The Marvels trailer brings together Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani

Marvel Studios' CAPTAIN MARVEL..Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) ..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019
Marvel Studios' CAPTAIN MARVEL..Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) ..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019

Carol Danvers has been through a great deal in the MCU since her debut in 2019’s Captain Marvel. Now, the cosmic Avenger will get to team up with fellow heroes Photon (Teyonah Parris) and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani). The sequel will see the three characters swapping places with each other, leading to a grand cosmic adventure.

Early in 2023, The Marvels was delayed from July to November. Luckily, however, fans didn’t have to wait long for their first official look at the film, as Marvel Studios has released the first trailer for the Captain Marvel follow-up.

Watch the first ‘The Marvels’ trailer

Though the movie focuses on three heroes, it will still take time to further explore the character of Carol Danvers. As Brie Larson explained during an interview with Screen Rant at D23:

"“I think you get to explore these new sides of Carol that we haven’t seen before, because we’ve already established her. We’ve established her powers. But now, this is more about her personal journey.”"

The Marvels once again highlights the importance of Disney+

Marvel Studios greatly expanded via its series and specials on Disney+. Unlike Marvel Entertainment TV projects like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Inhumans, Marvel Studios’ series are firmly set in the MCU. Yet, before WandaVision premiered, the question lingered of how important the shows would actually be to the franchise.

Their relevance was gradually solidified by Loki planting the seeds for Kang before his appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Wanda’s dark journey in WandaVision leading to her becoming the villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Now, the company’s Disney+ output is getting another opportunity to have an impact on its big-screen counterpart with The Marvels.

While, as mentioned, Multiverse of Madness used WandaVision‘s mythology building blocks for the Scarlet Witch and Loki established the concept of the Kang dynasty, The Marvels will fully bring the Disney+ side of the MCU to the forefront with two of its three protagonists having been introduced (or, at least, greatly fleshed out) in the franchise’s streaming efforts.

Though the character of Monica Rambeau debuted in Captain Marvel, her adult counterpart—who seems poised to play an important role in the MCU moving forward—was more thoroughly explored in WandaVision. Kamala Khan, on the other hand, had her first solo vehicle on Disney’s streaming service. With that, Marvel Studios is fully showing just how important its television series are to its shared narrative.

Could there be a risk to the MCU relying on Disney+?

Admittedly, there could be a risk to Marvel making its streaming and theatrical projects so integral to one another. Looking at things positively, Marvel’s Disney+ shows being pivotal to The Marvels may encourage general audiences to catch up on the House of Ideas’ small-screen efforts, thus elevating the profile of such projects.

On the other hand, Ms. Marvel‘s somewhat underwhelming viewership (the show’s first episode was reported to have brought in only 4.2 million households during its first week) and Quantumania‘s disappointing box office returns could theoretically serve as a metric of audiences’ potentially fluctuating interest in MCU content. As such, having television series as required viewing for The Marvels could, in theory, deter people from watching the film.

That, of course, is a hypothetical scenario. Ultimately, Marvel Studios is experimenting with a bold storytelling approach of crafting a vast universe that connects theatrical and television experiences to form a unified storyline. Such a strategy can either pay off greatly or falter, and either outcome is understandable.

Though there is risk attached to Marvel’s plan, Captain Marvel was a success both financially and critically, earning $1.1 billion worldwide with a 79% Rotten Tomatoes score. That, paired with how well-received Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani’s characters have been, point to The Marvels being in line to become another monetary high for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Marvels is scheduled to be released on November 10, 2023.

What did you think about the first trailer for The Marvels? Let us know in the comments!