The MCU’s had a choppy ride of it in 2023 so far, with Quantumania entertaining no one, Guardians 3 being fan acclaimed but more critically mixed, and Secret Invasion suffering from almost franchise-low Rotten Tomatoes ratings and viewership figures. So it’s really all on Loki season two and The Marvels to turn this year into a win for Marvel. While the jury is still out on the former series, maybe we can start to expect the Brie Larson sequel to be the hit the studio desperately wants it to be.
In a shocking recent development, it was announced Ms. Marvel is airing on ABC later this summer, marking the first time a Disney Plus series has been broadcast on network TV. Some are using this as an excuse to hate on the Iman Vellani vehicle, which is the only show to have a weaker opening on streaming than Secret Invasion. According to insider KC Walsh, however, any claim Marvel is losing faith in the members of the Marvels is ridiculous.
“The Marvels is one of the best tested movies to come out of the studio this year,” Walsh argued, “and Iman like Larson is a huge start and attraction, it’s going to do just fine and if anything this is a great PE/synergy move and I’d expect more D+ shows to come to ABC.”
It’s naturally very encouraging to hear that early audiences have thoroughly enjoyed the movie, with it apparently being one of the most popular productions released by Disney this year in test screenings. Fans had widely predicted that The Marvels would only be so-so at best, but if this claim is any indication maybe it could even end up being better-liked than the never-ending controversy magnet that is its predecessor, 2019’s Captain Marvel.
Of course, The Flash test screenings were also pretty positive, with early reactions telling us it was going to be the next Dark Knight, so you can’t always go by what we hear at this point in the process. Even so, it’s nice to hear some uplifting buzz about The Marvels as we head ever closer to its release this Nov. 10.