Marvel Cinematic Universe Under Scrutiny: Unveiling the Troubling Issue Surrounding ‘The Marvels’ Movie

The MCU’s 33rd theatrical movie will be a direct sequel to the 2019 box office hit, Captain Marvel. Originally slated to kick-start Phase 5 of the superhero franchise, the movie underwent changes and was later swapped with the Ant-Man threequel, “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.” It also had its release date moved from July to November 10, as revealed by the film’s first official poster.

The upcoming Captain Marvel sequel promises to have plenty of surprises in store and is expected to excite fans of previous MCU endeavors. While specific plot details, cast information, and other elements are not yet available, fans can eagerly anticipate further updates about the film.

While all these changes are welcomed on one hand, on the other, they create a problem. The problem being the story of Carol Danvers after the events of her solo movie.

In Endgame, the events are simply talked about in passing with no real context when Carol is questioned about her prolonged absence on Earth upon interacting with The Avengers in that film. Though her answer was not simply alleged as it was highlighted at the end of her solo film which had been released the month prior to Endgame.

But with an open-ended conclusion at the end of the film with regards to a new refuge and acclimatization for the remainder of the Skrull civilization as well as the consideration of the time that had passed between both films (since Captain Marvel was set in 1995 and the earlier parts of Endgame were set in 2018).

There is a need to explore that plotline with as much detail as possible, especially considering her reply to Rhodey’s question [in Endgame] suggested to be a lot more than just saving the Skrulls from being annihilated by the Kree Empire. But with The Marvels now [solely] focusing on the trio dynamic between Carol, her best friend’s daughter, Monica, and teenage newcomer, Kamala Khan; the story of Carol Danvers and her adventures across the galaxy may very likely be put on the back burner [and saved for another time, if it is ever explored].

Though Secret Invasion hints at this, it is clear the ‘Invasion’ aspect of the show will be the focal point, once again relegating this conversation in its totality to the background, unless some sort of pacifying subplot regarding it is brought up.

Subjectively speaking, however, a prequel tale akin to the first movie would serve to deeply explore this enigmatic plot point and wouldn’t hurt the usually progressive timeline either. But if left unexplored, that plot point should be chalked up as ‘a convenient alibi with little plausibility’.