The Marvels


The Marvels is a 2023 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to the film Captain Marvel, a continuation of the television miniseries Ms. Marvel, and the 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was directed by Nia DaCosta, who co-wrote the screenplay with Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik. It stars Brie Larson as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel, alongside Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the film, Danvers, Rambeau, and Kamala team up as "the Marvels" after they begin swapping places with each other every time they use their powers.
Marvel Studios confirmed plans to make a sequel to Captain Marvel in July 2019. Development began in January 2020 with McDonnell hired after working on the television miniseries WandaVision. Larson was set to return from the first film as Danvers, and DaCosta was hired to direct that August. In December, Parris was revealed to be reprising her role as Rambeau from WandaVision alongside Vellani returning as Kamala from Ms. Marvel. Second unit filming began in mid-April 2021 in New Jersey, and the title—referring to the three characters and their similar abilities—was revealed in early May. Principal photography began in July 2021 and concluded by mid-May 2022, taking place at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire and Longcross Studios in Surrey, England, as well as in Los Angeles and Tropea, Italy. Karasik's involvement was revealed during post-production.
The Marvels premiered in Las Vegas on November 7, 2023, and was released in the United States on November 10 as part of Phase Five of the MCU. It received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its performances but criticism for its script and tonal inconsistencies. The film was a box-office bomb, grossing $206 million worldwide against a gross production budget of $374 million, making it the lowest-grossing film in the MCU and one of the few MCU films not to break-even in its theatrical run.

Plot

destroys the Supreme Intelligence, the artificial intelligence that leads the Kree empire. This leads to a civil war on planet Hala, the Kree home world, rendering the planet barren as it loses its air, water, and sunlight over the next 30 years. The Kree come to know Danvers as "the Annihilator".
The Kree's new leader Dar-Benn discovers one of the two legendary Quantum Bands, which were previously used to create a network that allows fast travel across space. She uses the Band to forcibly open a new jump point that connects to the network. The resulting anomaly impacts the entire network, including a jump point near Earth's S.A.B.E.R. space station run by Nick Fury. Captain Monica Rambeau investigates the jump point near S.A.B.E.R. while Danvers investigates the new one that Dar-Benn opened. When they touch their respective jump points, Rambeau is transported to Danvers's location, Kamala Khan—who has the other Quantum Band on Earth—is transported to Rambeau's location, and Danvers is transported to Kamala's house. The three use their different light-based powers to fight off Kree enemies, leaving Kamala's home destroyed.
After the trio return to their original places, Fury and Rambeau visit Kamala on Earth. Rambeau surmises that their light-based powers are linked through quantum entanglement and that they switch places when any of the three use their powers simultaneously. They join up at a Skrull refugee colony on planet Tarnax, which Danvers helped found and where a peace treaty is being negotiated with the Kree. When talks break down, Dar-Benn rips open another jump point which siphons the atmosphere from Tarnax to restore breathable air to Hala. After a hasty effort to evacuate the colony, Danvers, Rambeau, and Kamala form a team that Kamala names "the Marvels". Danvers explains that Dar-Benn's repeated rupturing of jump points is causing instability in the network and endangering the entire universe. They deduce that Dar-Benn is targeting planets that are meaningful to Danvers, whom Dar-Benn blames for the desolation of Hala.
The Marvels travel to the water planet Aladna—where people communicate in song—and warn Prince Yan, Danvers's husband through a diplomatic act. Dar-Benn arrives and tears open a jump point, drawing the planet's water to Hala. Her final plan is to use the energy from Earth's sun to restore that of Hala's sun. On S.A.B.E.R., Goose—Danvers's cat-like pet Flerken—gives birth to a litter of kittens that can temporarily consume people, which Fury uses to evacuate the station's personnel. Dar-Benn steals Kamala's Band and attempts to use both Bands, but this destroys Dar-Benn, ends the Marvels' entanglement, and leaves behind a rupture between realities. Kamala reclaims the Bands and joins Danvers to energize Rambeau, allowing her to close the rupture but stranding her on the other side. Kamala returns to Earth and Danvers uses her power to restore Hala's sun.
Kamala's family helps Danvers move into Rambeau's house. Kamala's short-lived team-up with Danvers and Rambeau inspires her to seek out other young heroes and form a new group, starting with Kate Bishop. In a mid-credits scene, Rambeau awakes in a parallel universe where she is greeted by Binary—an alternate version of her mother Maria—and the mutant scientist Hank McCoy.

Cast

  • Brie Larson as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel:
An Avenger and former United States Air Force fighter pilot whose DNA was altered during an accident, imbuing her with superhuman strength, energy projection and absorption, and flight. Larson said the film would dive deeper into the complexities of Danvers's character after her origin story was established in Captain Marvel. Since the events of Avengers: Endgame, Danvers has mostly been off Earth in deep space. Larson said the character had become a "workaholic" and lost touch with her family and friends.
  • Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau:
An astronaut for S.A.B.E.R. who has the ability to manipulate all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. She is the daughter of Danvers's late friend and fellow airwoman Maria Rambeau, and looked up to Danvers as a child. Parris said The Marvels would further explore Rambeau beyond what was established in the Disney+ miniseries WandaVision. She boxed to prepare for the role.
  • Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel:
A teenage mutant from Jersey City who idolizes Danvers and wears a Quantum Band, a magical bangle that unlocked her ability to harness cosmic energy and create hard light constructs. Kamala is in awe of Danvers and Rambeau, her heroes, which producer Kevin Feige likened to Peter Parker's role in Captain America: Civil War. Vellani practiced parkour to prepare for Kamala's movement style in the film.
  • Zawe Ashton as Dar-Benn:
The Kree leader who is trying to restore her homeland after a civil war. She wields the Universal Weapon, a large hammer that was previously used by the Kree fanatic Ronan the Accuser in Guardians of the Galaxy. Director Nia DaCosta encouraged Ashton to prioritize her agility and strength in her training. Ashton's fiancé Tom Hiddleston, who portrays Loki in the MCU, gave her advice on playing a Marvel villain.
  • Gary Lewis as Emperor Dro'ge: The leader of the Skrull colony on the planet Tarnax
  • Park Seo-joon as Prince Yan: The charismatic prince of the planet Aladna who is Danvers's husband and ally
  • Zenobia Shroff as Muneeba Khan: Kamala's mother
  • Mohan Kapur as Yusuf Khan: Kamala's father
  • Saagar Shaikh as Aamir Khan: Kamala's older brother
  • Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury:
The former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. who is working on the space station S.A.B.E.R. The film's version of Fury is much lighter and more fun than the version seen in the Disney+ miniseries Secret Invasion, which executive producer Mary Livanos attributed to the relationship between Fury and Danvers that was established in Captain Marvel.
Tessa Thompson reprises her role from previous MCU films as Valkyrie, and Hailee Steinfeld reprises her role as Kate Bishop from the Disney+ miniseries Hawkeye. Lashana Lynch reprises her role as Monica's mother, Maria Rambeau, from Captain Marvel. She also portrays an alternate version of Maria called Binary, appearing in the mid-credits scene alongside Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Hank McCoy / Beast. Grammer reprises his role from 20th Century Fox's X-Men films X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Leila Farzad and Abraham Popoola portray S.A.B.E.R. workers Talia and Dag, respectively, and Daniel Ings portrays Kree scientist Ty-Rone. Goose, Carol's pet Flerken who resembles a cat, is played by cats Nemo and Tango, replacing actors Reggie, Archie, Rizzo, and Gonzo from the first film.

Production

Development

Ahead of the release of Captain Marvel, star Brie Larson expressed interest in a sequel featuring the character Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel. Producer Kevin Feige previously said there were plans to introduce Kamala to the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the release of Captain Marvel, because Kamala is inspired by Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel; Iman Vellani was later cast as Kamala for the Disney+ television miniseries Ms. Marvel. In March 2019, Feige said Marvel Studios had some "pretty amazing" ideas for a sequel, which could either be set in the 1990s, like the first film, or the present day. Lashana Lynch expressed interest in reprising her role of Maria Rambeau in a sequel, even if it was set in the present.
At the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con in July, Feige confirmed plans for a Captain Marvel sequel. Official development began in January 2020, when Megan McDonnell entered negotiations to write the script after serving as a staff writer on Marvel Studios' Disney+ miniseries WandaVision. Larson was confirmed to return as Danvers, but Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were not expected to return after directing and co-writing the first film. The studio hoped to hire a female director to replace them. The film was expected to be set in the present day, and was aiming for a 2022 release. In April 2020, Disney scheduled the film for release on July 8, 2022, filling the July 2022 date that the studio had previously reserved for an untitled Marvel film.
Nia DaCosta was hired to direct the film in August 2020. Deadline Hollywood Justin Kroll said this was another sign of Marvel Studios adding diversity to its films due to DaCosta being the first Black woman hired as a director by the studio. Kroll added that the film would likely break the record for the biggest-budgeted film directed by a Black woman. The studio had also considered Olivia Wilde and Jamie Babbit as directors for the film, but DaCosta was said to have been the frontrunner for some time. Richard Newby of The Hollywood Reporter said DaCosta's hiring could bring new energy to the MCU and Captain Marvel franchise, saying she "enjoys challenging preconceived notions about the relationship between characters and the lore behind stories". Newby also felt the film could explore Danvers's story from the perspective of Maria Rambeau's daughter Monica, a Black woman in present-day America.
DaCosta, a self-professed comic book nerd, developed the film with WandaVision producer Mary Livanos who gave her "creative latitude" to make the film she wanted. Larson said DaCosta was the best person to direct the film and praised her pitch presentation. DaCosta's original pitch included Adam Warlock and time travel, but she was told that Warlock would be appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Disney+ series Loki already dealt with time travel stories. DaCosta also cited Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children in her pitch as a reference for the film, particularly for its fight scenes and ending sequence.
Feige announced Captain Marvel 2 in December 2020, with a new release date of November 11, 2022. He confirmed DaCosta's involvement, revealed that Teyonah Parris would reprise her role as Monica Rambeau from WandaVision, and said Vellani would reprise her role as Kamala. Parris was excited to work with DaCosta again after Candyman, and to further explore Monica's relationship with Danvers as teased in WandaVision. Larson felt it made sense narratively to have Kamala and Rambeau introduced to the MCU in other projects before the three characters meet in this film, something she had discussed with Feige "from the beginning".