Four years after bringing home over $1 billion at the global box office, and securing a Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, we are finally getting a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel.
Joining Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers in The Marvels will be Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau, with the three heroes unwittingly coming together to take on the looming threat of the Kree, who we will next see in Disney Plus’ Secret Invasion series.
Although plot details are currently thin for the film, we have seen enough from interviews and an exceptionally fun teaser trailer to know that we can get excited for its release in November this year. Here are just five reasons why.
1. Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel
While all of the ‘Marvels’ will bring their own strengths to the film, getting the chance to see Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan on the big screen is undoubtedly the most exciting part of this release.
Disney Plus’ Ms. Marvel is one of the streaming service’s biggest successes so far, racking up an impressive score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, and this positive response is largely down to the delightfully charismatic performance of Vellani – who creates a character that is so likeable, so effortlessly charming, that you want to spend as much time with her as possible.
Khan’s wide-eyed wonder and unbridled optimism inject an enjoyable sense of purity into every scene, and after the life-altering events of the Ms. Marvel finale – which saw her properly take control of her powers – we are likely to find a more confident and self-assured version of Kamala this time out. Seeing this entertaining, emotionally honest character in cinemas, especially bouncing off the more experienced Larson and Parris, should be an absolute joy.
2. It Will Build on Secret Invasion
Sure, the storyline and quality of Secret Invasion may still largely be, um, secret, with the Disney Plus show’s release date still a few weeks away, but everything we’ve heard until now suggests Marvel fans are in for a treat.
With series director Ali Selim teasing a “classic espionage noir, like The Third Man” that slowly evolves into a Western-style gunslinging extravaganza, the upcoming season could be one of the MCU’s most refreshing releases in recent memory. And, with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury joining The Marvels after the Marvel series, we can definitely predict similarities between the two in terms of tone and narrative.
Much like with Secret Invasion and 2016’s Captain Marvel, the Skrulls are set to play a key role again in The Marvels, with their shape-shifting nature promising more mystery, mistrust and espionage. This, combined with the body-swapping fiasco laid out in the film’s teaser trailer, suggests we may be in for more noir-esque intrigue and nail-biting thrills. What is real? Who can be trusted? We can’t wait to find out.
3. It Could Lay the Groundwork for the Avengers’ future
The Marvels will provide the first proper look at the potential dynamics of a future Avengers line-up after the events of Endgame brought an end to the old guard in 2019. Since then, fans have been speculating about who will take the reins as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, with four years having passed without any real sign of a new-look team coming together.
However, with Vellani and Larson both expected to star in either or both of 2025’s Kang Dynasty and 2026’s Secret Wars, viewers could get a hint of the future dynamic of the team, with Larson’s Captain Marvel likely to become something of a leader for the Avengers going forward – after playing an important role in Endgame – and Ms. Marvel’s cosmic powers likely proving crucial against the colossal force of Kang and any other villains that may threaten the future of humanity.
Much like how Thor introduced the titular Asgardian to Hawkeye back in 2011, and Iron Man 2 established a fun relationship between Tony Stark and Black Widow a year earlier, this could lay the foundations for a core dynamic within the upcoming Avengers line-up.
4. The Kree are Back
Okay, that’s enough about the good guys. Now, let’s focus on the bad guys – more specifically, Zawe Ashton’s Kree Accuser. Spotted in flashes in the recent teaser trailer, wielding a super powerful Cosmi-Rod and wearing a mischievous smile, Ashton’s character looks like she will more than hold her own against the lead trio, promising a proper challenge for the Marvels.
It’s safe to say that the MCU hasn’t had the best track record when it comes to antagonists – from Iron Man 2’s Ivan Vanko to Ant-Man and the Wasp’s Sonny Burch, there have been several howlers over the years. Yet in Guardians of the Galaxy’s Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), we saw a villain that was truly villainous, physically intimidating and relentless in the pursuit of his goals.
Elements of that character, and of the Kree tradition, emulated the unnerving eccentricities of Dune’s Harkonnens, and getting the chance to explore their culture more deeply, and witness the brutality of their bad guys once again, will be interesting to say the least.
Not to mention Ashton’s filmography demonstrates that she can handle darker tones – having starred in films like Velvet Buzzsaw and Nocturnal Animals – this ferocious enemy seems to be in very safe, yet very sinister, hands.
5. Nia DaCosta in the Director’s Chair
As exciting as everything promises to be on-screen, though, the person behind the camera is one of the most encouraging elements here. With the likes of nightmare-inducing horror Candyman and chilling drama Little Woods earning critical acclaim, Nia DaCosta is quickly establishing herself as one of the most interesting filmmaking talents in Hollywood – and discovering what she can do with a massive, Disney-level budget is an undoubtedly intriguing prospect.
Don’t expect the money to change her style and sensibilities, though – DaCosta has promised to bring her grounded approach to this intergalactic story, keeping things real emotionally while unreal events happen on screen. “I am obsessed with how we all deal with our pain and trauma, and there’s some of that in the story,” says the 33-year-old. This, combined with a potentially gritty, Secret Invasion-influenced narrative, suggests we could see a more mature and sophisticated movie than you may expect.
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