The Ultimate Guide to Unraveling the Marvel Universe on Disney Plus
The highly anticipated Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels, delves into the thrilling world of Disney+ heroes, incorporating the captivating stories of WandaVision and Ms Marvel Brace yourself for an epic cinematic experience that intertwines the small and big screens
The release of the initial trailer for The Marvels, the highly anticipated sequel to 2019's Captain Marvel, confirmed the inclusion of two Disney+ characters. This has sparked concerns among fans that the film will require prior viewing in order to fully understand the story. Brie Larson is set to reprise her role as Captain Marvel, five years after her debut, in the sequel directed by Nia D'Costa. Unlike the first film, which focused solely on Larson's character, The Marvels promises a team-up narrative that Kevin Feige is already comparing to The Avengers. Introducing the new characters, Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau’s Photon (Teyonah Parris), Marvel Studios aims to captivate fans with their first all-female team-up.
With these Phase 4 heroes playing prominent roles in The Marvels, viewers will need to catch up on WandaVision and Ms. Marvel to fully grasp the context before watching the film. In addition, Samuel L. Jackson has mentioned that viewers should also watch Secret Invasion to be completely up to speed. As the list of required Marvel content continues to grow, this is adding to the general audience's "superhero fatigue".
WandaVision and Ms. Marvel Are Required Viewing
The Marvels will be the first MCU film to feature two heroes that were introduced in Disney+ streaming shows. While the origin stories of the three main characters are highly regarded in recent MCU history and early reviews of The Marvels are positive, it seems like viewers will have to do a lot of homework to understand the context of the sequel, which may not yield satisfying results.
Although The Marvels is technically a sequel to Captain Marvel, there have been significant events in the film's universe that make a direct sequel seemingly impossible due to Carol Danvers' involvement in Avengers: Endgame. The first piece of media that audiences need to revisit is WandaVision.
WandaVision serves as the MCU's first Disney+ streaming show and offers fans their first glimpse of Photon. Teyonah Parris portrays an adult Monica Rambeau, who was previously introduced as a child in Captain Marvel. In WandaVision, Rambeau takes on the role of a SWORD agent assigned to investigate the appearance of a mysterious barrier surrounding the town of Westview, NJ. When Wanda Maximoff discovers that Monica doesn't belong in her reality, she forcefully removes her from the sitcom-like life. However, this setback doesn't discourage Monica Rambeau. She bravely breaches the barrier and acquires light-based abilities, ultimately becoming the heroic figure known as Photon.
Ms. Marvel presents a heartwarming coming-of-age tale centered around Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American high school student and Captain Marvel's biggest fan. After connecting with a family heirloom and discovering her own light-based powers (a stylistic choice that has garnered mixed reactions from fans of Kamala Khan's comic book origins), Kamala must navigate the challenges of embracing her identity as a hero while also juggling the typical struggles of being a first-generation American high schooler. Ms. Marvel can be seen as a sort of prequel to The Marvels, as Brie Larson's cameo in the show's post-credit scene hints at the events to come in the film.
Should Disney+ Shows be Necessary For Movies?
Content: The Marvels is not the first Marvel film to require prior knowledge of other projects, highlighting the nature of modern MCU properties. Given that the studio has produced 36 movies and 12 streaming shows in the past 15 years, creating a new story completely independent of MCU canon seems unlikely. The last film that didn't heavily rely on pre-existing MCU IP was Doctor Strange in 2016, but even that had connections to events in Avengers: Infinity War and WandaVision. The interconnectedness of the Marvel universe allows characters to cross over and appear in each other's stories, which was a major source of excitement for fans when The Avengers was released. However, it is important for superhero movies to be accessible to a wide range of viewers, as requiring extensive background knowledge to understand can alienate some audience members.
The Disney+ shows have been exceptional, demonstrating the studio's ability in short-form storytelling. However, the studio's collection of relevant content is already overflowing with multiple phases of released films. The upcoming film, The Marvels, appears to push the boundaries in terms of interconnected properties within the MCU. It is expected to be a worthy successor to Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Nevertheless, it should not establish a trend of mandatory viewing for audiences. The Marvels is scheduled for release on November 10th, 2023.
