Entertainment Weekly Has Exclusive Pics From The Marvels
The hype machine is running for Marvel’s next movie. Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive look at The Marvels, the final theatrical MCU entry of 2023. A sequel to Captain Marvel, WandaVision, and Ms. Marvel, The Marvels finds Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) being transported to each other’s locations when they use their superpowers. Also on hand are Zawe Ashton as Dar-Benn, a “Kree revolutionary” who is the film’s central villain (and is gender-swapped from the comics, because of course he/she is), Park Seo-joon as “an ally of Carol’s,” and Samuel L. Jackson as Nicky Fury. Directed by Nia DaCosta, The Marvels will land in theaters on November 10, 2023, a delay from its previous July release date, which was already its fourth.
The centerpiece of the article is a series of exclusive pictures; some are images from the film, while others are behind-the-scenes shots. You can see them below, again courtesy of Entertainment Weekly:
Like most of what’s been shown from The Marvels, these images are underwhelming. I’m sure they don’t want to give too much away, but it’s basically a series of shots of the characters, which are not much different from what we’ve seen in the trailer. Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Nick Fury aren’t doing anything to make them look cool; they’re just there. And that shot of Dar-Benn is straight from the trailer. Carol has a drab new costume; that’s something, I guess. It’s a bit worrying, like they didn’t have anything cool to show off to advertise for The Marvels. Even the shot of the cat is just him sitting there being a cat, not some flerken attack. It’s all bland, just like the trailer was, and probably just like the movie will be.
The article itself is mostly a fluff piece with the usual bits you expect to see. The actresses all became best friends; it was a wonderful working experience; the director is a big Ms. Marvel fan; Kevin Feige planned this all along (yeah, right); something-something-STRONG WOMEN! But there are a couple of interesting things we can extrapolate from some of the language they use. One is that director Nia DaCosta talks several times about the characters being flawed and/or having arcs, elements that were conspicuously missing from Captain Marvel. Could it be that they’ve finally realized they need to humanize Carol Danvers instead of ordering people to love her? Or – more likely – do they recognize that people want this, so they’re paying it lip service in the press without actually doing it in the movie? It would be a nice surprise if it’s the former, but I’m not putting any chips down on that one.
Another is something Zawe Ashton says Tom Hiddleston (who is her fiancé) said about acting in a Marvel film:
“‘What you put into Marvel, you get back.’ He said, ‘If you go into this with an open heart and a great work ethic and just want to provide an amazing experience for the fans, you’ll have an amazing experience on those sets.’”
Maybe Hiddleston really did say that; he’s always seemed like a cool guy, and he never devolved into fan-bashing nonsense. But part of me wonders if the Marvel folks understand how much goodwill they’ve lost in the past few years and are trying to make up for it by projecting this attitude. I hope that’s true, whether or not the Hiddleston quote is real; it’s high time they remembered where their bread is buttered. It would be nice if that translated to the quality of The Marvels, too, but again, I’m not taking that bet.
Unfortunately, there’s also this quote from Nia DaCosta:
“Obviously, there are changes between the comics and the movies, and sometimes I’m like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa!’ Sometimes Kevin [Feige] would be like, ‘You’re being too much of a nerd. Please stop.’”
This harkens back to that Marvel producer who said that they seek out people unfamiliar with the source material to write and direct Marvel movies now. So far, it hasn’t worked out too well for them, and people have largely turned away throughout Phases 4 and 5. But at least DaCosta seems like she’s trying to consider the comics, even if she’s meeting with resistance from the bigwigs; if this is true, that’s a point in her favor.
Once more, thanks to Entertainment Weekly for the images!
