Of all the upcoming MCU movies, The Marvels is one of the most interesting — and potentially pivotal to the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe — releasing in 2023. Despite several delays and rumored story adjustments, The Marvels is on track to be the final Phase 5 movie released in 2023, and is a sequel to not only Captain Marvel but Ms. Marvel and WandaVision too. Joining Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers in the second Captain Marvel movie are Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel and Teyonah Parris as the powered-up Monica Rambeau.
The Marvels was confirmed in 2019, with production underway by 2020. There’s been a barrage of teases, reveals, and The Marvels news since. Ms. Marvel and WandaVision have hit Disney+ in that time too, so the main pieces of the narrative jigsaw are in place. Littlewoods and Candyman 2021 director Nia DaCosta is at the helm, sharing The Marvels screenwriting duties with Zeb Wells, Alissa Karasik, and Megan McDonnell. However, production on The Marvels hasn’t been smooth, so every week brings new developments on the Captain Marvel sequel.
Latest News On The Marvels
A delay in The Marvels release date was announced in February 2023. According to reports, The Marvels needed more time in post-production and so was pushed back from July to November. Rumors began circulating in early March that development on The Marvels hasn’t been the smoothest and that possible delay-causing story adjustments could be down to the mixed response received by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (via The Direct).
It’s important to note that as widely reported as these The Marvels rumors are, they are at present based on the word of “trusted sources”. There hasn’t yet been any confirmation from an official source. Speculation on why The Marvels has been delayed to November 2023 can’t be taken as truth. Disney’s report states that CGI on The Marvels needs to be perfected — attention-worthy in itself considering how the controversial MCU Phase 4 came under fire for its lackluster visuals.
The Marvels Release Date
The Marvels release date is November 10, 2023, a date that has been pushed back multiple times due to the coronavirus pandemic, constantly changing MCU schedule, and most recently the need to perfect the CGI in post-production. This is the fourth time The Marvels release date has been pushed back since Captain Marvel 2 was first announced. Originally the Captain Marvel sequel was slated for a July 2022 release, before being moved back to November that year, then February 2023, and finally the July 2023 slot it previously occupied.
Captain Marvel 2 Cast
Brie Larson is reprising her role as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers in The Marvels — unsurprising since it’s technically Captain Marvel 2. Joining her on the center stage for The Marvels cast will be Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, a.k.a Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau — Teyonah Parris’s S.W.O.R.D agent who gained powers of her own during WandaVision. Monica and Carol have met, although Monica was a child in Captal Marvel. Monica’s mother Mariah (Lashana Lynch, also reprising her role for The Marvels cast) was Carol’s best friend, in addition to being the Captain Marvel of Earth-838 in Multiverse of Madness.
Samuel L. Jackson is also attached to The Marvels cast. What Nick Fury will be up to in Captain Marvel 2 is unknown, but his own Disney+ show Secret Invasion may provide answers — especially since both Captain Marvel and Secret Invasion are stories about Skrulls. The Marvels villain is unknown, but will be portrayed by Zawe Ashton. Park Seo-joon of Parasite fame will be involved too, again in an undisclosed role (although rumors on him playing everyone from Prince Yan to Amadeus Cho, a Hulk, have circulated online). From the Ms. Marvel cast come Kamala’s family Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, and Saagar Shaikh.
The Marvel’s Confirmed Plot Details
It’s hard to predict what the story of The Marvels will be, as the official synopsis is vague and offers little beyond the fact it’s a trio-based team-up. Most clues come from the Ms. Marvel post-credits scene. In the scene, Kamala — still not fully in control of her powers — inadvertently trades places with Carol Danvers, leaving a very confused and bewildered Captain Marvel in New Jersey, and Kamala somewhere unknown.
Placing Carol on Earth means arranging a meeting between Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau won’t be too difficult. It may even be facilitated by Nick Fury. Since Kamala Khan’s family are all confirmed as part of The Marvels cast, it’s possible that Captain Marvel and Monica will embark on a journey to bring Kamala home at their request/insistence. Carol probably wouldn’t need much persuading — powers or no, Kamala is still a young girl in need of rescue, and Captain Marvel is a superhero.
With Zawe Ashton’s villain still unknown, Kamala’s whereabouts are a total mystery. Once this detail is revealed the comics could provide some clues, but for now all that’s known is she isn’t on Earth. Secret Invasion could help set this up, as the Skrulls are part of the cosmic side of the MCU. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 could also provide a clue, perhaps by way of a post-credits scene, since it’s also a cosmic adventure set away from Earth — not to mention the fact that it immediately precedes The Marvels on the Phase 5 release schedule.
The Marvels Trailer
There’s no trailer for The Marvels yet, and it’s difficult to predict when one will release. On the one hand, it’s the next MCU movie due after Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and due for release this year — originally for the summer. These are all reasons a trailer for The Marvels could arrive soon. However, The Marvels has been delayed for post-production work on the CGI and, according to some reports, typical MCU last-minute story adjustments. For these reasons a trailer for The Marvels may not arrive until mid-to-late 2023.
The first The Marvels trailer will almost certainly be a talking point when it debuts. Aside from the controversy surrounding the production — and the toxic online discourse which unfortunately the Captain Marvel franchise still can’t quite shake off — The Marvels will potentially have a huge impact on the MCU. Kamala Khan was revealed as the MCU’s first confirmed Mutant, meaning The Marvels is the most likely movie before Deadpool 3 to contain a hard MCU X-Men reveal. Plus, the trio of heroes has links to the cosmic and mystic sides of the MCU, so The Marvels will bring those different corners of the Marvel Cinematic Universe together thematically for the first time.