Undoubtedly taking advantage of Barbenheimer weekend—and hinting at what a Marvel Comic Con appearance could have been—Marvel dropped a new trailer for The Marvels just in time to stick it in front of at least one of the two big new movies this weekend.
Building on the good vibes of the teaser, the new trailer explains a little more about the connection between Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan. It seems the space-swapping problem is introduced by the villain, Dar-Benn, a Kree played by Zawe Ashton (whose fiancé, Tom Hiddleston, offered some practical advice about her costume). So, at least some of the Kree are still mad at Carol Danvers. I hope this doesn’t tie heavily into Secret Invasion, because no one is watching that. Maybe putting it on Hulu will help?
I still really like the look of this movie, and using the Beastie Boys in the trailer is a nice touch, a bit of 90s continuity with the first film. I also like that we get a little bit more of a tease this time about the conflict between Monica and Carol—I just cannot imagine this film won’t address Carol’s long absence from Monica’s life—and Iman Vellani remains the CUTEST. Honestly, her energy is so infectious. I know dropping Ms. Marvel on ABC is primarily about filling schedule amidst the ongoing double strike, but I hope it also serves to draw more fans to Kamala Khan. She deserves it!
Speaking of, Iman Vellani is now a comic book writer, too. She and Ms. Marvel writer Sabir Pirzada are teaming up to write a new book for Kamala titled Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant. Kamala was recently killed off in the comics, but this new book will probably explain her resurrection.
2023 has been a mixed bag for Marvel so far, and I am super curious to see if The Marvels is more Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 or Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The trailers for The Marvels are far more encouraging than those for Quantumania ever were, but it is increasingly hard to tell what audiences will go for in the superhero genre. The Marvels trends on social media consistently, even without new trailers or news, which is a good sign, but again, prediction is increasingly fraught as the audience grows ever more discerning. It’s no longer enough to just be A superhero movie, they have to be GOOD superhero movies, or else, as we’ve seen recently, audiences stay home.
The Marvels looks promising, but only time will tell.
