The Marvels CGI Dragged After New Trailer, Compared To Legendary VFX Failures On Social Media

The CGI in the new trailer for The Marvels is being criticized online. The movie, which is due to premiere in theaters on November 10, will be the 33rd feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is set to unite Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) with Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), the grown-up daughter of her late friend Maria, and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), who was introduced in the 2022 Disney+ miniseries Ms. Marvel.

After a new The Marvels trailer debuted, Brandon Streussnig quoted a post sharing new stills from the movie.

In lieu of a caption, Streussnig shared an image of Captain Marvel flying through space with her pet Flerken Goose on her shoulder. To criticize the way the actor was composited in front of the background, the image was placed next to an iconic shot from 1983’s Jaws 3-D where the shark seems to be floating in an entirely different plane from the underwater background behind it.

Is The Marvels CGI Really That Bad?

There are a few issues at the center of this criticism of the CGI effects in the upcoming The Marvels. Marvel Studios has recently landed in hot water over their treatment of CGI artists, especially when it comes to the challenges they face with demanding turnaround expectations. For better or for worse, this controversy has put the CGI effects in any new Marvel project under more intense scrutiny than they likely would have otherwise.

Another element to consider is the fact that Marvel movie trailers don’t always reflect the way a scene is going to look in the final product. This could either be because the effects haven’t been fully rendered yet, or because the trailer editors are trying to hide a major spoiler from the movie. This has happened before, as major characters were edited out of certain shots from the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer to preserve their surprise cameos.

Judging the effects of The Marvels so far ahead of the release date doesn’t necessarily reflect the finished product. However, even if the shots in the trailer are the final shots from the movie, what is shown onscreen can’t definitively be deemed bad CGI. Because of the more fantastical nature of this particular branch of the MCU, the environments around characters involve refracted light that may mean any bizarre visions onscreen are entirely intentional.