In an encouraging sign, James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been one of the alarmingly few blockbusters to release this year that managed to live up to expectations at the box office, a silver lining in what’s proven to be a disappointing year all-round for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The next blockbuster out of the gate is The Marvels, and while it may not be in with a shot of matching its predecessor’s $1.1 billion tally, there’s little chance the trolls and review-bombers will be able to tear it down in the way they’d love to. Then again, there’s quite a lot of homework required to be able to understand the story from the ground up.
Brie Larson’s second solo outing is technically a sequel to Captain Marvel, WandaVision, Ms. Marvel, and Secret Invasion all at once, which is going to be quite the juggling act. The latter may be the franchise’s worst-reviewed series ever, but Iman Vellani’s delightful debut as Kamala Khan still reigns supreme as the top-rated film or television title in MCU history on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ms. Marvel has also just made history twice in one night, by becoming not just the first Disney Plus exclusive to air on network TV after premiering on ABC, but a new teaser hyping The Marvels has made it the first spot to ever promote a Marvel Studios show and a Marvel Studios feature in one fell swoop.
The MCU has used footage from other projects in trailers and promos in the past, but this marks the first time the company has pulled double duty by actively encouraging audiences to watch not just Ms. Marvel on the small screen, but not to forget about The Marvels at the multiplex, either.