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Sorry Monica & Kamala, The Marvels Is Still Carol Danvers’ Story
Unfortunately for Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), The Marvels will still be Carol Danvers' (Brie Larson) story. Directed by Nia DaCosta, the film was supposedly going to be Captain Marvel 2 — a follow-up to Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Captain Marvel film from 2019, which served as the titular character's origins story. That was until it was reworked to be a team-up feature. Despite technically having two more headlining heroes, The Marvels sounds like it will still primarily center on Carol.
Specific plot details for The Marvels remain scant at the moment. The film isn't slated to release until July 2023, so Marvel Studios has yet to formally start marketing the movie, understandably opting to focus their promotional time and funds on other upcoming projects such as Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. That being said, DaCosta’s The Marvels was among the projects featured at D23 Expo, where the first footage for the film was also unveiled. Aside from that, some information about its narrative was also shared. That includes Larson teasing what can be expected from the trio's dynamic.
According to Larson, The Marvels tackles Kamala and Monica's contradicting views of Carol. "Ms. Marvel idolizes Captain Marvel but doesn’t really know the true Carol. And then you have Monica, who grew up with her but has a little bit of a resentment because of how much time has passed," the actress reveals. Meanwhile, Larson's character will be at the center of this all as she, too, figures out who she is while navigating her way in the world. Considering the complexities of her respective relationships with her new teammates, it seems like this will be the emotional backbone of the movie. Captain Marvel functions as the connective tissue between Kamala and Monica; without her, they might not be able to team up. Given this, it somehow makes sense that despite having three headlining heroes, the focus will primarily stay on Carol Danvers and her MCU narrative.
How The Marvels’ Changes MCU’s Typical Sequels
Since the earlier years of the Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios established a trilogy format for its more prominent heroes. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) was the first one to finish his solo movie run with Shane Black's Iron Man 3 in 2013. The franchise has primarily stuck with that, but MCU Phase 4 is making big changes to it. For starters, a fourth film is no longer off the table, as seen in Taika Waititi and Chris Hemsworth's Thor: Love and Thunder and the confirmed Spider-Man 4 with Tom Holland. The Marvels, on the other hand, change things up in a slightly different way. Instead of continuously focusing on Larson's Carol by making Captain Marvel 2 as seen in previous MCU sequels, DaCosta's upcoming superhero film gives both Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau equal importance in the narrative as co-titular characters in The Marvels.
This doesn't mean, however, that Kamala and Khan will be wasted in The Marvels. After both debuted on their respective Disney+ series, joining Danvers on the big screen is a big leap for them — proof that they will play a big role in the Multiverse Saga and beyond. It's just that The Marvels' story will be more centered on Captain Marvel as the group's de facto leader.
