As Marvel Cinematic Universe fans went wild over the implications of Captain Marvel 2 being rebranded as The Marvels, we wrote that you could bet your bottom dollar on rumors making the rounds shortly afterwards that would claim the decision was made due to internal concerns over star Brie Larson.
Lo and behold, Giant Freakin Robot is now reporting that the title of Carol Danvers’ second solo outing was changed because Marvel Studios didn’t want to place the focus solely on a figure that wasn’t well received by a small and yet very vocal minority who tried to downvote the first installment into oblivion at every opportunity. According to the outlet, “the powers-that-be at Marvel Studios did not feel that she “delivered” in the first one on her own.”
Even if we were to overlook the fact that Captain Marvel is the second highest-grossing solo debut for any Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero behind only Black Panther, and the fifth biggest-earner in the franchise’s history that wasn’t an Avengers crossover, Larson also voiced her desire years ago to team up with Ms. Marvel in a sequel.
Calling it Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel would be a little too on the nose, though, and now that Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau is established in the MCU as well, it makes perfect sense to title it The Marvels when we’re getting three characters to have used variations on that moniker in the comic books fight alongside each other against a common enemy.
Did Marvel call Scott Lang’s solo sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp because they didn’t think Paul Rudd was popular enough to headline a second standalone film without backup? Of course not, but for some reason, whatever Brie Larson does in the MCU invites intense scrutiny, so it’s hardly surprising that speculation would begin shortly after The Marvels removed her character’s name from the title.
