FILM · 2023 · USA
The Marvels
99 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (99)
- #001
As in the first film, Brie Larson had to use a stunt double in scenes where Carol shares a room with Goose, because she has a serious cat allergy in real life — except, of course, in shots where Goose is CGI.
- #002
At around the 43-minute mark, Monica initially calls Dar-Benn's Accuser weapon a "hammer," and Carol corrects her with "the Universal Weapon." Kamala says she expected something cooler, like "the Cosmi-Rod." In the comics, both terms are used for the Accusers' weapons.
- #003
The film confirms the true nature of Ms. Marvel's bangle, revealing it to be a powerful Quantum Band. Quantum Bands have appeared in the comics since 1975 and usually belong to a version of Quasar. Based on the hints given in Ms. Marvel (2022), the MCU's version of the Quantum Bands is tied to Kree mythology.
- #004
At 1 hour 45 minutes, this became the shortest MCU film, beating The Incredible Hulk (2008) and Thor: The Dark World (2013), which each run 1 hour 52 minutes.
- #005
The singing planet that dominates the middle of the film is Aladna. In the comics, Aladna is a planet where everyone speaks in rhyme. Carol Danvers's comic-book counterpart is also engaged to Prince Yan, a match she makes to free Lila Cheney — a mutant with intergalactic teleportation powers — from an obligation. In the film, besides saying the marriage serves legal and political interests, Carol seems reluctant to discuss why and how it happened.
- #006
Monica Rambeau's comic-book counterpart has used the codenames Captain Marvel, Photon, Pulsar and Spectrum, among others, across various iterations. Photon, Pulsar and Spectrum are among the codenames Kamala suggests for Monica in this film.
- #007
Kamala tries to come up with codenames for Monica Rambeau (two of them, Pulsar and Spectrum, had long existed in the comic-book universe). In the comics, Monica is famous for constantly changing her codename — sometimes because someone else took it, sometimes for other reasons — though none of them ever sticks for long.
- #008
At the end, Ms. Marvel appears in Kate Bishop's (Hawkeye) apartment and asks whether she thought she was the only kid superhero in the world. This mirrors Nick Fury showing up at Tony Stark's mansion at the end of Iron Man (2008). She then tells Kate she is putting together a team, saluting the Young Avengers superhero group. It is also a clear secondary nod to the scene in the Hawkeye (2021) Disney+ series where Florence Pugh's Yelena similarly breaks into Kate Bishop's home, startles her and calls her "Kate Bishop" (rather than just Kate or Hawkeye). Although in her conversation with Kate, Kamala directly references only "Ant-Man's daughter" (Cassie Lang) as a fellow "kid superhero" she found in S.A.B.E.R.'s classified files, Yelena herself is a likely candidate for the future Young Avengers roster, even though she, like Kate, is in her twenties.
- #009
Lashana Lynch, who plays Maria Rambeau (Monica Rambeau's mother), is two months younger in real life than Teyonah Parris, the actress who plays her daughter.
- #010
Tarnax, a Skrull refuge colony, was introduced as the capital of the Skrull Empire in the pages of Fantastic Four #18 in 1963. Also known as Throneworld, Tarnax IV appeared in stories featuring the Fantastic Four, Captain Marvel, the Illuminati, the X-Men, Galactus and many more characters. In the comics, Galactus, not Dar-Benn, is responsible for Tarnax's destruction.
- #011
Emperor Drogge is another refugee Skrull leader seeking a new home through non-violent means. In Secret Invasion (2023), Talos tells Nick Fury that Drogge's Skrull colony is the only one that did not secretly migrate to Earth.
- #012
In a deleted scene, Ms. Marvel talks with the people of Aladna and asks for a new costume, suggesting a scarf that could be used as a weapon. This explains why one appears in the fight scene on Aladna.
- #013
At around the 1 hour 35 minute mark, Beast's cameo in the mid-credits scene is the first time the character has been portrayed in live action entirely through CGI. Previously, both Kelsey Grammer and Nicholas Hoult had to wear special makeup and prosthetics to play the character.
- #014
Iman Vellani trained in parkour to prepare for Kamala's movements in the film.
- #015
At around the 48-minute mark, Kamala's mother refers to Nick Fury as Nicholas, and Kamala corrects her, saying his name is just Fury. This ties to Nick Fury's role in Captain Marvel (2019), where he says he prefers to be called only Fury — not Nicholas or anything else.
- #016
Many pictures of sloths hang on the walls of Kamala's bedroom. This is a holdover from the comic-book version of Kamala Khan, who also loves sloths; her YouTube channel, for example, is called Sloth Baby Productions.
- #017
At around the 59-minute mark, Monica's costume on Aladna comes with the loose, flowing sleeves of her first comic-book outfit, which she removes because they are impractical.
- #018
In an interview, Iman Vellani said she believes the mid-credits scene revealing Beast takes place in the same universe as the X-Men film series, but that it is set sometime during the original trilogy, particularly because Kelsey Grammer plays the character. However, Beast wearing a uniform different from the one in the original trilogy suggests this is a different reality.
- #019
At around the 37-minute mark, the Supreme Intelligence was supposed to appear in its true, comically accurate form at the end of the first film, but the scene was scrapped. Even if only in a brief flashback, it finally appears in live action in the sequel.
- #020
(At about 1 hour 35 minutes) John Ottman's main theme from X2: X-Men United (2003) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) gets a musical touch mid-credits when it is revealed that Monica is trapped in a universe where the X-Men exist.
- #021
For director Nia DaCosta, it was really important that in the sequence where the Skrull planet is destroyed, the audience sees Carol's complete failure and that Kamala sees it too, so she learns how hard it is.
- #022
In the Ms. Marvel (2022) series we see a flashback to when the ClanDestines found Kamala's bangle. They removed the bangle from a partly buried blue arm, which at the time many viewers guessed was Kree. The Marvels confirms this speculation. We see that the Kree's main villain, Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), has found another matching bangle. And we learn that these are the Quantum Bands; according to Carol, two of the oldest and most powerful artifacts in the MCU, thought to be legend.
- #023
Carol's cat-like pet Flerken Goose is played by the cats Nemo and Tango, replacing the previous actors from Captain Marvel (2019), Reggie, Archie, Rizzo and Gonzo.
- #024
(At about 24 minutes) When Monica says she got her powers from a witch's spell, she is referring to the events of WandaVision (2021), released in 2021. In that show, Wanda Maximoff creates an alternate reality for herself called "The Hex" in Westfield, New Jersey, where Vision is alive and happily married to her. Monica gains her superpowers by passing through the Hex.
- #025
(About 2 minutes later) Kamala is shown writing and drawing her own Ms. Marvel comic. This connects to Iman Vellani actually writing Ms. Marvel comics for Marvel. In 2023 the actress wrote the limited series Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant, which included the MCU's origin change and also made Kamala Khan a mutant in the comics.
- #026
Monica Rambeau and Carol Danvers interact for the first time in about 30 years, but the strained relationship between them connects to Monica's earlier appearance in WandaVision (2021). During the Disney+ series, Monica behaved noticeably differently when Jimmy Woo and Darcy Lewis mentioned Captain Marvel.
- #027
In the comics, Dar-Benn is a male Kree general.
- #028
The project was first announced as Captain Marvel 2 during Disney's 2020 Investor Day presentation. The film's final title, The Marvels, was set in a promotional video released on May 3, 2021, referring to the other characters involved, Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau, whose code name is "Marvel."
- #029
Kamala admires the heroes Danvers and Rambeau, a role that producer Kevin Feige compared to Peter Parker's in Captain America: Civil War (2016).
- #030
Director Nia DaCosta encouraged Zawe Ashton to prioritize agility and strength in her training.
- #031
A S.A.B.E.R. Space Station appears at the beginning of the film. SABRE is an acronym for Strategic Aerospace Biophysics and Exolinguistic Response. It appears to be an extension and continuation of Fury's SWORD initiative; an outpost meant to serve as early warning and defense against space threats, and a hub for alien species such as the Skrulls that come into direct contact with Earth.
- #032
The set of Kamala Khan's home was rebuilt from the Ms. Marvel series in the United Kingdom, and they took the opportunity to push her obsession with Captain Marvel even further.
- #033
Captain Marvel (2019) established that part of Carol's hair came out of the top of the helmet, matching the comics, but The Marvels shows a new version of the helmet that completely hides her hair. The new helmet has a small point in the middle where the hair would normally flow, and it is seen while Carol is lying on the ship and during the flashback to her return to Hala.
- #034
They use the Volume to display what is outside the ship's windows, and this was their first introduction to the technology. The Volume is a set of LED panels placed outside a given set's windows, so that VFX can create visual effects content in advance and the actors can react to planets, jump points or Earth. A huge step up from the green screens that add the image in post-production.
- #035
Because of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA Actors Strike, a large part of The Marvels' pre-release marketing did not include appearances by the film's cast. The deal that ended the strike was reached only one day before the film's first previews began screening. This was similar to the marketing of Loki's (2021) Season 2, which was affected by the same strike. After the strike ended, Iman Vellani made a surprise appearance before the film's screening at the El Capitan in Los Angeles.
- #036
Brie Larson said that after Danvers's origin story was established in Captain Marvel (2019), the film would dive deeper into her character's complexities. Since the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019), Danvers has mostly been in deep space, off Earth. Larson said the character has become a "workaholic" and has lost her connection to family and friends.
- #037
It is the 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- #038
The filmmakers wanted to build the entire space elevator, but budget constraints meant they constructed only a section of the circular set and used camera tricks to keep reusing the same piece.
- #039
While the trio travels aboard Carol's ship, they have to wear normal clothes and take off their superhero suits. This leads Monica to wear a white shirt with a grey logo for the band Nine Inch Nails. Given that Carol wore the same shirt during Captain Marvel (2019), it should look familiar.
- #040
There was debate over how much of Carol's past should be included, particularly whether scenes from Captain Marvel (2019) should actually be incorporated here. Since the film focuses in many ways on where she has been since the previous film, it was decided the scenes were necessary. There was an equally strong debate over how dark Carol should feel. Nia DaCosta said, "I wanted her to be charming, grounded and human, but I also wanted her to be a little bit disillusioned and in some ways the worst of her."
- #041
Every MCU film opens with a version of the typical Marvel Studios logo and fanfare, but The Marvels makes a subtle change to the usual approach. Instead of highlighting the franchise's entire history and adding a few new clips each time, The Marvels primarily uses footage of Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan. These include clips from Captain Marvel (2019), WandaVision (2021), Ms. Marvel (2022) and more, allowing the film to immediately draw attention to its three female leads.
- #042
The post-credits scene of Ms. Marvel (2022), in which Carol suddenly appears in Kamala's bedroom and swaps places with her, was shot specifically for this film and then added to the series as a small teaser.
- #043
(At about 1 hour 35 minutes) A familiar silver X-themed door is shown. The design was copied from the original X-Men films, which featured similar doors beneath Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Although this does not appear to be the same universe in which the original X-Men films take place, the design connection shows one of the many legacies those films left behind.
- #044
(At about 48 minutes) Aamir's wife, Tyesha Hillman, is notably absent from the plot. Rather than completely ignoring the fact that she is missing, the film briefly references her. During the Khan family's trip to the SABER station, Aamir is shown recording a video for his love. Tyesha may not be named, but the video is probably meant for her.
- #045
While Carol apparently moves into Rambeau's home, Carol Danvers and the Khan family end up in a familiar place. She decides to guard the house and the Rambeau plane until Monica returns. This means the days when Captain Marvel's stars roamed permanently are over, and she can once again take up a more permanent residence on Earth.
- #046
(At about 1 hour 12 minutes) The song playing as the Flerkens (space cats) swallow all the people is "Memory." The song is a Broadway classic and forms the emotional climax of the musical Cats. It tells the story of an old cat named Grizabella remembering the time when she was young and beautiful.
- #047
Previous Marvel series and films revealed different ways for characters to access the multiverse. They could join the TVA and disrupt the Sacred Timeline. They could persuade Doctor Strange to cast a faulty spell. They could ask America Chavez for a favor. The Marvels adds another method. They can use Quantum Bands to tear a hole in space-time and cross over.
- #048
The Kree refer to Captain Marvel as the Annihilator. This stems from Carol's role in the collapse of the Kree homeworld Hala, but there is also a comical connection. The Annihilators are the name of a powerful cosmic team that serves the galaxy by defeating major threats in the comics. The team includes Silver Surfer, Beta Ray Bill and Accuser Ronan, a member of the Kree, among others.
- #049
(At about 44 minutes) In the flashback, Carol tells Maria that she should have been the one with superpowers, and that she would have been if the "stupid race" heading to the hangar had gone the other way. In the alternate universe Monica goes to, and in the universe Doctor Strange visits in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Maria has powers, but there is no sign of Carol.
- #050
The film features Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel as one of its three leads, a character previously seen in the streaming series Ms. Marvel (2022). It also follows plot points previously established in WandaVision (2021), namely the introduction of an adult Monica and her departure to work in space with Nick Fury. The final scene likewise serves as a continuation of Hawkeye (2021), picking up the story after Kate Bishop and Clint Barton's partnership.
- #051
Nia DaCosta was a big comics person; she constantly consulted the original comics for details about the Kree, the Accusers and more.
- #052
Megan McDonnell, the story editor of the Marvel-based series WandaVision (2021), wrote the screenplay for The Marvels.
- #053
Observant viewers will notice that the incoming/outgoing transitions (the moments when the three leads use their powers and swap places) are indicated by colors.
- #054
Kamala was at one point going to take part in the Aladna musical, but the singing parts were removed from the final film. Some parts of it can still be heard on the soundtrack, however.
- #055
Carol Danvers's personal starship is called the "hoopty." The film made no reference to the name or where it came from, but it was released as a new product through Lego toys.
- #056
It grossed $46 million domestically in its opening weekend, a lower figure than any other MCU film, and surpassed The Incredible Hulk (2008) with $55 million. It became the first MCU film since Eternals (2021) to gross under $100 million domestically in its opening weekend.
- #057
Aladna is a planet where everyone communicates through song, which is perfect for Brie Larson, who not only sings but also released an album (Finally Out of P.E. in 2005).
- #058
Nia DaCosta noted that some of the best work on the film's visual effects was essentially never seen by audiences. From erasing hairlines to preventing Prince Yan's wings from dropping as he walks, there is far more to the art form than CG creations.
- #059
At 31 years old, Nia DaCosta became the youngest director to helm an MCU film.
- #060
In a deleted scene, Ms. Marvel swaps places with Captain Marvel and is transported to her ship. Valkyrie makes contact with the ship, but Ms. Marvel answers. Ms. Marvel introduces herself, and Valkyrie mentions that Captain Marvel was previously married.
- #061
Nia DaCosta is the first Black woman to direct a Marvel Studios film.
- #062
Kamala Khan's heroic actions at the end of Ms. Marvel (2022) are directly connected to her role in The Marvels. Saving Jersey City and standing up to Damage Control put her on SABRE's radar. Nick Fury's secret organization opened a file on her after that event, which allowed them to have some idea of who Kamala Khan was when they first swapped places with Monica Rambeau as part of their powers becoming entangled.
- #063
(Around 23 minutes in) In the sitting gathering at Khan's house, which comes right after everyone cleans up, six characters share the same scene, one of the few Nia DaCosta did not cut in post-production. However, many elements were taken from different shots, at times to the point of adding an invisible split screen. The film's editors picked the best take per character, and the single shot was actually assembled from six different shots.
- #064
As of January 2024, it is the first MCU film to become a box-office bomb, grossing a total of $205.8 million worldwide against a budget of $220–275 million.
- #065
When it came to the various visuals dealing with space-related phenomena, Nia DaCosta and VFX Supervisor Tara DeMarco agreed they wanted to "start with concrete science and then follow it on a story path to the point where sometimes you have to veer away from hard science and toward the comics." They also sometimes had to fit the MCU as a whole and choose the comic/film version of something rather than the more realistic one they wanted.
- #066
The first previews of The Marvels coincided with the Season 2 finale of Loki (2021) on November 9, 2023. This led Marvel's Instagram page to jokingly post an MCU permission slip form to excuse fans early from work and school.
- #067
Before Nia DaCosta was hired, Olivia Wilde and Jamie Babbit were approached to direct the film. Wilde had previously been offered the role of Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and would eventually take on directing a Spider-Woman film set in Sony's Spider-Man Universe.
- #068
Teyonah Parris boxed to prepare for her role.
- #069
They went through several iterations of the dying sun that opens the film. The first version looked like an infrared image of a normal sun, but they were not happy until black pockets shared the surface with a crumbling brightness.
- #070
Nia DaCosta became the fifth woman to direct a Marvel film, after the following: * Lexi Alexander - Punisher: War Zone (2008) * Anna Boden - Captain Marvel (2019) * Cate Shortland - Black Widow (2021) * Chloé Zhao - Eternals (2021).
- #071
Describing Carol, Monica and Kamala swapping powers, Nia DaCosta said the audience's own confusion about them during the first big swap scene was important to her. Her aim was to make viewers feel they were in the action alongside them.
- #072
Lashana Lynch plays Earth-616's Maria Rambeau during a flashback that Carol relives, and later plays her multiversal variant Binary on the needle.
- #073
According to Iman Vellani, other musical scenes were also shot on Aladna but were likely cut for time, including a scene in which Kamala would also make a sound while singing.
- #074
In its second weekend it saw a 78.1% drop in ticket revenue, a bigger drop than any other Marvel film, surpassing Morbius (2022) at 73.8%.
- #075
The film reveals the fate of Goose the Flerken, who first appeared in Captain Marvel (2019).
- #076
(Around 4 minutes in) Carol Danvers's introduction includes an Easter egg from Captain Marvel (2019) using familiar Skrull technology. The Skrulls used this technology to probe Carol's memories and find Mar-Vell, but it was also a kind of torture device. Now Carol uses an advanced version of the technology to help her recover memories of her life on Earth before the Kree took her and wiped her mind.
- #077
Nia DaCosta draws a direct comparison between Dar-Benn and Europeans who do the same thing wherever they go. This anti-imperialist/anti-colonial message was important to her.
- #078
It was initially scheduled for release in summer 2023 but was pushed back to November 2023, and reshoots were done to change the story.
- #079
The Marvels premiered in Las Vegas on November 7, 2023, and was released in the United States on November 10 as part of the MCU's Phase Five.
- #080
(Around 51 minutes) The mid-film training montage, in which Carol, Monica and Kamala learn to work together with their entangled powers, was set to the Beastie Boys' "Intergalactic." The track was the first single from their fifth album, Hello Nasty. The MCU is no stranger to the Beastie Boys; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) scored its thrilling action scene to "No Sleep till Brooklyn."
- #081
It is the third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe whose main villain is of the Kree race.
- #082
Nia DaCosta was against the idea of using split screen in the film from the very beginning, but in the end she lost.
- #083
Captain Marvel swapping places with a teenager through a bracelet is a nod to Captain Mar-Vell, Rick Jones and the Nega-Bands in the comics. This idea was also used in Carol's own comics, but was introduced shortly before the film's release. The word "entanglement" generally refers to quantum physics, and Marvel Comics also has a more powerful version of the Nega-Bands called the Quantum Bands; the film, which features light powers, confirms that Kamala's bracelet is one of the Quantum Bands, and Dar-Benn finds the other in the opening scene.
- #084
Captain Marvel (2019) grossed more in its opening weekend than this film earned over its entire theatrical run.
- #085
(At around 2 minutes) The song "Double, Bubble, Trouble" is performed by M.I.A. The song, which plays as Kamala draws in her bedroom, was first performed in 1994 by the British female pop duo Shampoo. It also produced a song called "Girl Power" before it became popular among the Spice Girls.
- #086
Director Nia DaCosta revealed at Storyhouse, Dublin's second annual screenwriting festival, that because she is a big comic book fan she always wanted to direct a Marvel film, but that her experience working on The Marvels was less than she had imagined. She spoke openly about the behind-the-scenes process at Marvel Studios and how she tried to navigate filmmaking styles very different from her own. In the end, DaCosta says the finished product was not the film she delivered to Marvel Studios, and not even the first film she shot. She blamed the film's failure on not having a solid completed script when they started production and on the studio's effort to finish the film before its tightly planned premiere date.
- #087
Deadline estimated that Disney lost 237 million dollars on this film and declared it the biggest box office bomb of 2023.
- #088
Nia DaCosta tried to add a bit of X-Men theme to Kamala's first scenes, but it didn't happen.
- #089
To have the various versions of Carol, Monica and Kamala switch powers, they would, for example, film Brie Larson doing all her action, then have Teyonah Parris or Iman Vellani do whatever the transitions would be.
- #090
Iman Vellani said: "I was constantly… yelling out mistakes while shooting certain scenes in Marvel. 'I know the Reddit nerds are going to point this out… you have a chance to fix it now. These things have to be approved by 40 different producers and so on. But I was so lucky that I was given so much space to express myself at Marvel. All the producers I worked with, both on the series and the film, really respected my opinion."
- #091
The film marks the second collaboration between Nia DaCosta and Teyonah Parris after Candyman (2021). It is also the third collaboration between DaCosta and Catrin Hedström, the editor of Candyman and Little Woods (2018).
- #092
The villain Dar-Benn has a hammer as a weapon. The Accuser Ronan, the villain in Captain Marvel (2019) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), also preferred a hammer as a weapon.
- #093
(At around 1 hour 18 minutes) As Carol tries to defeat Dar-Benn, the Kree villain lands a powerful, energy-charged punch that sends her flying backwards. This recalls how Thanos used the Power Stone to land a similarly powerful blow on Captain Marvel at the end of Avengers: Endgame (2019).
- #094
It features one Oscar winner: Brie Larson, and two Oscar nominees: Samuel L. Jackson and Hailee Steinfeld.
- #095
The film made the shortlist for the Best Visual Effects Oscar but was not nominated.
- #096
The Marvels holds the lowest rating of any MCU film on AlloCiné. (AlloCiné is a French online database.)
- #097
Abraham Popoola, who plays S.W.O.R.D. Agent Dag, previously appeared as the fraudster Ryan in Morbius (2022) and will play Lonnie Lincoln/Tombstone in Spider-Noir (2026).
- #098
The Marvels overtook The Incredible Hulk (2008) as the lowest-grossing MCU film. These are the only MCU films to gross under $300 million worldwide.
- #099
The Marvels was released 10 years after Thor: The Dark World (2013).
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