A lot has changed since we last saw Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel in her own movie: Thanos obtained and used the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life in the universe, the Avengers reversed the snap and brought back everyone lost in the blip, and a new slate of heroes have made their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. At long last, Carol Danvers is finally about to return to the big screen, and she’s bringing some powerful friends with her.
One of the most anticipated upcoming Marvel movies, The Marvels will become the latest entry to Phase Five of the MCU when it debuts later this year, starting the next chapter in the ongoing saga of one of the comic book world’s strongest heroes. While there is still some time before Captain Marvel 2 makes its debut on the 2023 movie schedule, there is a lot of information that we know about it so far. Let’s take a look at everything we know about The Marvels, including its release date, cast, story, and so much more.
What Is The Marvels Release Date?
There are a lot of promising superhero movies coming out this year, including The Marvels, which is slated to be released on November 10, 2023. The long-awaited sequel, which will not only continue the story started in 2019’s Captain Marvel but also some of the best Marvel shows on Disney+, was originally slated to debut in July 2022, but the movie has been pushed back several times in recent years, including multiple release dates in 2023, the most recent being July 28 before Marvel announced on Instagram that the film would open closer to the end of the year. It wasn’t all bad news, though, as Marvel also debuted the first poster for the upcoming release.
Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris And Iman Vellani Lead The Marvels Cast
The Marvels will, of course, see the return of Brie Larson as Carol Danvers in a story that is expected to follow the current timeline of the MCU, as opposed to staying in the ‘90s, where the original told her origins. Joining the cast so far are three other women: Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, and Zawe Ashton.
Teyonah Parris will reprise her role as Monica Rambeau after her character was reintroduced in WandaVision. The actress portrays a grownup version of the young daughter of Carol’s fighter best friend, Maria. Parris has previously been in Dear White People, Chi-Raq and If Beale Street Could Talk.
Iman Vellani will be taking on the role of Kamala Khan, a.k.a., Ms. Marvel following the actor and character’s MCU debut with the 2022 Disney+ series, Ms. Marvel. Zawe Ashton will serve as a villain in The Marvels, but her character’s identity has yet to be revealed at this point in time. Ashton previously appeared in movies like Nocturnal Animals and Velvet Buzzsaw, as well as The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4.
Also set to be a part of The Marvels cast is Samuel L. Jackson, who will be reprising his role of Nick Fury, making this the first time we’ve seen the legendary character on the big screen since 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, when he was seen relaxing on a spaceship in the far reaches of space. Also set to appear are Saagar Shaikh, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, and Park Seo-joon, to name a few.
The Marvels Picks Up Immediately Following The Events Of Ms. Marvel
The first season of Ms. Marvel ended with Kamala Khan somehow switching places with Carol Danvers, though not much insight was provided before the Disney+ original series finished rolling out its credits. But it looks like we audiences will finally get to find out what that big switch was all about when The Marvels opens in theaters this November.
After watching footage during Disney’s D23 Expo in September 2022, Variety revealed that The Marvels will pick up right after the post credits scene. The outlet also explained that other footage from the expo showed Monica Rambeau as an astronaut in space before also transforming into Ms. Marvel. With each use of their powers, the three heroes swap places in the superhero version of Freaky Friday.
The Marvels Will Be Directed By Nia DaCosta
The first Captain Marvel movie was directed/written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the filmmaking team behind It’s Kind of A Funny Story and Half Nelson. For the sequel, Marvel is switching up its talent by handing over the keys to impressive young filmmaker, Nia DaCosta. She will be the first Black woman to helm a Marvel film. DaCosta’s directorial debut was 2018’s Little Woods, and she also helmed/co-wrote the 2021 version of Candyman with Jordan Peele.
When it was announced that Nia DaCosta would be taking over the reins of The Marvels in August 2020, Deadline speculated that even though the film’s budget had yet to be announced, it would be the biggest-budgeted movie led by a Black female director. Ava DuVernay currently holds that honor with A Wrinkle in Time’s $115 million budget. The first Captain Marvel movie had a reported budget of $175 million, per the Los Angeles Times.
And just like how the action on screen will be a team effort, the writing process for The Marvels was also a collaborative effort between DaCosta, WandaVision writers Megan McDonnell and Zeb Wells, and Loki scribe Elissa Karasik, according to The Direct.
Skrulls And Nick Fury Are Still Very Much In Play In The MCU
Though he hasn’t been seen in a while, Nick Fury is still very much a prominent figure in the MCU, as he will not only be in The Marvels but will also be portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson again in the upcoming Marvel series, Secret Invasion. We don’t know yet exactly when the highly anticipated series will debut, but Fury and Ben Mendelsohn’s Skrull, Talos, will be front and center in the show that follows the Skrulls after they have infiltrated Earth. Expect to hear more about the upcoming Secret Invasion series and how the Skrulls fit into the ongoing plans for the MCU in the very near future.
While we wait for the release of The Marvels and other MCU titles like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, now would be a good time to go back and watch the Marvel movies in order so you’re all caught up to speed.
