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 on the horizon, 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, trailer, 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 10th. 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 28th 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 at the time of the latest delay.
Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris And Iman Vellani Lead The Marvels Cast
Upon release, The Marvels will 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 previous movie 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.
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, Dar-Benn, a powerful Kree warrior who packs quite a punch..
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, though he had led the 2023 Disney+ original series, Secret Invasion.
The Marvels Trailer Teases An Intergalactic Battle And So Much Body-Swapping Adventure
Three months after Marvel gave fans The Marvels teaser, the studio came out with a full-fledged trailer that provided a great deal of context for the new movie. While the first video focused heavily on the body-swapping (though that’s a major part here), this two-and-a-half minute preview is jam-packed with all kinds of exposition and character introductions.
One of those introductions is Zawe Ashton’s Dar-Benn, the Kree warrior who’s behind the whole body-swapping situation. Other scenes include the wedding ceremony seen in the trailer, the Marvels putting a whooping on some Kree grunts, and Goose doing what she does best: use those massive tentacles to eat some people along the way.
The Marvels Follows The Forming Of A New Team To Take On A Kree Threat
Captain Marvel saw Carol Danvers team up with Nick Fury after Earth became caught in the middle of the ongoing Kree-Skrull War, but the titular hero had to face some of her biggest fights alone. This time around, Captain Marvel will form an all-star team of her own to take on a rising Kree threat alongside Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau. The three superheroes will have to be on the same page in their fight, as they swap places whenever they use their powers.
Goose Will Be A Major Part Of The Marvels' Story
Another major part of The Marvels story that has been teased a lot in the leadup to the film’s release is Goose, the seemingly normal cat revealed to actually be a man-eating flerken in the 2019 Marvel movie. When speaking with EW in July 2023, executive producer Mary Livanos alluded to big things on the horizon for the character who gave Nick Fury a reason to wear an eyepatch:
Goose is her own person. She is full of surprises, and she certainly has a lot in store over the course of this story.
Livanos stopped short of revealing what’s in store for Goose, but with the cat, er flerken, being featured so heavily in the promotional material for The Marvels, it looks like we’ll see a lot of the creature that stole our hearts four years ago.
The Marvels Picks Up After Ms. Marvel And Secret Invasion
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has always been an intertwined series of stories, and that’s true more now than ever with all the various TV shows and movies that continue the ongoing narrative. That will again be the case for The Marvels, as the series will pick up following the events of not only the Ms. Marvel finale but also following the events in the Secret Invasion ending.
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. Following the conclusion of Secret Invasion in July 2023, director Ali Selim revealed to CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend podcast that had to conclude the series with Nick Fury going back to space, which is what ended up happening.
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.
While we wait for the release of The Marvels and other MCU titles like 2024’s Captain America: Brave New World, now would be a good time to go back and watch the Marvel movies in order so you’re all caught up to speed.
