With the release of The Marvels, Marvel's 2023 film roster that started with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and continued with Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3, will be complete. The Phase 5 film is set to be released in cinemas in just a few short months, meaning fans are busy speculating about what this latest outing will have in store.
Unbelievably, it's been over four years since Brie Larson's Captain Marvel first appeared on our cinema screens in her debut solo outing of the same name. Since then, the Air Force pilot turned superheroine (real name, Carol Danvers) has changed the tide of the war in Avengers: Endgame, and made cameo appearances in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Ms. Marvel. Now, she's back. And she's brought a couple of friends along for the ride.
Update August 10, 2023: This article has been updated following the conclusion of Secret Invasion and following the release of the second trailer for The Marvels.
Two trailers have been released so far, giving fans a good look at how the trio of heroes will interact with each other while promising that, this time, "Everything Changes". But, despite being one of the most anticipated films of the year, there are still many questions to be answered. On the flip side, here's everything we do know about the impending cosmic adventure, that is, The Marvels.
Who Are The Marvels?
The upcoming film will feature not one, not two, but three major Marvel Comics superhero characters as the leads. This is the first Marvel film and, indeed, first superhero film in general to have three women as the leads. Considering 2019's Captain Marvel was the first MCU title not to feature a male lead, it's good to see how far things have come in the years since. So, who exactly makes up The Marvels?
For starters, there's Captain Marvel herself. Initially thought to be a Kree and a native of Hala, Carol Davers went by the name Vers while suffering from amnesia, before discovering that, in a former life, she was a human U.S. Air Force pilot. After being caught in an explosion caused by an experimental Kree engine, she gained superpowers and became one of the most powerful superheroes in the universe. Brie Larson once again takes on the role of Carol Danvers, who was last seen in a cameo appearance during the final episode of Disney+ series, Ms. Marvel.
Meanwhile, joining Larson is Teyonah Parris, who reprises her role as Monica Rambeau. Parris previously portrayed the character in Disney+ show, WandaVision, where she was introduced as an agent of S.W.O.R.D and the daughter of Danvers' best friend, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch). During the events of that show, Monica gained superpowers when her cells became rewritten after she crossed through the hex barrier created by Wanda Maximoff. It's thought that, at some point in The Marvels, Monica will adopt her comic book superhero name, Photon.
Competing the trio is Iman Vellani who returns to the role of Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, following her own Disney+ show. Kamala is a naive and goofy teenager who developed the ability to harness cosmic energy from a family heirloom passed down by Aisha, her great-grandmother — a being from the Noor Dimension. She idolizes Captain Marvel, so her interactions with Danvers should be a lot of fun to watch, especially because Vellani herself is a massive Marvel fan.
Who Else Is In The Cast?
Every good superhero (or, in this case, heroes) needs an equally good villain. In this case, that job falls to actress Zawe Ashton of Fresh Meat and Velvet Buzzsaw fame. She'll be playing a gender-swapped version of Dar-Ben, a ruthless Kree revolutionary who's fighting to restore her homeland after a civil war. Promotional material also shows her wielding an Accuser's hammer, hinting that, much like Lee Pace's Ronan the Accuser, Dar-Ben will also be a member of the militia group of the same name.
Rounding out the cast is Samuel L. Jackson who, once again plays S.H.I.E.L.D. director, Nick Fury, fresh off the heels of Secret Invasion. Jackson played a large role in the first film, where Fury and Danvers developed a tight friendship. It will be interesting to see how their relationship has changed in their time apart. Meanwhile, Randall Park reprises his role as Jimmy Woo from WandaVision and the Ant-Man and the Wasp films.
Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, and Saagar Saikh all reprise their roles from Ms. Marvel as Kamala's mother Muneeba, father Yusuf, and older brother Amir, respectively. Lashana Lynch will also reprise her role as Maria Rambeau and given her character being dead in the present-day MCU timeline, her scene will likely be a flashback.
Finally, Parasite star Park Seo-Joon is reported to be playing an ally of Danvers, who happens to be the ruler of a planet where everyone sings. We'll have to wait and see to find out how true this is.
What's The Plot?
Disney
While most major plot points remain unknown, we won't be going into The Marvels completely blind. For starters, we know that the concept of body-swapping will play a major role in the film. This was first hinted at during the post-credits scene of Ms. Marvel, where Kamala swaps (not shape-shifts) places with Captain Marvel. This was then confirmed in the first trailer, which shows Danvers, Kahn, and Rambeau mastering how to switch from one to the other in order to save the day.
Then there's the official Marvel Studios synopsis, which reads:
“Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol’s estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team up and learn to work in concert to save the universe.”
The trailers support the synopsis that shows the three characters' light-based powers have caused some sort of quantum entanglement. The word Quantum to Marvel fans likely means something big, as it clearly means some connection to the Quantum Realm. The Ant-Man films have really dove into that side of the MCU. Kamala Khan's bangle has been rumored to be the MCU version of the Nega-Bands from the comics. In the original Marvel Comics, the Nega-Bands allowed the original hero Mar-Vel and sidekick Rick Jones to swap places between the normal world and the Quantum Realm.
The Marvels might be adapting elements of that plotline to connect the various heroes together. This theory is supported by the trailer, which shows Dar-Benn wearing the other missing bangle in a fight with Carol Danvers. Ms. Marvel established that while one band on Earth was present, another one was missing and likely in the hands of the Kree since one was found on a dead Kree body.
While working together as a team will no doubt be easy for superhero mega fan Kamala and S.A.B.E.R agent Monica, it may prove to be trickier for Carol, who, notoriously, prefers to work alone. In fact, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Larson had this to say:
"The way I was able to tap into it and understand it is the concept that Carol kind of became a workaholic, and she lost touch with her heart and with family and friends,"
It certainly seems like Danvers learning to work as part of a team will play a big role in her emotional journey.
Elsewhere, the final scenes of Secret Invasion showed Nick Fury, along with his wife Varra, leaving Earth to negotiate a peace summit with the Kree as part of S.A.B.E.R. It is also understood that, as an astronaut for S.A.B.E.R, Monica will be working with Fury at the start of the movie. Could her relationship with him cause friction with Carol? And what exactly is it they have been working on? All will be answered soon.
When Will It Be Released?
Disney
The Marvels will be a part of Marvel's Phase Five slate and is scheduled to be released in cinemas on November 10, 2023. Prior to this, the film had gone through a total of four previous release dates: July 8, 2022, November 11, 2022, February 17, 2023, and July 28, 2023.
There have been rumors circulating that due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, Disney might delay the release of The Marvels since the film stars cannot promote the movie if a strike is ongoing. While the strike will hopefully be resolved before the movie is set to come out, the release date is subject to change. The constantly changing dates will have been a headache for fans who were desperate to see what happens next in the story of Carol Danvers and co. However, they can take comfort in knowing that the wait is almost over.