Intro

Three years ago, "Captain Marvel" was one of the last installments of the Avengers to hit theaters before they all gathered against Thanos in "Endgame". In 2023, the time comes for the second part, "The Marvels", to be released in movie theaters. However, it is not really another solo movie, as Carol Danvers will get powerful support: not only will Kamala Khan, also known as Ms. Marvel, join the team; Monica Rambeau will also be making her first appearance ever in a movie, after we already got to see her in "WandaVision". Even though there is still some time to go until the film is released in cinemas, there are already some things to report. So as not to get bored until the first official trailer is released, we have already summarized all the important facts for you in this video. This preview contains spoilers for the ending of the Ms. Marvel series, so watch that first if you haven't done so already.

Time Period

One thing is for sure: the movie will be set after "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness". One clue to this is that Monica and Kamala already possess their powers. Monica gets hers in "WandaVision" and thus has a significant impact on the plot. Exactly when "Ms. Marvel" takes place is still unclear. On the Disney+ timeline, though, she is placed towards the very end. 

What Has Happened So Far

Before we turn our attention to the movie, let's take a quick look at what happened with the main characters. Carol Danvers, also known as Captain Marvel, famously contributed a major part to saving the world from Thanos 2.0. Not only was she his equal in battle, she also ended up destroying his mother ship. While she was still on Earth afterwards, we did not see her in any of the subsequent storylines. So it is possible that she rededicated herself to the entire galaxy in order to protect other species.

Monica Rambeau, meanwhile, gained her strength by passing through the hex around Westview more than once, with her DNA being altered several times. She can sense energies at very long distances and throughout buildings, and has also managed to make bullets pass right through her. At the end of the series, she was tricked into going to a movie theater by a Skrull under false pretenses. This one revealed to her that an old friend of her mother's had sent him and needed her help. This officially teased the back story for "The Marvels". 

So now, before we get into Kamala, we would like to warn you about spoilers. Surely not all of you have seen the series "Ms. Marvel" yet, and those of you who still want to do so should quickly skip forward to the cast section. As we now know from the finale of "Ms. Marvel", it is not just the bracelet that grants her power. Her best friend Bruno has discovered that, unlike the rest of her family, she has a genetic mutation that allows her to unleash that force in the first place. Whether this is a reference to the X-Men or the Inhumans remains to be seen. What is certain is that one of the two groups will play a bigger role in the future. In favor of the Inhumans is the fact that they got their genetic mutation thousands of years ago through Kree experiments and that the Kree race does play an important role in "Captain Marvel". On another note, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" also already paved the way for the X-Men with Dr. Charles Xavier. In the last episode, she finally got her hero name from her father as well: He affectionately calls her his own little Ms. Marvel. And as you might expect, the connection to "The Marvels" was made in the post-credits scene: As Kamala lies on her bed, her bracelet lights up purple and she is sucked into a swirl. Instead of her, there is suddenly Carol Danvers, who stares in confusion at the many Captain Marvel posters in Kamala's room.

The Cast

Particularly when it comes to the cast, it is worth taking a closer look. Naturally, there are already some confirmed actors, but as usual, Disney tries to conceal all content of Marvel productions for as long as possible. For "The Marvels" specifically, there are two rumors, which could be of interest. However, let us first check out what is known for certain before we start with the guesswork.

The Marvels

Obvious are the three main casts. One is Captain Marvel, who will once again be played by Brie Larson. She got her powers directly from the Tesseract and is therefore considered one of the mightiest superheroes in the Marvel universe. A characteristic that many fans have already criticized, because it is reminiscent of the Superman problem from DC: Carol Danvers actually seems way too strong compared to other heroes. Needless to say, we can also look forward to Monica Rambeau, who will be portrayed by Teyonah Parris as before. Her superhero name is Photon, even though she has not been called that so far. Her special relationship with Captain Marvel will surely play a bigger role in the movie. After all, this is the first time the two will meet again after Carol left the Earth to help bring peace to the galaxy. Also, we assume that Carol does not yet know anything about the passing of Monica's mother.

Last but not least, there is of course Iman Vellani in the role of Kamala Khan. As mentioned before, she got her superhero name from her father. Unlike in the comics, Kamala does not have the same abilities as Mr. Fantastic. Indeed, there she can make her body grow and shrink. Yet, the bracelet gives her similar abilities: It doesn't make her body grow, but it does create a kind of crystal element that functions like elongated body parts.

An Old Acquaintance

When it comes to Captain Marvel, you cannot do without her old friend Nick Fury. Samuel L. Jackson slips into the role of the intelligence agency director for the 13th time. We are curious to see whether he will ask Carol for help again or whether it will be more the case that she needs his support this time. After all, she is the one searching for Monica, not him.

Khan Family

Since our youngest superheroine is still in her teens, her family is a natural part of the story. We already met the three main characters of the Pakistani family in the series: her parents Yusuf and Muneeba Khan, played by Mohan Kapur and Zenobia Shroff, and her older brother Amir Khan, played by Saagar Shaikh. Whether their best friend and inventor Bruno Carrelli, played by Matt Lintz will also be part of the cast, has not yet been clarified.

Rumor Mill

It looks like we can expect to see two more familiar faces from the MCU as well. The first is that of Lashana Lynch as Maria Rambeau. Monica's mother died of cancer after the Snap. So, we assume that Maria will be seen mostly in flashbacks. Another possibility is that a Skrull takes her form to manipulate Carol, although we consider the first theory to be more likely. One other possible character is Valkyrie from the "Thor" movies. Tessa Thompson has appeared in three Marvel films so far, most recently in "Thor: Love and Thunder". How her character will fit into the movie is something we don't know yet. The rumors about the two actresses surfaced when Zenobia Shroff posted a picture from the set. According to Screen Rant, there was a make-up trailer in which the faces of the young women could be seen. Hopefully we will soon know if this is just a lot of interpretation or if something was indeed leaked about the cast.

Also Confirmed

Already confirmed as actors, but still lacking a role, are Zawe Ashton and Park Seo-joon. Both actors are largely unknown in Hollywood. Zawe was last seen in "The Handmaid's Tale", and her South Korean fellow has only been featured in productions from his home country. The best known here should be the Oscar-winning movie "Parasite" from 2019.

Plot

But what about the plot of "The Marvels"? As we know, at the end of her first solo film, Carol Danvers set out to find a home for the Skrull, who until then had been terrorized by the Kree Empire. We still don't know to what extent her mission was crowned with success. However, since a Skrull visits Monica to establish contact between her and Carol, they will no doubt play a part again. It is also imaginable that the mission will not only take place on Earth, since Captain Marvel has finally pledged herself to the entire universe. This would then also be the first mission for Kamala and Monica outside of Earth. Pictures have already been leaked from the set, revealing Monica Rambeau in some sort of spacesuit. Unfortunately, as for the bad guy, we cannot even start to make any guesses yet. However, we assume that he will not be from Earth. We won't know more until a first trailer or teaser is released.

Production

Back in 2019 already, it was confirmed at Comic-Con by producer Kevin Feige that there will be another standalone Captain Marvel movie. However, due to the delays of recent years, the start of filming was postponed to August 2021. Shooting will take place at Pinewood Studios, in Los Angeles and New Jersey. The last filming location surely has a special role, since it is Kamala's hometown.

The actual planned theatrical release date was February 17, 2023. However, this date was swapped with "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania", meaning that "Captain Marvel 2: The Marvels" is now scheduled for release on July 28, 2023.