The Marvels looks to be an example of the MCU’s signature synergy done right, as Marvel fans are celebrating the way the upcoming Brie Larson vehicle blends together at least three different strands of the franchise. On top of obviously being a Captain Marvel sequel, Nia DaCosta’s film is likewise a follow-up to both Ms. Marvel and WandaVision, thanks to the presence of both Kamala Khan (Kamala Khan) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris).
And yet, while it promises to answer a couple of major mysteries from Ms. Marvel, The Marvels might just write out what we thought was WandaVision‘s biggest contribution to MCU canon. The acclaimed Disney Plus series was easily one of the most popular hits of Phase Four, although its actual impact on continuity turned out to be fairly minimal. Evan Peters’ Quicksilver return went nowhere (Ralph Bohner… urgh), Wanda’s arc was immediately reversed in Doctor Strange 2 and we won’t see White Vision again until Vision Quest.
It did, however, give us S.W.O.R.D., which seemed to be neatly set up as the new S.H.I.E.L.D. Spider-Man: Far From Home appeared to give us another glimpse of the organization, with Nick Fury and his spacestation full of Skrulls assumed to be a part of it. Thanks to The Marvels trailer, however, we now know we’ve been operating under the wrong assumption all along. Fury’s outfit seems to be an entirely different thing called S.A.B.E.R., which Monica has joined after the events of WandaVision.
It’s ironic that S.A.B.E.R. is replacing S.W.O.R.D., in this way as its depiction is far closer to the comic book version of S.W.O.R.D. than what we got in WV — the spacestation is a close match for The Peak, the latter organization’s HQ in the source material. So it might look like The Marvels is one time where the MCU got the crossovers right, but actually it’s just as contradictory as the other conflicting projects we’ve had post-Avengers: Endgame.
WandaVision will likely always stand as one one of the best products of the Multiverse Saga, but — like the Hex — its influence doesn’t stretch much beyond Westview. Still, at least we’ve got Agatha: Coven of Chaos on the way.