'The Marvels' Movie: Everything We Know

After years of hype, the film is finally hitting movie theaters later this year.

brie larson the marvels
(Image credit: Walt Disney Studios)

After years of hype, the Captain Marvel sequel is finally arriving in theaters later this year, bringing three female superheroes together for an adventure across space and time. (We're long past the days when Black Widow was the Marvel Cinematic Universe's only superwoman.) Marvel released the first trailer for The Marvels on Tuesday, giving the first look at the team up between Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan, a.k.a Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani).

Trailer

In addition to Larson, Parris, Vellani, Jackson, and Park, the trailer also briefly shows Zawe Ashton in her undisclosed villain role. Other confirmed cast members include Saagar Shaikh, Zenoiba Shroff and Mohan Kapur as Kamala’s older brother, mother and father, respectively. And Captain Marvel fans received a fun surprise with the return of everyone's favorite Flerken, Goose.

Plot

For anyone who isn't caught up on the Disney+ MCU shows (to be fair, there are a lot), The Marvels begins with the events of the Ms. Marvel finale's post-credits scene, which saw New Jersey heroine and Avengers fangirl Kamala Khan swapping places her idol Carol, a.k.a. Captain Marvel herself. The trailer gives a bit of explanation for just what happened in the surprising scene, showing Monica (who gained energy-absorbing powers during WandaVision) working as an astronaut for Saber Space Station alongside Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). When Monica hits a jump point in the space continuum, she blinks out and Kamala appears, showing that she, Carol, and the teen actually did a three-way switch due to their somehow-connected powers.

As for the rest of the film's plot, Marvel Studios has released this official synopsis: "Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol’s estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team up and learn to work in concert to save the universe."

The Marvels marks several firsts for the MCU. The film is directed by Candyman helmer Nia DaCosta, making her the first Black woman, and fourth woman, to direct an MCU. The film also brings a K-drama star to the franchise, with the trailer showing Itaewon Class and What's Wrong With Secretary Kim star Park Seo-joon in an undefined role. He joins previous Korean stars Claudia Kim and Ma Dong-seok in the MCU, and K-drama fans are already excited for his role (and his character's hairstyle).

The Marvels is set to premiere in theaters on Nov. 10, 2023.

Reactions to the Trailer

Culture Writer

Quinci is a Culture Writer who covers all aspects of pop culture, including TV, movies, music, books, and theater. She contributes interviews with talent, as well as SEO content, features, and trend stories. She fell in love with storytelling at a young age, and eventually discovered her love for cultural criticism and amplifying awareness for underrepresented storytellers across the arts. She previously served as a weekend editor for Harper’s Bazaar, where she covered breaking news and live events for the brand’s website, and helped run the brand’s social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Her freelance writing has also appeared in outlets including HuffPost, The A.V. Club, Elle, Vulture, Salon, Teen Vogue, and others. Quinci earned her degree in English and Psychology from The University of New Mexico. She was a 2021 Eugene O’Neill Critics Institute fellow, and she is a member of the Television Critics Association. She is currently based in her hometown of Los Angeles. When she isn't writing or checking Twitter way too often, you can find her studying Korean while watching the latest K-drama, recommending her favorite shows and films to family and friends, or giving a concert performance while sitting in L.A. traffic.