When writer Nicole Perlman came to Comic-Con International last year she struggled to even find swag for the movie she’d just finished writing, Guardians of the Galaxy—no one knew yet if it was going to be a hit. This year, people are already talking about the movie she just started writing, Captain Marvel, and it doesn’t even come out until 2018.

That’s because Captain Marvel will be the first Marvel Studios film led by a female superhero. Getting to write a script of that magnitude has been really exciting for Perlman and her co-writer Meg LeFauve, but also much more stressful. It’s important to Perlman that the movie does right by female superheroes, and—as Perlman noted when we spoke yesterday at the WIRED Cafe—women in general.

"We've been talking a lot about archetypes and what we want this movie to be about and just how to write a strong female superhero without making it Superman with boobs. ... Meg and I are doing a lot of brainstorming and we'll catch ourselves and say, 'Wait a minute, what are we saying [here] about women in power?' Then we have to say, 'Why are we getting so hung up on that? We should just tell the best story and build the best character.' And then we have this constant back-and-forth about how to tell a story that is compelling, entertaining, moving, kick-ass, and fun, and also be aware of what those larger implications might be. It's a lot more complicated than just writing Guardians."

Carry on, Captain Perlman. The wind is at your back.