Summary

The Marvels
ended as Marvel Studios’ lowest-grossing film, despite positive audience reviews and teasing interesting future storylines.
The film’s disappointing box office performance has left Captain Marvel’s place in the MCU uncertain.
Brie Larson’s reluctance to discuss future projects and doubts about her role as Carol Danvers add to the uncertainty.

The Marvels was one of the most disappointing releases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not necessarily in the quality of the movie, but in its final box office haul. Bringing together the joint force of Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Photon, the female-centric film closed out its theatrical run with a worldwide haul of $206.1 million, Marvel Studios’ lowest-grossing movie to date. So where does this leave Captain Marvel’s place in the MCU? Don’t ask Brie Larson.

The Marvels Release Date November 10, 2023 Director Nia DaCosta Writers Gene Colan , Roy Thomas Studio Marvel Studios Tagline Higher. Further. Faster. Together. Franchise Marvel

In 2019, Captain Marvel soared to $1 billion without a hitch. Of course, that movie was released in between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which certainly didn’t hurt the film’s box office, and countered the wave of online hate and review-bombing that besieged it. Although the MCU has struggled to reach those kinds of highs recently, the idea that The Marvels would become such a dud was still unthinkable ahead of the film’s release.

Larson has previously been quite vocal about her doubts over her role as Carol Danvers, and how much longer she will be playing the Avenger. However, while appearing at the SAG Awards, Larson was asked by Extra about what could be next for Captain Marvel, and her response was curt and not exactly full of optimism. She said:

I don’t have anything to say about that.

Will There Be a Captain Marvel 3?
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The question of where it all went wrong for The Marvels is one that has proven harder to answer since the film’s arrival on Disney+. As the sequel dropped on the platform, many of those who had not bothered to see it in cinemas decided to check it out, and subsequently took to social media to share their regret at not watching it on the big screen.

While critics continued to have beef with superhero movies in general, The Marvels still managed to maintain a “fresh” score of 62%. This may not be anything to write home about, and left the film languishing as the third-lowest ranked movie of the franchise. However, audiences were much happier with the film, giving it an 82% approval rating, placing it above the critically lauded Black Panther and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The Marvels provided some intriguing future threads to be picked up by the franchise, and Carol Danvers’ future appearance seems to be a certainty with two Avengers movies on the way. So would it be possible for Brie Larson to step away from the franchise before that event? It seems unlikely, and probably Larson simply didn’t want to be drawn into a discussion about The Marvels, or potential MCU projects, when appearing at the awards ceremony.

Related The Marvels’ Alternate Ending Could Have Featured Major Character’s Death The Marvels star Zawe Ashton revealed one of the alternate endings that was shot for the movie and would have features a shocking death.

There have been a lot of discussions about the Marvel franchise’s future based on the performance of its movies in the last few years, and that, in part, has led to 2024 being void of PG-13 Marvel movies. While Deadpool 3 is almost guaranteed to deliver big things for the MCU this summer, next year will bring back the franchise in a big way, with The Fantastic Four, Captain America: New World Order and more preparing to push the Multiverse Saga towards its conclusion. When we will see Captain Marvel again, though, is something we will have to wait a bit longer to find out.

The Marvels
is available to stream on Disney+ now.