The folks behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe say that they are proponents of social progress. But while Kevin Feige and the top tier of his creative arsenal have vocalized interest in diversifying the big screen’s superhero buffet, every one of their 13 and counting features has centered on an ostensibly heterosexual white cis-male character. Still, we’re getting somewhere. Black Widow occupies the emotional fulcrums of both Avengers: Age of Ultron and this week’s release, Captain America: Civil War; the latter film introduces T’Challa, who’ll headline his own Ryan Coogler-directed Black Panther movie in 2018; plus, there have been recent rumblings about including an LGBT character in the MCU. And now, by virtue of a high-profile slip of the tongue, we get word that Captain Marvel may be making her debut in Avengers: Infinity War.

Joe and Anthony Russo, the directing brothers responsible for Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, and who will take the Avengers reins from Joss Whedon to helm the (yet to be retitled) Infinity War movies, apparently accidentally dropped the bomb on Captain Marvel’s inclusion in their next movie. Comicbook.com reports that the Russos, while holding a panel at the Smithsonian Institute, hastily made mention of the heroine as a member of the Infinity War lineup.

Comicbook.com further reports that when asked by an attending fan to officially confirm the news, the Russos joked that they had meant to say, “Captain Barvel, [a] totally different character.” They could stand to take a lesson in identity safeguarding from Peter Parker.

Such reports about Captain Marvel’s inclusion in the third and fourth Avengers movies should be taken with a grain of salt, but it wouldn’t prove altogether outrageous to hear that Disney had decided the 2018 ensemble picture would be the appropriate introduction to the long awaited character. Avengers: Age of Ultron introduced fan favorites Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, ditto Vision. Civil War, which is effectively an Avengers movie in its own right, gives us Black Panther and an MCU canon Spider-Man. So, in truth, Captain Marvel will likely be only one of several popular comic book characters to first grace the screen in Infinity War.

Either way, we will for certain get to see Captain Marvel by 2019, when she stars in her very own movie. It’s a shame that it’ll have taken 11 years and 21 films to get the MCU to its first female-starring picture, but we’re excited that these changes are on their way.

Nerdist has reached out to Disney for confirmation of the reports.

Do you think Captain Marvel will find her way into Infinity War? Sound off in the comments!

Images: Marvel Comics