, sorry, that's Reggie! One of them's the holding cat you hold and can be held. One of them's, like, the nuzzling cat who will walk up to your leg and nuzzle it. And one of them's, like, the cat who will paw you, who's a jerk. I think that's Rizzo. If you told me before this movie started that I would be auditioning cats to play the role of Goose, I would not have believed you."
Goose Is (Probably) Still Alive In the Present
Captain Marvel is set in the '90s, and Goose appears to be a full-grown cat in the film. This might make you think that dear old Goose has gone to cat heaven in the present MCU timeline. But that might not be the case. When /Film recently spoke with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, Feige suggested Goose is probably still alive and clawing. (We'll publish that full interview early next week.) After all, Goose isn't really a cat – she's a Flerken, and Flerken might live much longer than standard Earth-cats. So don't despair – maybe Goose will show up in Avengers: End Game, and claw Thanos to death.