Captain Marvel
Carol Susan Jane Danvers
Movie · Phase 5
The Marvels
2023 · 105 min
Kree revolutionary Dar-Benn finds the twin of Kamala's bangle and starts punching jump-point holes through space to steal other worlds' atmospheres, blaming Carol for the civil war that wrecked Hala…
The Multiverse SagaDisney+62%Released
The story
Kree revolutionary Dar-Benn finds the twin of Kamala's bangle and starts punching jump-point holes through space to steal other worlds' atmospheres, blaming Carol for the civil war that wrecked Hala. Every time the bangles' power is used, Carol, Kamala and Monica involuntarily swap places.
The body-swap mechanic is a genuinely good action idea and the film is over in 105 minutes, which is both its mercy and its problem. It is Marvel's most obvious casualty of the 2023 crunch — cheerful, weightless and clearly missing a middle.
Key facts
- Release date
- 10 Nov 2023
- Status
- Released
- Phase
- Phase 5
- Saga
- The Multiverse Saga
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Certificate
- PG-13
- Director
- Nia DaCosta
- Writers
- Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik
- Streaming
- Disney+
- Timeline placement
- 2026 — after Ms. Marvel and Secret Invasion
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Brie Larson | Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel |
| Iman Vellani | Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel |
| Teyonah Parris | Monica Rambeau |
| Zawe Ashton | Dar-Benn |
| Samuel L. Jackson | Nick Fury |
| Park Seo-joon | Prince Yan |
Characters
Easter eggs
- The post-credits scene puts Monica in another universe where Kelsey Grammer's Beast greets her at Charles Xavier's side — the MCU's first live-action X-Men link outside a multiverse cameo.
- The mid-credits scene has Kamala recruiting a reluctant Kate Bishop, explicitly assembling a team of 'young' heroes.
- Aladna, the planet where everyone communicates by singing, is drawn from Kelly Sue DeConnick's Captain Marvel run.
- Goose's Flerken offspring evacuate the space station to 'Memory' from Cats, the film's most-discussed sequence.
- Kamala's bedroom shrine, AvengerCon memorabilia and her family are all carried over intact from Ms. Marvel.
- Monica's light-based powers and the name Photon connect back to WandaVision and her mother Maria's comic codename.
- Carol's 'Binary' form is named on screen, referencing her 1980s cosmic power set from Uncanny X-Men.
- The Supreme Intelligence and Hala's dying sun pay off Carol's destruction of the AI at the end of Captain Marvel.
Trivia
- Nia DaCosta became the youngest director and the first Black woman to direct an MCU film.
- It is the lowest-grossing MCU film to date, taking roughly $206 million worldwide.
- Reported production costs of around $270 million, inflated by extended reshoots, made it Marvel's largest single loss.
- DaCosta had moved on to another project during post-production, and additional photography was overseen by others — a point of public criticism.
- At 105 minutes it is the shortest film in the MCU.
- Zawe Ashton, who plays Dar-Benn, is married to Tom Hiddleston.
- Iman Vellani reportedly pushed back on script details using her own encyclopaedic knowledge of MCU continuity, which Larson has praised in interviews.
Box office
- Budget
- $274.8 million
- Worldwide
- $206.1 million
- Domestic
- $84.5 million
Reviews
Critics
62%
The Marvels has enough bright spots to keep the MCU aloft, but this hastily assembled sequel is one of the franchise's weaker efforts.
The MarvelGossips verdict
Amiable, disposable and clearly assembled from parts of a longer film. Iman Vellani is a delight and single-handedly supplies the energy the plot cannot, while Dar-Benn is an antagonist with a genuine grievance and eleven minutes to express it. The cat evacuation is the funniest thing in Phase 5 and the film around it barely exists.
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Frequently asked
Is The Marvels the MCU's biggest flop?
Yes, on both counts. Its $206 million worldwide gross is the lowest of any MCU film, and against a reported budget near $275 million it represents Marvel Studios' largest financial loss.
What does the post-credits scene mean?
Monica Rambeau wakes in a parallel universe where her mother Maria is alive as Binary, and Kelsey Grammer's Beast appears. It is a direct tease of the MCU's X-Men, and Grammer is confirmed in the Avengers: Doomsday cast.
Where is Monica Rambeau now?
Stranded in the universe from the post-credits scene, with no announced project addressing it. Teyonah Parris has said she has had no update as of 2026.
Do you need to watch Ms. Marvel first?
It helps considerably. Kamala's family, her bangle and her powers are all established in the series, and The Marvels treats that groundwork as read.