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Brie Larson reveals the reality of playing a flying superhero: 'An eternal wedgie'

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's some serious ass pain.

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Published on November 11, 2023 12:20PM EST

Brie Larson is revealing the less-than-cool reality of playing a flying superhero like Captain Marvel.

"Anybody out there who's, like, thinking of becoming a superhero — or you're a superhero and then suddenly you can fly — just know it means an eternal wedgie for everything you ever do after that," the Marvels star declared on The Tonight Show on Friday. "You just don't think about it. You're like, 'Cool! I can fly! Wow!' And then you do it one time like, 'Peter Pan! Cool!' And then you're like, 'Oh no, actually, this is so uncomfortable.'"

Brie Larson in 'The Marvels'. Laura Radford/Marvel Studios

Although she gets the rationale behind why superheroes would prefer flying over walking ("If you can go two inches off of the ground, you're gonna do it!"), Larson explained that it quickly becomes difficult to act "cool and talk about helping people" when you're suspended "in a full-body plank" on wires for extended periods of time.

"It's a lot of core strength, folks! It's a lot. And you're just kind of airlifted up and around and you're just holding that [pose]," she said, scrunching her face into a determined superhero expression that quickly grew weary. "Just being like, 'We've really got to do this.' Ugh!"

She jokingly added, "It's acting, is what I'm saying."

But it isn't all hardship and burning abs. After her confession, host Jimmy Fallon shared a series of behind-the-scenes clips from The Marvels that featured Larson — reprising her role as Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel — taking to the sky and training for a floating fight scene.

"That is fun," she acknowledged. "That's my job, guys — like, that's my job. So that's wild."

As for what her character gets up to in her new superhero sequel? Well, in the true Marvel spirit of secrecy, Larson couldn't disclose much. "You're going to get to see incredible planets and teamwork and humor and love and friendship," she said. "I'm just really excited about it, so I hope you see it."

The Marvels is in theaters now. Watch Larson discuss the woes of flying — and being Samuel L. Jackson's second-favorite costar — in the clip above.

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Brie Larson reveals the reality of playing a flying superhero: 'An eternal wedgie'

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