Credit: Inside the MagicAfter the unexpected triumph of Marvel Entertainment’s initial venture into filmmaking with Iron Man (2008) – a film that not only rejuvenated Robert Downey Jr.’s career but also breathed new life into the superhero movie genre – The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Studios. Fast forward over a decade since that acquisition, and under the leadership of Kevin Feige, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), inspired by Marvel Comics, has experienced remarkable and more or less sustained growth.
Related: Upcoming ‘Avengers’ Movie Will Reboot the Entire MCU Universe
The first three Phases, renowned as the Infinity Saga, reached a highly praised conclusion with the arrival of the MCU film Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and its sequel, Avengers: Endgame (2019). Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Endgame depicted the original six Avengers as they entered into their individual retirements, with some prompted by necessity.
With the beloved Tony Stark/Iron Man making the ultimate sacrifice to defeat Thanos (Josh Brolin) and Chris Evans bidding farewell to his role as Steve Rogers/Captain America, passing on the Captain America legacy, the MCU has paved the way for prominent superhero teams such as the Fantastic Four and X-Men to take center stage and assume much bigger roles.
Related: Brie Larson’s ‘Captain Marvel 2’ Surprises, Gets Positive Fan Reaction for “Saving MCU”
The follow-up to Captain Marvel (2018), known as Captain Marvel 2, AKA The Marvels (2023), is helmed by director Nia DaCosta. Throughout Marvel Studios’ Phase Five, the release date for this Marvel universe film has experienced several adjustments, ultimately settling on a premiere of November 10, 2023.
In The Marvels, the narrative centers on Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), who resumes her role as Captain Marvel but unexpectedly swaps positions with Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), the daughter of Carol’s late best friend Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch). Alongside them is the young Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), who was introduced in her own Disney+ show, Ms. Marvel (2022). Together, they join forces to thwart the ambitions of the antagonist Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton).
The Marvels film introduces Park Seo-Joon as Prince Yan, the ruler of the planet Aladna and an ally to Danvers. Samuel L. Jackson portrays Nick Fury, the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director, now collaborating with the Skrulls at S.A.B.E.R. in deep space post-Secret Invasion (2023). Furthermore, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, and Saagar Shaikh reprise their roles as members of Khan’s family from the Disney+ miniseries Ms. Marvel.
Lashana Lynch returns as Maria Rambeau, Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, Daniel Ings portrays Ty-Rone, Colin Stoneley embodies Papp-Tonn, a Kree scientist, and Gary Lewis takes on the role of Emperor Dro’ge, the Skrull leader. The cast also features Shamier Anderson, Abraham Popoola, Ffion Jolly, Caroline Simonnet, and Jessica Zhou in undisclosed roles. Additionally, Goose, Carol’s Flerken pet, makes a comeback, portrayed by cats Nemo and Tango.
Marvel Eliminates “Photon”
The following contains spoilers for The Marvels.
Speaking to Yahoo, star Iman Vellani opens up about the “original version of the film’s climactic battle,” ending with Monica officially “being christened as Photon”:
It was a cool moment, but I think they took it out for a good reason. It wouldn’t make sense tonally if Monica is about to sacrifice herself and we’re like, ‘But your code name!’
Vellani then mentions Maria Rambeau “glowing like a photon” as she saves the day:
You don’t even need the words — she was Photon in that moment. And I don’t think Captain Marvel was even called Captain Marvel in her own movie!
It definitely appears as though Marvel are eliminating and “killing off” any potentiality of a “Photon” superhero from the MCU.
Do you think Marvel should be avoiding names like Photon for their characters? Share your thoughts in the comments below!