Brie Larson has said The Marvels is a “very funny” movie, yet I’m still holding out hope that one particular aspect of it is taken as seriously as possible. Marvel has been using comedy as a clutch for its shortcomings in storytelling and character-building for a while now, and I’ve frankly had enough.
With The Marvels fast approaching, the fear increases that the emotional conflict involving the core dynamic trio of the film might not be as satisfying as it has the potential to be. Carol and Monica’s relationship, specifically, offers endless possibilities for fantastic drama that is genuinely moving — something Marvel often struggles with.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a brilliant film about grief. There are comedic beats throughout, of course, but they’re never as excessive as to keep the viewer from becoming emotionally engaged with the story and Shuri’s journey. Despite being made under completely different circumstances, the in-universe storylines that will undoubtedly transpire in The Marvels deal with a lot of the same aspects as Ryan Coogler’s film, and my hope is that it can make me emote and empathize as freely as Wakanda Forever did.
Despite Larson’s comment about the tone of the film making me a little nervous, there were a number of tidbits from the EW exclusive that made me feel equal parts optimistic. Executive producer Mary Livanos describes The Marvels as “a story based on family reconnection, and how hard that can be to navigate,” while Teyonah Parris said the “elephant in the room” regarding Carol’s absence from Monica’s life will be addressed in the film. Similarly, Larson also said that since the events of Captain Marvel, Carol has become obsessed with her mission, leaving behind “her heart,” her family and her friends.
All of those comments indicate that Monica will indeed go into The Marvels resenting her Aunt Carol. They haven’t seen each other in a long time — possibly since the ‘90s, when Carol came back to Earth and then proceeded to leave again. In that time, Carol came back down again to fight Thanos, and, as far as we were shown, made no attempt to reach out to Monica and Maria. What’s worse, we learned in WandaVision that Maria passed away from cancer in the five-year interval between Infinity War and Endgame, while Monica was snapped away by Thanos and snapped back to life again by the Hulk only to learn her mother was dead.
If, indeed, Carol stayed away throughout these events, which were so devastating to the lives of the two most important people in her own, then that “elephant in the room” Parris spoke of might as well be a mammoth. With Kamala added to the equation, and the possibility she and Carol could become very close as mentor and mentee throughout The Marvels, there’s also a chance that Monica could feel jealous or hurt that Carol was never there for her growing up.
Monica worshipped Carol when she was a kid, and she was the only one that never accepted the fact that she might be dead. Given the fact that we now know their powers are connected to the degree that they can trade places with one another, I’ve speculated in the past that maybe Monica’s light-based abilities had been dormant the whole time, and allowed her to sense Carol’s presence galaxies away. Their bond could be deeper than a simple super-powered gimmick, based on their connection from back when Carol was practically raising Monica alongside Maria.
Kamala also worships Carol in a completely different, “fangirl” type of way, so there are several parallels that can be drawn between her and Monica. The latter might see herself in the former, and even feel inclined to warn her against placing big hopes in Carol. And if Carol just happens to have learned from her mistakes and tries to make up for them by treating Kamala differently, then that could make it even worse for Monica.
The potential is just immense with these three characters, their connection, and their background. The Marvels could be a really great look into the relationship between girls and their role models; it could have something genuinely important to say about running away from meaningful connections. And, above all, it could and should honor Maria Rambeau as a character, and Maria and Carol’s relationship. Lashana Lynch has been confirmed as part of the cast, which hopefully means we’ll get flashbacks with new scenes between the two and Monica.
I know some of you are reading this and thinking “It’s a superhero movie.” Yes, you’re right, I also hope the fight sequences are really cool and energetic, and that the CGI is good. However, it’s not totally insane to hope for some of the above scenarios. While it’s becoming rarer, the MCU has given us plenty of great character stories in the past. Coogler’s Wakanda Forever was just one example. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 also had everyone in theaters in tears with Rocket’s backstory. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers both had fantastic emotional arcs in their films, and Secret Invasion is doing the same for Nick Fury.
I’ll have to wait to learn whether or not my hopes and dreams will be shattered when The Marvels rolls around Nov. 10, 2023.
