The Marvels Uses A Story The MCU Killed Off Twice With Endgame

Marvel Studios will attempt to repeat an old storyline in Phase 5’s upcoming The Marvels. Scheduled for release on November 10, 2023, The Marvels will bring together Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani as a new superhero team in the MCU. After the trio’s light-based powers become entangled by Zawe Ashton’s villainous Dar-Benn, Captain Marvel, Photon, and Ms. Marvel must band together to solve the mystery. As the sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, The Marvels will focus primarily on Larson’s Infinity Stone-powered hero, but will also explore a more personal storyline that has been attempted by Marvel Studios several times in the MCU’s history.

The Marvels will mark director Nia DaCosta’s debut in the MCU, and in the lead-up to the film’s Phase 5 release, DaCosta uncovered new storyline details for The Marvels. As well as revealing that the trio’s entanglement issues – which cause the heroes to swap places when they use their abilities – have been caused by Dar-Benn, and that The Marvels will explore Captain Marvel’s activities during her absence from the MCU, DaCosta stressed that the film would investigate the sisterly bond between the three leads. Marvel Studios has tried to bring this kind of dynamic to the light a few times, but these storylines have often ended in tragedy.

The Marvels Can Be The Sister Story The MCU Killed Off Twice

While the MCU does contain a lot of sibling partnerships, the bond between sisters has seldom been explored. The only notable sister pairs in the MCU have been Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova, and Gamora and Nebula, but both of these relationships have been difficult to delve into, particularly after both Romanoff and Gamora lost their lives during 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Gamora and Nebula were perhaps investigated in more detail, having the entirety of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise to develop their relationship, though Romanoff and Belova were robbed of this chance, only having 2021’s Black Widow to interact with each other on-screen.

Since The Marvels has also been teased to explore a sisterly bond between Captain Marvel, Photon, and Ms. Marvel, Marvel Studios now has the perfect opportunity to do this tender storyline justice in the MCU. This dynamic was never the focus of Gamora, Nebula, Natasha Romanoff, or Yelena Belova’s stories, so The Marvels can finally give this bond the attention it deserves. The Marvels’ three heroes are already connected in interesting ways (Danvers is Rambeau’s surrogate aunt, and Danvers is Khan’s idol), but bringing them closer together, and watching them form a familial relationship, will allow Marvel Studios to tell a much more personal and relatable story.

Why The Marvels’ Hero Bonds Are So Important For The MCU

Sibling relationships are brilliant storylines to explore thanks to their emotional depth and personal histories, which is something that The Marvels can certainly draw from, thanks to Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau’s past connections. This won’t be the first time Marvel Studios has utilized this kind of bond, as Thor and Loki, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, Shuri and T’Challa, and Wanda and Pietro Maximoff have all been crucial in establishing familial and quasi-familial relationships in the MCU. The idea that The Marvels will focus on sisters specifically means Marvel Studios may be diversifying the kind of relationships it explores, while also continuing one of the most interesting aspects of the MCU.