Ever since the final episode of Ms Marvel, fans of the MCU have been left wondering what exactly had happened to teenage fangirl hero Kamala Khan – and why Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel, aka Kamala’s favourite superhero) suddenly appeared in the kid’s bedroom. Now, we’ve found out thanks to the first trailer for The Marvels. Nia DaCosta’s sequel to Captain Marvel isn’t just about Brie Larson’s cosmically-gifted former pilot – it’s also teaming her up with Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel, and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau from WandaVision. Complicating that team-up? The fact that they all keep switching places with each other, across the cosmos. Watch the trailer here:
Doesn’t that look like a blast? First up, the trailer confirms what we thought might have happened: Captain Marvel and Ms Marvel did, indeed, switch places – meaning Carol Danvers has touched down in suburban New Jersey, and Kamala is blasted off into deep-space to pal it up with fluffy Flerken, Goose. And Monica Rambeau goes from a space mission with Nick Fury, back down to Earth too. The jumping looks like a fun conceit for this long-awaited team-up – since Marvel often plugs other genres into its superhero milieu, is this its closest thing to a body-swap movie?
Beyond that, we get more hints of what exactly Samuel L Jackson’s former SHIELD leader is getting up to out in space – sure to be explored more in summer Disney+ series Secret Invasion – and suggestions of why Carol, Kamala, and Monica’s powers are all connected. It’s a reminder, too, that Iman Vellani might be the MCU’s new secret weapon – a piece of casting so perfect that it deserves big-screen status after the joys of Ms. Marvel on streaming. Plus, we see Carol in a colourful jellyfish outfit, what looks to be a kitten army, and Zawe Ashton’s villain. Is that Ronan the Accuser’s hammer she’s holding, and are those blue Kree warriors with her?
Most importantly, it looks like a blast of colour and energy and laughs – after the more muted reception and box office for Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, it remains to be seen if Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (just a few weeks away – and on the cover of the imminent new issue of Empire!) and The Marvels can get things back on track. We’ll find out when The Marvels comes to UK cinemas from 10 November.