'Captain Marvel' female friendship true to life, co-star Lashana Lynch says

CHICAGO -- "Captain Marvel" explodes into theaters Thursday night. It's the first film in the Marvel universe to focus on a female superhero.

Lashana Lynch plays Maria, Captain Marvel's best friend since their days as military pilots.

"They are both standalone, very unapologetic, very grounded, intelligent, very talented women," she said. "But when they come together, they rub off on each other so well and the make each other feel like they can easily be the best versions of themselves."

Lynch said she and costar Brie Larson didn't have to work to create chemistry between their characters.

"We just represented what we wanted to show on the screen and that's just two women being kind to each other and really experiencing life," she said.

Lynch said her character Maria is special because she's the first fully-formed black woman outside of the Black Panther series.

"It's nice to be in the family. It's nice to be part of this movie, especially an origin movie that is going to set up different types of women in this part of the universe," she said.