The Marvel Cinematic Universe is always expanding, with the studio regularly putting out new projects in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Fans who have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order know that the latest TV project to arrive on the streaming service is Wonder Man, starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Kamala Khan actress Iman Vellani reviewed the new show on Letterboxd, and it was totally delightful.

The Ms. Marvel actress is known for being a Marvel cheerleader, as well as an actor within the universe. While its unclear when she'll return in upcoming Marvel movies, she's keeping track of each new release. She took to Letterboxd after watching Wonder Man, and included a long list of reasons why folks should tune. It reads:

Honestly, her enthusiasm is both adorable and kinda contagious. While it's unclear how much Wonder Man will connect to future MCU titles, Vellani seems to think that the show is good for anyone who loves movies. Even if folks are casual fans of the shared universe. Talk about a glowing review.

The list of reasons why she wants people to watch Wonder Man is quite long, and makes up the majority of her review. But it's her final comments that are perhaps the funniest. She name drops Marvel boss Kevin Feige, posting:

Just to be clear: she wasn't asked by Kevin Feige or anyone else from Marvel to write this review. Instead, Iman Vellani just really loved what the cast and crew brought to Wonder Man. And her arguments are pretty convincing.

As previously mentioned, it's unclear when Ms. Marvel will return to the MCU. She made the jump from the small to the silver screen in The Marvels, which bombed at the box office. She wasn't included in the Doomsday cast announcement, but some fans are still hoping she pops up in either that title or Secret Wars.

Wonder Man is streaming in its entirety on Disney+ as part of the 2026 TV schedule. And the next big screen adventure will be Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31st.

When you think of the Marvel movies in order, what probably comes to mind immediately are the eclectic characters, major action sequences and iconic lines among other things. You may not consider, however, food when thinking about the allure of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yes, the franchise offers comic book-esque thrills, but there are also some excellent scenes that effectively involve fine cuisine. So, without further ado, let’s discuss some of those.

Tony Stark Eating Cheeseburgers (Iron Man)

One of the earliest instances of food being prominently featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in 2008’s Iron Man, specifically after Tony Stark returns home following his escape from the Ten Rings’ clutches. While asking to call a press conference, Stark also says he wants “an American cheeseburger,” leading his limo driver to stop by Burger King for a few. It’s a funny bit but also adds to Stark’s characterization (and it’s paid off during a sweet scene in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame).

Tony Stark Eating New York Style Pizza (Iron Man)

In Iron Man, the villainous Obadiah Stane (a.k.a. Iron Monger) buys Tony Stark pizza from New York while delivering the news that the Stark Industries board has voted Tony out of his position. (That move is Stane’s idea but he doesn’t reveal it at the time). The large pie looks absolutely delicious, and I can understand why Stane won’t let Stark take the whole pizza after the latter refuses to reveal his latest project (the Iron Man suit) to him.

Bruce Banner Bribes A Security Guard And Grad Student With Pizza (The Incredible Hulk)

A significant portion of The Incredible Hulk takes place in New York, so it’s fitting that pizza played a role in the story. Bruce Banner, with help from friend and pizzeria owner Stanley, uses a couple of pies to bribe a Culver City grad student and a security guard while trying to find his research. Even though Banner doesn’t find what he is looking for, the pies certainly serve their purpose.

Tony Stark Eating Donuts At Randy’s Donuts (Iron Man 2)

Iron Man 2 may be a lower-ranked Marvel movie, but it does feature a number of memorable MCU moments. Among them is a scene that involves an armor-clad Tony Stark sitting in a donut at Randy’s Donuts while eating (you guessed it) donuts. The situation is on-brand for Stark but also represents his reckless attitude amid his palladium poisoning.

Thor Chows Down At A Diner (Thor)

The God of Thunder’s first solo film sees him visiting a diner alongside Jane Foster and his other new allies from Earth. While there, Thor scarfs down plenty of food as well as coffee, before breaking the mug and asking for another. This may be played for laughs, but it perfectly sums up Odinson’s initially arrogant nature.

Colonel Phillips Enjoys A Steak (Captain America: The First Avenger)

Good food is hard to come by in the World War II-centric Captain America: The First Avenger, though Colonel Chester Phillips manages to enjoy a steak dinner, complete with potatoes and veggies. There’s a greater purpose to the meal, though, as Phillips uses it as a tool while interrogating HYDRA's Arnim Zola.

Phil Coulson Shops For Snacks At A Gas Station (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer)

The Marvel One-Shot A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer sees Phil Coulson skillfully thwart a robbery in a gas station while en route to New Mexico. If you enjoy food like me, though, what likely stands out the most is the fact that he’s only at the station to shop for snacks. And he ends up purchasing two sets of mini donuts, in case you were wondering.

Tony Stark And Bruce Banner Eat Blueberries (The Avengers)

You know you’re becoming friends when you start sharing snacks! In The Avengers, one of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner’s earliest “Science Bros.” scenes involves them eating blueberries while working alongside each other on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. It truly marks the start of a beautiful friendship.

The Avengers Eat Shawarma (The Avengers)

Few scenes in the MCU are as iconic as The Avengers’ post-credit Shawarma scene, which was a last-minute addition. The moment happens after Earth’s Mightiest Heroes take down Loki and the Chitauri amid the Battle of New York, and it marks the first of many meals shared by the heroic cohorts.

Tony Stark And James “Rhodey” Rhodes Grab A Meal (Iron Man 3)

Iron Man 3 offers fans a quick glimpse of a lunch meet-up between best friends Tony Stark and James Rhodes. Rhodey’s fries and Tony’s veggies look delectable, but what truly makes the scene important is that it marks the first of several panic attacks for Stark.

Scott Lang’s Friend Kurt Enjoys Chinese Food (Ant-Man)

Before Ant-Man’s cool post-credits scenes, viewers are treated to a closing scene that sees Scott Lang meeting up with his buddies in San Francisco’s Chinatown. It’s there that Kurt chows down on good Chinese food, while Luis reveals to Scott that Avenger Sam Wilson has been asking about him. The food doesn't play a big role, but the restaurant and environmental ambiance are "sublime" as Luis would say.

Vision Tries To Cook (Captain America: Civil War)

The relationship between Wanda Maximoff and Vision really begins to blossom in Captain America: Civil War, and that’s especially evident during a scene that takes place in the Avengers Facility. It sees Vision trying to cook a meal for Maximoff and, while chatting over his lack of culinary skills, they discuss their superhuman powers. It’s a shame the meet-cute is cut short by the reveal that Vision is keeping Wanda from leaving the compound.

Peter And May Parker Have Thai Food (Spider-Man: Homecoming)

A meal is a good way for family members to bond, and that’s what Peter Parker and his (younger) Aunt May kind of do when they have dinner at a Thai restaurant in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The larb-centric scene not only further solidifies the love May has for her nephew but also the natural attraction that someone – like a friendly waiter – can feel towards her.

Hope Van Dyne Has A Fight In A Hotel Kitchen (Ant-Man And The Wasp)

Ant-Man and the Wasp features some truly creative sequences that take advantage of the titular protagonists’ shrinking abilities. Chief among them is a sequence that sees a small Hope van Dyne fending off thugs in a kitchen while avoiding being crushed like a tomato and chopped like a carrot.

Drax Eats Zarg Nuts In Front Of Peter Quill And Gamora (Avengers: Infinity War)

When discussing the funniest moments from Avengers: Infinity War, one has to mention the “invisible” scene. It sees Drax creeping on fellow Guardians of the Galaxy Peter Quill and Gamora while he’s eating Zarg Nuts. That’s funny enough on its own, but what makes the scene sing is Drax’s assertion that his movements are so slow that he’s invisible to the naked eye.

Natasha Romanoff Eats A Peanut Butter Sandwich That Scott Lang Grabs Later (Avengers: Endgame)

Peanut butter sandwiches usually represent joy and comfort, but the sight of Natasha Romanoff eating one while trying to maintain composure while meeting with the Avengers in Endgame is just tragic. It’s a representation of her grief, which is further expressed when she talks to Steve Rogers after the meeting. A glimmer of hope comes later, however, as Scott Lang – who is newly released from the Quantum Realm – arrives and takes a bite out of the sandwich.

Bruce Banner Eats A Lot Of Food At A Diner (Avengers: Endgame)

It’s rare that fans are able to witness a Hulk eat, but it’s even rarer that they see a Smart Hulk chow down. That’s exactly what happens in Avengers: Endgame, when Scott Lang, Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers meet up with Bruce Banner at a diner to recruit him for their time heist. It’s there that Banner scarfs down giant pancakes, sausage and a bowl of scrambled eggs.

Bruce Banner Shares Tacos With Scott Lang (Avengers: Endgame)

Scott Lang has plenty of good, super-powered friends, including resident Hulk Bruce Banner. That’s evidenced by the fact that after Scott’s taco is blown away – due to Nebula and Rocket Raccoon’s ship landing in front of the Avengers Facility – Banner shares two more tacos with Scott. If that doesn't represent friendship goals, then I don’t know what does.

Rocket Raccoon Teases Scott Lang While The Avengers Eat Together (Avengers: Endgame)

Aside from Infinity War, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have shared a meal in the Avengers movies. Endgame sees the crew eating while plotting their time heist and, while enjoying some tasty-looking Chinese food, Rocket humorously teases Lang for his ignorance when it comes to space travel. (And, if you look, you can also see Hulk eating a tub of ice cream.)

Wanda Maximoff Tries To Cook Dinner (WandaVision)

How does a witch cook dinner? Well, WandaVison shows that when it comes to Wanda Maximoff, cooking involves levitating pots, pans and a whole chicken. The sitcom-esque scene is funny but also exemplifies Wanda and her husband Vision’s attempts to adapt to domestic life while keeping their superhuman abilities under wraps.

Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes And Co. Have A Cookout (The Falcon And The Winter Soldier)

There’s a lot for viewers to digest in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s finale, but one of the sweetest moments sees Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes and co. digesting some good food. During the miniseries’ closing moments, a celebratory cookout is held in Louisiana, which includes succulent seafood, perfect pies and a cake brought by Bucky.

Loki Destroys Mobius’ Salad (Loki Season 1)

It’s never cool to mess up someone’s meal, and that’s what Loki does when he confronts TVA operative Mobius M. Mobius and tries to explain his theory of individuals using natural disasters to hide within points in time. Loki specifically does this by using salt, pepper and water to destroy the salad Mobius intends to have for lunch.

Shang-Chi Has Dinner With His Father (Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings)

Warm, family dinners are featured in several MCU productions, but that’s not the case in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The eponymous hero, his friend, Katy, and sister, Xu Xialing, break bread with the two siblings’ estranged father, Wenwu (a.k.a. the Mandarin) for the first time in years. The food looks good enough to eat, but it’s the tension you can cut through with a knife.

The Eternals Enjoy A Meal Together (Eternals)

After spending centuries on Earth apart, the members of the Eternals reunite in the lead-up to the Emergence. The group stops in Australia to find Sersi and Gilgamesh, who makes a scrumptious meal for his family. However, Gilgamesh’s homemade beer, which is made with corn kernels fermented in his own spit, doesn’t sound that great.

Clint Barton And His Kids Have Dinner At A Chinese Restaurant (Hawkeye)

Hawkeye sees Clint Barton making up for lost time with his family by hanging out with his kids in New York, where they see Rogers: The Musical (which spawned a real show). A particularly warm moment sees the four Bartons eating at a Chinese restaurant and enjoying an impressive spread that’s enough to make one’s mouth water.

Yelena Belova Eats Macaroni And Cheese With Hot Sauce (Hawkeye)

If there’s any scene from Hawkeye that fans need to see, it’s the moment Kate Bishop and Yelena Belova meet. Belova breaks into Bishop’s apartment to discuss her mission to kill Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye. For the meet-up, Yelena prepares macaroni and cheese and adds hot sauce to it. Few MCU feud scenes get better than this one (and it served as a “dream day” on set for actress Florence Pugh).

Steven Grant Takes Over A Cupcake Delivery Van (Moon Knight)

While being chased through the Alps by cult leader Arthur Harrow’s forces on Moon Knight, Steven Grant commandeers a delivery van full of cupcakes. He doesn’t actually partake in the scrumptious-looking treats, but is able to use some to ward off his attackers.

America Chavez Eats Pizza Balls (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness)

Stephen Strange visits a few alternate universes with America Chavez during the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In one of them, Chavez snags some pizza balls without paying for them, drawing the ire of street vendor Pizza Poppa. What results is a gag that isn’t humorously tied up until the MoM post-credits scene.

Yusuf Khan Enjoys Food While Nakia Bahadir Asks For His Vote At Eid Celebration (Ms. Marvel)

Food, music and fun abound during the Eid al-Adha celebration depicted on Ms. Marvel. Kamala Khan’s father, Yusuf, indulges in the goodies and does so when his daughter’s best friend, Nakia Bahadir, approaches him for his support in her campaign for board member of their mosque. The food looks great, but Nakia’s pitch really steals the scene, to be honest.

Loki And Mobius Eat Key Lime Pie (Loki Season 2)

The Time Variance Authority offers up some great-looking food as evidenced by the exquisite key lime pie that’s available in the cafeteria. Loki and Mobius enjoy it while discussing their plan to interrogate rogue operative Hunter X-05 (a.k.a. Brad Wolfe) as well as Mobius’ stolen life. Hearty desserts are definitely needed when discussing such heavy subject matter.

Mobius And Hunter X-05 Eat At McDonald’s (Loki Season 2)

Not many people can withstand the appeal of a meal from McDonald’s, and that includes some MCU characters, apparently. Loki, Mobius M. Mobius and Hunter X-05 (or Brad Wolfe) seek out Sylvie Laufeydottir in a branched timeline in 1982 Oklahoma. It’s there that Sylvie works at a Mickey D’s and, while Loki confronts Laufeydottir, Mobius orders a burger, fries and a milkshake for Brad. The sight of the meal is enough to make one hungry.

Agatha Harkness Eats A Corn Dog (Agatha All Along)

After being rescued from Wanda Maximoff’s spell by “Teen” on Agatha All Along, Agatha Harkness seeks to form a coven so that she can walk the Witches’ Road and reclaim her powers. It’s while Harkness and Teen are at the mall scoping out potential member Alice Wu-Gulliver that Agatha munchs on a corn dog. Who knew gathering witches could make a person so hungry?

Spider-Man remains one of Marvel's most beloved characters, which explains why he’s swung into theaters in three different live-action franchises. Fans who have followed the Marvel movies in order know that Jon Watts directed the entire Tom Holland Home trilogy. However, rumor has it that Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, known for their work on Ms. Marvel and the scrapped Batgirl movie project, might be taking on the fourth Holland-led Spidey film. Now, one of them has finally responded to the swirling web of rumors.

Fast forward nearly two years after the Batgirl movie debacle, and directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi are now rumored to be in talks to helm Tom Holland’s fourth Spider-Man adventure. The rumor mill really started spinning when Fallah addressed the speculation during an interview for his upcoming movie Bad Boys: Ride or Die. The video was posted to MCU Film News’ official X account. Fallah kept it cryptic when asked about the truth behind these rumors, simply saying, "I can't talk about that." You can see the director’s coy response in the video below:

The ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home delivered a jaw-dropping twist, erasing Peter Parker from the memories of his loved ones and fellow heroes. This left fans wondering about Tom Holland’s future in upcoming MCU flicks. While details about a potential Spider-Man 4 are scarce, rumors suggest it might take a more grounded approach. This makes Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, known for directing the acclaimed Ms. Marvel series, strong contenders for the job.

El Arbi and Fallah brought Kamala Khan's story to life in one of Marvel’s best TV shows with style and sensitivity that could translate well to Peter Parker’s world. Their experience with Ms. Marvel, which shares thematic and structural similarities with Spider-Man, shows they're capable of handling everyone's favorite web-slinger.

Fans will have to wait a bit longer to find out who will direct the next Spidey movie, especially since we have yet to determine when Spider-Man 4 might begin. Fallah's playful deflection about the rumors only stoked the speculation fire. His lighthearted evasion has many believing there’s more to this story than meets the eye. As we wait for official news, the director's coy response keeps us guessing about what secrets might be hidden behind the scenes of this highly anticipated project.

Meanwhile, Fallah and El Arbi are gearing up for the summer blockbuster season with their latest action film, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, hitting theaters on June 7. On the Marvel front, the next big release is Deadpool & Wolverine, coming to theaters on July 26. While we wait for more news about Spider-Man 4, also be sure to check out the 2024 movie schedule to plan your next trip to the theaters. 

When the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched in 2008 with Iron Man, the overall landscape of the Marvel movies in order looked quite different. In addition to Sony having the film rights to Spider-Man, which is still the case today, 20th Century Fox had exclusive dibs on telling cinematic stories centered on the X-Men and Fantastic Four. But when Disney acquired Fox in 2019, Marvel’s mutants and First Family came along for the ride, so now the MCU can finally utilize these characters in its ever-growing mythology.

While The Fantastic Four is slated for release this summer on the upcoming Marvel movies schedule, there’s still no word on when we’ll get a straightforward X-Men movie in the MCU, although various elements from the Fox era of X-Men movies were revisited in summer 2024 in Deadpool & Wolverine. However, even setting aside that team-up between Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman’s Logan, the MCU has dropped various X-Men references and appearances in its movies and TV shows in the last several years, so let’s go over what’s been dished out to fans so far.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

The MCU’s first foray into X-Men-related territory came in May 2022 with the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. When the Earth-616 version of Stephen Strange visited Earth-838 with America Chavez, he met the Illuminati of that world, and a Patrick Stewart-reprised Professor X was one of its members. This version of Professor X was visually modeled after his counterpart from X-Men: The Animated Series with his green suit and yellow hover chair. A riff on the classic ‘90s cartoon even played when he first appeared onscreen.

Like the other Illuminati members aside from Mordo, this Professor X died while trying to prevent the Earth-616 Wanda Maximoff from taking America Chavez. It’s unclear if he ever led the X-Men in this universe or was solely tied to the Illuminati, but either way, now Earth-838 is without its strongest telepath.

Ms. Marvel - “No Normal”

Two months after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness came out, the first X-Men-related seed to be planted in the main MCU reality, i.e. Earth-616, was planted in the miniseries Ms. Marvel (which, like all the other Marvel Studios-produced TV shows, streams exclusively with a Disney+ subscription). In the finale, titled “No Normal,” Kamala Khan’s friend Bruno shared with her that her hard light powers, which she channels through the Quantum Band that’s been in her family for generations, stems from a “mutation” in her DNA.

Giving Iman Vellani’s Kamala hard light powers rather than her shapeshifting abilities from the comics was already a big change, but turning her into a mutant was another significant deviation, as she was introduced as an Inhuman. Funny enough though, the comics ended up following in the MCU’s footsteps shortly thereafter, as Kamala discovered she had a dormant X-gene, thus making her a mutant/human hybrid. Now that version of Kamala is closely associated with the X-Men, so maybe Vellani’s version will follow suit down the line.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

One of the first characters introduced in what we now look at as Marvel’s mythology was Namor the Sub-Mariner. The character has frequently been called “Marvel’s first mutant” when it comes to publishing, since he’s been preceded chronologically in the comics by people like Wolverine, Apocalypse and Mystique. Well, although the word “mutant” is never uttered in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it’s been confirmed that Tenoch Huerta’s version of Namor shares the same genetic background.

In the MCU’s main reality, Namor was born in 1571, and while his mother was pregnant with him, she injected a vibranium-laced herb in order to make herself immune from smallpox. This resulted in her and the rest of the people in Yucatán growing gills and developing blue skin, moving underwater and establishing Talokan. Namor himself additionally grew pointed ears and tiny wings on his ankles and is able to breathe normally both underwater and on land, as well as looking more human compared to the other Talokan denizens and lives much longer than them. So, although Huerta’s Namor has a very different background than the one from the comics, he’s still as mutant as they come.

The Marvels

In The Marvels’ end-credits scene, Monica Rambeau was revealed to have been transported to another universe after she patched up the rupture between realities that Dar-Benn tore open. Upon awakening, she was greeted by this reality’s version of her mother, Maria Rambeau, only this Maria is the superhero Binary and never had a daughter.

More importantly for this list though, Hank McCoy, a.k.a. Beast, was in the room, with Kelsey Grammer vocally reprising the character. This Beast also mentioned that “Charles asked for an update,” meaning Professor X exists in this universe too, and the laboratory they’re in has a circular door with the X-symbol on it, just like the one that led to Cerebro in the original X-Men movies.

Not only do we have another X-Man living on a different Earth, but it’s seemingly implied that this Earth has its own X-Men, which wasn’t as clear-cut on Earth-838. It stands to reason that there will eventually come a time when Monica makes it back to Earth-616. When that happens, maybe we’ll get to see some of this world’s other X-Men with her.

X-Men ’97 - “Remember It”

You may be asking why I’m throwing X-Men ’97 in here considering that not only would this show not exist without mutants, it’s not tied to the MCU. Well you’re right… or at least, it’s not tied directly. Indirectly, however, the fifth episode of the X-Men: The Animated Series revival established a connection with What If… ?, the show that explores various realities throughout the Marvel multiverse. It’s hard to make out above, but if you look closely, you’ll see the outline of a Watcher, specifically Uatu, What If… ?’s narrator.

This confirms that the X-Men: The Animated Series/X-Men ’97 universe is set within the same multiverse as the MCU franchise. However, don’t go assuming this means those shows’ versions of Cyclops, Jen Grey, Wolverine and more will ever appear in live-action. That doesn’t seem likely, though maybe there’s a chance that X-Men ’97 could someday have a direct crossover with What If… ? or another animated show like Marvel Zombies or Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

Deadpool & Wolverine

Although Deadpool & Wolverine serves as a sendoff to the 20th Century Fox era of Marvel movies, it still has some big ties to the MCU, and not just because Marvel Studios put it together. First, while Wade Wilson lives on Earth-10005, he somehow made it over to Earth-616 in 2018 to try and join the Avengers, only to be denied membership. Then Wade gets thrown into his main multiversal journey when he’s taken to the Time Variance Authority, previously seen in Loki’s two seasons, and sent into The Void with Wolverine. Finally, towards the end of the movie, Hunter B-15 shows up, as she’s now leading the TVA following the events of the Disney+ show.

What If... ? - "What If... the Watcher Disappeared?" And "What If... What If?"

Before What If... ? concluded after three seasons, the animated series threw in a fun X-Men connection in the form of a Storm variant voiced by X-Men '97's Alison Sealy-Smith. This version of Ororo Munroe appeared in the show's final two episodes and stood out for wielding Mjolnir, the enchanted hammer that traditionally belongs to Thor. What If... ?'s Storm worked with Captain Peggy Carter, Kahhori and Byrdie in stopping multiversal incursions, and the four later rescued Uatu from his fellow Watchers. Unfortunately, we never learned the circumstances behind how Storm came into possession of Mjolnir.

Captain America: Brave New World

While no mutants appear in Captain America: Brave World (the movie's loose adaptation of Sabra, named Ruth Bat-Seraph, was made an ex-Black Widow rather than a mutant), the metal adamantium was introduced into the main MCU continuity. The indestructible metal, known best for coating Wolverine's skeleton, is mined in this universe from the petrified Celestial known as Tiamut, whose emergence was prevented in Eternals. What will be done with the metal going forward remains to be seen.

Keep checking back here for more updates on how the X-Men are being seeded throughout the MCU. Feel free to also get the lay of the non-MCU cinematic land in the coming months with our 2025 movies schedule.

Since the Infinity Saga, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced an array of new and interesting characters, from martial arts master Shang-Chi to the all-powerful Eternals. Another newcomer who’s made waves since debuting in the MCU is Kamala Khan a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, who’s played by Iman Vellani. The delightful actor shined in her character’s eponymous limited series and The Marvels (both of which are available to Disney+ subscribers). Now, Vellani has provided a positive update on her future in the superhero franchise, which has me excited. However, there’s a related point to all of this that’s bugging me ever so slightly.

What Did Iman Vellani Say About Her Future In The MCU?

It has seemed apparent that Kamala Khan has been positioned as a major player in upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows. And the ending of The Marvels seemed to further solidify that notion with that tease hinting at the formation of the Young Avengers. Nevertheless, the MCU is a fluid organism and plans can shift and change as needed. So not every character’s future is all that guaranteed. Those fearing that they might not see more of Kamala after the Captain Marvel sequel needn’t worry, though. Iman Vellani confirmed that she’s been in touch with the Disney-owned studio, which has apparently let her know that her time is Khan isn’t over yet:

Even before hearing the sentiments that the rising star shared with Polygon ahead of the 2024 Anime Awards, I’d have been very surprised if Iman Vellani’s MCU stint was done. As mentioned, her character has now taken on the task of recruiting young heroes for a new super team. The long-rumored Young Avengers project would seem like the perfect place for her to pop up, though she could also show up in another corner of the cinematic universe first. Regardless of how the Jersey City-based superhero returns to the fold, I’m just glad she’s coming back. 

Iman Vellani – who’s a longtime comic book fan – is a great addition to the massive franchise, which is fortunate to have her. However, when I think about her trajectory there’s one thing that’s bugging me when it comes to her professional trajectory.

What’s Nagging Me When It Comes To Iman Vellani’s Career?

The 21-year-old Canadian star is incredibly talented and totally perfect for the role of Kamala Khan. However, that’s not the only part I want to see her play. Considering all of the talent she has, it truly boggles my mind that she’s yet to be cast in any other major productions (that we know of). I mean, I’d like to see this young woman in a horror flick, a rom-com or a drama of some kind. Yes, she more than thrives within the world of superheroes, but I have no doubt that she’d do the same if given another genre to play in.

I’ve seen so many promising stars become pigeonholed for one reason or another, and I’d hate to see that happen to someone as talented as Iman Vellani. Make no mistake, I definitely want to see her star in a production centered around the Young Avengers (for which she has a lineup in mind). Still, let’s hope that Hollywood offers her some more opportunities on top of the Marvel-related ones moving forward. 

Stream Ms. Marvel and the Marvel movies in order now on Disney+ and witness the actor’s charm and wit for yourself.

MAJOR SPOILERS are ahead for The Marvels. 

Iman Vellani was just promoted to the MCU's first string, wouldn’t you say? The actress behind Ms. Marvel just starred alongside Brie Larson in The Marvels , which delivered some seriously massive implications for the franchise. This was especially the case during The Marvels' ending, when Kamala Khan began forming the Young Avengers and when Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau found herself in another dimension and a major X-Men cameo was revealed. In light of these reveals, I asked Vellani how good she is about keeping those Marvel secrets close to the vest. 

As it turns out, the Ms. Marvel actress is no Tom Holland when it comes to holding the major spoilers of the MCU. As she told CinemaBlend: 

While past actors, like Hugh Jackman rocking the yellow Wolverine suit on the set of Deadpool 3 (which Vellani actually has one complaint about), have been the center of major Marvel secrets being revealed, the Kamala Khan actress hasn’t had a problem with keeping things under wraps. As the 21-year-old shared, she’s quite “proud” of the accomplishment thus far. 

In the past, Tom Holland and Mark Ruffalo have famously been the biggest offenders of spoiling Marvel secrets to the public, simply because keeping secrets is not their forte. One of my favorite examples of Holland dropping the Marvel ball was when he spoiled Infinity War for an entire theater when he shouted “I’m alive!” before the movie had started. Ruffalo’s claim to fame in this category was when he accidentally livestreamed Thor: Ragnarok for a bit while attending the movie’s world premiere. 

Vellani attributes keeping those Marvel secrets safe in part to not having social media accounts. She also expanded on why she stays offline with these words: 

Rather than logging on to social media and paying attention to things such as The Marvels' poor box office numbers, which Iman Vellani shared is a topic “for Bob Iger,” the actress is more focused on the experience of being a young Marvel lead. She also told us she’s developed a real-life friendship with Brie Larson since making The Marvels and is looking forward to meeting and working with more great talents throughout her burgeoning career. 

You can catch Iman Vellani in The Marvels now and look forward to her return in upcoming Marvel movies as she fronts the Young Avengers. 

Iman Vellani has stolen a lot of hearts and made a huge number of fans in her short time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her turn as Ms. Marvel in the Disney+ series is one of the best shows we’ve gotten so far, but the new movie The Marvels really thrusts Kamala Khan into the middle of the Marvel Universe. This also allowed Vellani to work alongside major Marvel stars, like Samuel L. Jackson.

The Marvels cast is full of major names that Iman Vellani got to meet and work with, but I'm not sure any could have gone as well as her first scene with Samuel L. Jackson. Iman Vellani appeared on Late Night with Seth Myers where she talked about working with Jackson and told an absolutely incredible story that I just love. 

Vellani calls Jackson a “generous” scene partner, and it turns out he was quite the mentor for the young actress. When Vellani wanted to try something of her own in The Marvels' big opening action sequence, which sees Kamala Khan fighting alongside Nick Fury at various points as the lead trio continuously switches places. Jackson went along but then explained why her idea wouldn’t work in the movie. Vellaini said…

It’s an excellent piece of advice. One of the things that actors need to always be aware of, but that Iman Vellani, still a relative newcomer, might not have been thinking about. But Jackson apparently liked what the young actress was thinking, as he proposed an alternative that would work better. She continued…

But it’s the end of the story where this transcends itself and becomes art. Apparently, Vellani continued to have issues with touching Sam Jackson, but Jackson was not having it. Leading to an interaction that apparently went slightly different in the actress’ head than it did in reality. She explained…

While Samuel L. Jackson isn't actually the actor who swears the most on-screen, he is certainly the one best known for it. Honestly, I think there are a lot of fans who would love to have the actor swear at them, so we can all relate to Iman Vellani here. She’s an incredible storyteller, and the way she relates all this is glorious. Based on the way that The Marvels' ending leaves Ms. Marvel, it seems like her crossing paths with Nick Fury in the future is pretty likely. Perhaps Iman Vellani can get Sam Jackson to swear at her next time.

Lots of people who love the Marvel Cinematic have never read any of the comic books that the characters are based on, and if you wanted to start now, it would be tough, as some of these characters have been around for the better part of a century. Of course, you can't tell stories for that long without some of those stories getting a little strange. Here are some of the wildest facts from the comics about your favorite Marvel characters.

 Iron Man - His Armor Fell In Love With Him

Tony Stark is a technical genius, having designed his Iron Man armor himself. Stark also knows a thing or two about artificial intelligence, so the fact that he created a sentient Iron Man suit powered by AI isn't that surprising. However, things got slightly out of hand when the armor fell in love with Stark. It loved him so much that it ultimately sacrificed itself to save his life.

 Captain America - Became A Werewolf 

Captain America has been through a lot, not the least of which being frozen in ice for a few decades, but one of the strangest occurrences took place in the early 1990s when Cap was transformed into a werewolf. Steve Rogers was investigating apparent werewolf killings, because werewolves are a thing in the Marvel Universe, when he was attacked and captured. When he awoke, he discovered he'd been given a werewolf serum. His own super soldier serum kept him from succumbing to the worst of being a werewolf until he was transformed back later. 

Black Widow - Cloned 

Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow was killed off in the MCU, but if they want to bring her back, they can just do what they did in the comics. After Black Widow was killed in the comics by an evil Captain America (long story) Marvel brought her back by simply cloning her. Apparently, the Red Room where Natasha Romanoff was trained  keeps clones around for just such an emergency.

 Hawkeye - Originally A Villain 

As one of the core members of the Avengers one may think Clint Barton has always been a... well, straight shooter, but Hawkeye started his career as a villain. As a young man, he met Black Widow when she was still living her life as a trained assassin and thief. He got caught up in a theft of Tony Stark's tech, leading him to become a wanted man. 

The Incredible Hulk - Last Man on Earth 

Turning into the Incredible Hulk has a lot of significant downsides for Bruce Banner, but if there is one (maybe) upside, it's that he doesn't have to worry about dying. In the Marvel Comic simply titled Hulk: The End it is supposed that Hulk is functionally immortal, and as such, even after the rest of the world has been destroyed by nuclear holocaust, Bruce Banner lives. In the end, even the Banner portion of Hulk passes away, but Hulk lives on, truly alone. 

Thor - Turned Into A Frog 

When you hang around with the God of Mischief, you have to expect some shenanigans, and Loki certainly delivered during a small Thor arc in the 1960s. Using some magic power he acquired Loki hit a human woman with a transmutation beam, and when that woman later kissed Thor, he went all Princess and the Frog and was transformed into a frog. 

Nick Fury - Was An airshow performer 

It's hard to imagine Nick Fury as anything other than the all-around badass that he is both in the comics and in the movies, but before any of that, Fury was an entertainer. Fury and a friend joined a traveling air show, where Nick performed a wing-walking act. It was while doing this that he met members of the British military, who recruited him, starting him on the path to being the secret agent we know.

Loki - Can't Swim

Loki is the God of Mischief and seems to be all-powerful. There's little that he can't do, transforming himself to look like anything or anyone he chooses, and yet he can't swim. In the early comics, it was revealed that Loki's powers do not work when he's submerged in water and that apparently means that he's so weak he can't actually swim.

Black Panther - Beat Up The Fantastic Four To Test Himself 

It's not all that uncommon for Marvel heroes to fight each other. It happens for all sorts of reasons, but Black Panther's debut in Marvel Comics involves him tricking the Fantastic Four into coming to Wakanda so he can test himself against them. The test went well, he beat all four of them single-handedly.

Doctor Strange - Met Benjamin Franklin’s Ghost 

When you're a Sorcerer Supreme it's perhaps not that unusual to meet famous people or their ghosts. Doctor Strange had a run-in with the ghost of Benjamin Franklin (alongside Deadpool). What makes this notable is that the two didn't get along because Strange had previously time-traveled, and met the living Franklin, who had put the moves on Strange's girlfriend Clea.  

Wanda Maximoff - Imagined Her Children (Sort Of)

Few of the strangest things to happen to comic book characters have actually made their way into the Marvel movies or TV shows, but one element that did was the children of Wanda Maximoff and Vision, who, in both the movies and comics, don't actually exist in the strictest sense, as they were created magically by Wanda and once the magic stopped they went away. Except in the comics, they eventually come back. 

Ant-Man - Court-Martialed For Unnecessary Violence, And Hit His Wife 

The first Ant-Man, Hank Pym, may have technically been a superhero, but he wasn't a very nice guy. In a 1981 comic Pym is court-martialed for unnecessary violence, after he beat up a villain who had already been captured. Pym also planned to attack the Avengers with a robot that only he would be able to defeat. As part of that storyline, a frustrated Hank backhands Janet Van Dyne across the face. Michael Douglas plays him much nicer.

 Wasp - Hooked Up With Magneto 

In a case that feels like textbook Stockholm Syndrome, an issue of the Secret Wars comic sees Wasp, who had previously been a prisoner of Magneto, get it on with the supervillain. Apparently Magneto has really nice eyes. Who knew?

Vision - Built From The Original Human Torch 

You might be familiar with the Human Torch who is a member of the Fantastic Four, but that character is actually the second to carry that name. The original Human Torch was a World War II contemporary of Captain America and wasn't actually human, he was an android. In fact, it was the body of the original Human Torch that was used when the android Vision was created decades later.

Winter Soldier - He Rescued Wolverine, Then Killed His Wife 

The Winter Soldier spent decades being thawed out to perform various tasks before being put back on ice, as such he ends up playing a part in many key moments in Marvel Comics history. He was actually at the Weapon X facility and he aided Wolverine in escaping from it. Their next encounter would be more heartbreaking, as the Winter Soldier was responsible for the death of Wolverine's wife Itsu.

She-Hulk - Briefly Became The Iron Fist And Also Black Widow 

Superhero team-ups are always a fun moment for fans, but while She-Hulk has had her share of chances to work alongside other heroes. She's also just... become them. In 2020 she picked up the Iron Fist ankh and briefly gained the powers of the Iron Fist. This was after the Infinity Wars comic event, in which She-Hulk was physically and mentally merged with Black Widow, giving her the powers of both. 

Wolverine - Went Feral

Wolverine has always been a character capable of great violence, but in the 1990s Wolverine lost the adamantium in his skeleton, and it was discovered that the metal in his body actually held back part of his mutation. Without it, Logan eventually became little more than a slobbering beast.

Deadpool - Beat Up Zombie Abraham Lincoln 

Deadpool is such a wild character that it's difficult to come up with any wild facts that actually seem that wild... for Deadpool, but he did once beat up a zombie of Abraham Lincoln, and no other Marvel hero can say that.

 Falcon - Telepathically Linked To Birds 

The Falcon of the MCU can fly but the Falcon of Marvel Comics is into birds in a big way. His sidekick Redwing is an actual falcon, and the two are closer than you might think, because the human Falcon has a telepathic link to his flying friend, and is able to forge similar psychic links with other birds.

Ms. Marvel - Fought A Villain From A Video Game

It's always satisfying when you beat a difficult boss in a video game, but Ms. Marvel likely felt even better when she defeated Doc.X. Originally created for MMORPG video game in the comics, Doc.X becomes a computer virus, and a sentient one. Able to take over nearly any electronic device, Doc.X was a significant foe for Ms. Marvel, but when it tried to leap out of the digital world Ms. Marvel took it down in a single punch.

Daredevil - Had To Retrieve His Father’s Body From Mole Man

Supervillains get up to some pretty shady stuff, but grave-robbing is pretty low, even for them. But in a series of Daredevil comics the Mole Man goes on a grave robbing spree, which draws in the Man Without Fear when the Mole Man steals the corpse of Matt Murdock's father. In a comic series that has no shortage of grim storylines, few have been grimmer. 

Moon Knight - Might Just Be Insane 

Moon Knight has a lot going on. He has the powers of an ancient Egyptian god, and he also suffers from multiple personality disorder. The sanity of the character has always been in question in the comics, but at various points, it's been suggested that maybe all of it is a delusion and Moon Knight has no superpowers, doesn't talk to gods, and is just completely insane.

The Punisher - Became A Black Man 

A lot of ideas in comics that may have seemed like a good idea at the time don't age well. Such is the case with this Punisher story that sees Frank Castle escape from prison, but only after having his face scarred by Jigsaw. Frank goes to a shady surgeon to get plastic surgery so that nobody will recognize him, and, uh, it works, as he transforms the Punisher into a Black man. This was undone quickly.

 Blade - Fought Dracula 

Blade is a vampire hunter so maybe it shouldn't be that wild that he has, on more than one occasion, fought the vampire, in Dracula himself. Still, it's a bit wild to see Bram Stoker's creation from over 100 years ago fighting a guy who looks like Wesley Snipes. 

Magneto - Ripped Out Wolverine’s Adamantium From His Bones

From the "why didn't you do that sooner department" we have Magneto, the mutant who has total control of metal, and has been fighting Wolverine for decades, but it wasn't until the '90s that he thought to just yank all the metal right off his bones. Thanks to Wolverine's healing factor, it doesn't kill him, though we do discover that Wolverine's claws are naturally occurring bone, and not complete adamantium, as had been previously believed. 

 Ghost Rider - Became The King Of The Underworld 

Marvel's Ghost Rider contains the spirit of a trapped demon, so it's no surprise that Johnny Blaze, the main incarnation of the character, feels at home in the Underworld. Blaze was killed in a battle with Mephisto (Marvel's Satan) in a 2018 comic, which resulted in him going to the land of the dead. Since Mephisto was busy trying to take over the living world, Ghost Rider had little difficulty in becoming the new king.

Spider-Man - Killed MJ With Irradiated Semen

Spider-Man: Reign was a limited series comic that sees an alternate universe web-head, decades in the future, come out of retirement. A lot has happened to this Spidey in the last few decades, including the death of Mary Jane, which we eventually learn came about due to cancer she contracted by having sex with her husband. Apparently, Spider-Man's blood wasn't the only thing that was radioactive. 

 Professor X - Had His Brain Stolen By Red Skull 

If you're going to steal somebody's brain, it makes sense to get one that belongs to somebody really smart. That's apparently the strategy of the clone of Red Skull who, in an attempt to gain mutant abilities, has his minions steal the corpse of the recently deceased Professor X so he can graft the dead man's mutant brain on his own body, thus gaining Xavier's mental powers.

Namor - Fought With Captain America In WWII

Namor is something of an anti-hero in Marvel Comics. He has little love for the surface world. But he has even less love for Nazis, as Namor has been an ally of Captain America since WWII, the two fought together in the superhero team called the Invaders before Captain America was frozen in ice.

Rogue - Stole Her Powers From Captain Marvel 

The X-Men member Rogue can fly and has super strength in the comics, though she doesn't have those abilities in all adaptations. This is because Rogue used to be a villain and in a battle with Captain Marvel, used her absorbing power to gain Marvel's strength and flight. It put Carol Danvers in a coma, and while the power Rogue gains usually faded, these did not.

Captain Marvel - Gave Birth To The Man Who Sexually Assaulted Her

In an Avengers comic from 1964, Carol Danvers discovers she is pregnant, but has no idea how it happened. She gives birth, and the baby grows at an alarming rate. He eventually becomes a man, called Marcus. It's revealed that Marcus, trapped in Limbo, manipulated Carol and impregnated her with himself (comics are weird) in order to escape limbo, then wiped her memory of the whole affair. The even wilder thing is that, at the time, nobody seemed to have a problem with any of this, leading to a significant rift between Carol and the Avengers. 

 Venom - Joined The Guardians Of The Galaxy 

The Guardians of the Galaxy were already a motley crew, but they were certainly more so when Venom became a member of the team. This was when Venom had bonded with Flash Thompson, not Eddie Brock, who is most associated with the character, but that only makes the situation weirder.

Marvel Comics is always coming up with new stories, so we can be sure that even wilder things will be happening to our favorite characters down the road. 

The titular team in The Marvels is a group that comes together totally by accident. Thanks to a cosmic anomaly, Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, Teyonnah Parris’ Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan find their special light-based powers entangled, and they are basically forced to unite in order to stop what’s causing it. Accidental as the ensemble may be, however, what’s cool about the special unit is the way in which it allows the film to play with very different perspectives on the heroic Captain Marvel.

On one hand, Monica has essentially been neglected by her aunt for the last 30 years, and on the other hand, Kamala is a superfan who dreams of being besties with Carol. It’s a special dynamic, and I brought it up this past weekend when I had the chance to sit down with director Nia DaCosta at the Los Angeles press day for The Marvels. I asked about the impact of the special relationships within the eponymous unit, and the filmmaker explained,

As established in the empowering Disney+ original series Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan is a young hero from Jersey City, and she absolutely idolizes Carol Danvers – which is a very familiar perspective if you remember watching Captain Marvel. Back in the mid-1990s, Monica was made starry-eyed by her mom’s best friend/Air Force colleague… but she ended up disillusioned when Carol left Earth to deal with the Kree-Skrull War and never came back. Obviously that has an impact on what Monica sees in Kalama’s undying fanhood.

Nia DaCosta also looked at the relationships from Captain Marvel’s point of view too, though. Because of her incredible abilities, she feels that it is her job to help out planets in need (“With great power comes great responsibility,” as Uncle Ben would say), but obviously that led to her making some vital mistakes in her relationship with Monica. And as for Kamala’s love, that creates its own special kind of stress:

Marvel fans everywhere will be able to see the special triumvirate in action this weekend, and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more of our Marvels coverage (including more from my interview with director Nia DaCosta). To stay on top of everything MCU-related on both the big and small screens, check out our Marvel Movies In Order feature as well as our Upcoming Marvel Movies and Upcoming Marvel TV guides.

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are more than accustomed to the handful of streaming series that have built out the library of titles in that franchise. Since 2021’s WandaVision, what some consider to be the best Marvel TV shows have connected to the lore of MCU past and introduced arcs and characters of future importance. 

For a little while, I was on the same train as everyone else, but eventually, I fell behind on these Disney+ shows. To be totally honest, I honestly don’t know how, or if, I’ll ever catch up. So as we prepare for the return of Marvel to the 2023 TV schedule, here's my tale about where I stand with the Marvel multiverse.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Of Television, In A Nutshell

To really understand the struggle, one needs to stop and take in the full catalogue of Marvel shows that have streamed to this point. While anyone can sign up for a Disney+ subscription, not everyone has the time or interest to dive into the total package that consists of nine series to date, which have yielded 63 episodes worth of story. Here’s what that world consists of, at the time of this writing:

• WandaVision
• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
• Loki
• What If...?
• Hawkeye
• Moon Knight
• Ms. Marvel
• She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
• Secret Invasion

We’re on the cusp of Loki Season 2 premiering on Disney+ in a matter of days, so that total will change in the coming weeks. As that’s the first show from this universe to return for a second season, catching up for the next chapter of Tom Hiddleston’s adventures is easy enough. As for climbing back onto the MCU horse in general, that’s a larger saddle that would take some time to return to.

Why, And Where, I Fell Off Of The MCU’s Disney+ Series Train

Despite being severely disappointed with the ending of WandaVision, I kept up with the Disney+ MCU for a fair amount of time. In addition to devouring Loki, I was also a fan of what was done with The Falcon and the Winter Solider. But by the time What If…? and Hawkeye started to air, I found myself falling behind due to other obligations. I can’t remember what those commitments happened to be, but once I was knocked off the rails, it was hard to get back on them.

My most recent attempts to try and get back into the Marvel TV series happened to be the first episodes of both She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Secret Invasion. Both series had concepts that sounded interesting and out of the box, but upon viewing both of their pilots, I wasn’t invested in the slightest. Nowhere did this hurt more than with Samuel L. Jackson’s return as Nick Fury, as that show was teasing a massive spy thriller vibe, which as a James Bond movie fan is right up my alley. 

When that first chapter wrapped, I couldn’t have been less interested in catching up. And yes, that was despite an all-star cast of actors like Kingsley Ben-Adir, Emilia Clarke and Academy Award winner Olivia Colman being present. Yet for as much as I’ve laid out my complaints pertaining to the MCU’s TV branch, there are still pockets of the overall experience I’m glad to keep myself up to date on.

The Marvel Series That Still Have Me Invested

While I’ve fallen off of the MCU’s TV train in the greater picture, there are still a couple of shows that I’m a devoted fan of. As far as what’s aired, I’m not only primed and ready to revisit Loki for Season 2, I’m also extremely excited to see what the next raft of What If…? stories have to offer as well. In my mind, there’s still some exciting potential in the multiverse being played out in Disney+'s streaming playground.

When it comes to following those threads, I’m totally there, which admittedly leaves me periodically with my jaw on the floor; like when Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s post-credits scenes dropped that wonderful tease for Loki Season 2. Also, the upcoming Marvel Zombies animated series technically counts as an entry on this list as well. 

I’ve been stumping for why Marvel Zombies needs to happen for some time, so there’s no way I’m not at least starting to check that out. As for the rest of the MCU TV offerings, it’s all a mix of shows I wasn’t a huge fan of and series that I’m not sure I need to prioritize in the name of keeping myself in play on this particular playground.

Will I Ever Catch Up With The Marvel Disney+ Shows?

Admittedly one of the advantages that Marvel has over other franchises, like say the Star Wars universe, is that you can sort of pick and choose what you’re invested in. While you might need to have watched Ms. Marvel to totally get the story of The Marvels, you don’t need to have seen it to watch Loki. 

Not to mention, unless I missed something between the release of Moon Knight and the Marvel movies that hit theaters in its wake, that’s one of the series that doesn’t seem to have any overall impact on the MCU. So with that in mind, there might not be a time when I’m totally caught up with Marvel’s Disney+ shows. 

In an ecosystem where “It's All Connected” used to be a slogan of importance, the question of whether that’s ever been true at any given point is something that recurs. Sure, I’m more inclined to watch Ms. Marvel now that I’ve seen Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) being comically adorable in the first trailer for The Marvels, but if it wasn’t for that connection, I’m not sure I’d have put any level of importance on doing just that. 

Maybe it’s my Marvel movie fatigue that’s put me into a position such as this, as I’ve even found myself questioning which MCU entries to attend and which ones to skip in theaters. Perhaps if the next few movies pull the saga out of the seemingly aimless arc it’s currently engaging in, I’ll find myself digging deeper into the past. While I weigh this matter out in my own mind, the clock is ticking and the stack gets ever higher. 

So for now, I’m going to enjoy those pockets of the Marvel continuum that I’ve really dug, and I’ll tackle anything else that’s present when, and if, I have the time. But you can be sure that I’ll be revisiting Loki Season 1, as Season 2 premieres on Disney+ October 5th. 

In 2022, the Marvel Cinematic Universe welcomed a new hero – and actress – into its ranks. The cinematic franchise expanded with the Disney+ limited series, Ms. Marvel, which saw newcomer Iman Vellani play the titular character. To put it simply, Vellani absolutely nailed the role of Kamala Khan, as she perfectly embodied the kind, plucky and fangirl-esque nature of the Jersey City-bred teen. A major reason why she was able to land on that third trait is because Vellani herself is a massive comic book fan. With that, she recently participated in some X-Men cosplay amid an event and now has me thinking she’d also do justice to the role of Jubilee. 

Iman Vellani – a native of Canada – was one of the pop culture fans in attendance at Fan Expo Canada last weekend, where she linked up with Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. The two pop culture lovers really took in the experience, given the fact that they went the extra mile to dress up as some notable comic book characters. Ramakrishnan cosplayed as Donatello of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While the Netflix veteran’s look was on point, Vellani’s Jubilee costume is just too sweet. Take a look at the screenshot Ramakrishnan shared to her Instagram stories: 

The jacket and boots are great, but what’s most impressive are the smaller accessories, specifically the earrings and shades. I know Kamala Khan is becoming a mutant in the comics and was also revealed as one in the Ms. Marvel finale as well. However, I can’t help but wonder now if the actress could’ve played the young mutation-laden X-Man instead. Of course, I’m making this assumption simply based on a costume and not seeing her actually perform as the character. Still, she definitely has the look down and, given the energy she brings to Kamala, I’d be curious to see what she’d theoretically do as the dazzling, jacket-wearing heroine. 

Introduced in the pages of The Uncanny X-Men in 1989, Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee was established as the daughter of wealthy Chinese immigrants who were murdered when she was young. In time, the youth discovered that she was a mutant with the ability to produce fireworks-like energy blasts. She’d eventually land on the radar of Charles Xavier’s iconic team of heroes and join them. The character has appeared in various comics over the decades as well as in other forms of media. Many probably know her best for appearing in X-Men: The Animated Series during the ‘90s. A version of Lee also appeared in 2016’s Apocalypse, in which she was played by Lana Condor, who has since expressed interest in reprising the role.

Now that the famous mutants are under Marvel Studios’ purview though, it’s likely that the role will be recast at some point. There’s even a chance that Iman Vellani’s Kamala might even cross paths with her other X-People at some point, given her genetic connection to them. It’s fun to imagine what Vellani would do with the aforementioned character, but she's just too perfect fit as Khan. 

Ms. Marvel received critical acclaim upon its debut, and much of the praise was aimed at the lead actress’ performance. She possesses endless charisma and has a level of likability that’s off the charts. What’s also satisfying about her casting is that it signifies a rare instance in which a super fan managed to join a property they loved. Even since the show’s debut, she’s continued to be enthusiastic about her role and what comes with it. Those wanting evidence of her wide-eyed and easily amazed nature should look no further than the video of Brie Larson revealing Khan’s inclusion in Disneyland’s Avengers campus to her.

I’m sincerely hopeful that we’ll see Iman Vellani play Kamala Khan for years to come. Regardless of how long she plays the part though, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll ever see her pull double duty and play Jubilee as well. At the very least, anyone who’s been truly inspired by her A+ cosplay can always craft some stunning fan art.

You can check out the actress in Ms. Marvel by streaming it with a Disney+ subscription. It may be wise to do that sooner rather than later, as the character is set to return in The Marvels, which soars into theaters on November 10. And anyone in need of Jubilee action can use the previously mentioned streaming membership to check out all five seasons of X-Men: The Animated Series.

Here’s a surefire way to cause an argument in geek circles: Bring up continuity in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe. For one thing, shows like Loki – which is returning to Disney+ for its second season – deal heavily in the manipulation of time, so consistency usually flies straight out of the window, by design. But there are other factors that make it difficult when someone wants to try and watch all of the Marvel stories in order. Take the Nick Fury issue, for example. As the character fought his way through Secret Invasion, audiences already knew that the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director would appear in The Marvels, because he was in the trailer. So when did the Disney+ series Secret Invasion take place, particularly in relation to Ms. Marvel?

If you look on the Disney+ streaming service, there is a tab titled Timeline Order. And in that timeline, Secret Invasion is the most recent MCU event, meaning that The Marvels has to occur shortly after it, because the show sends Nick Fury to space where he’s going to serve from the S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient Worlds Observation and Response Department) headquarters. This is OK for Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, because the last time we saw her on screen in the MCU was via hologram in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. But two other key members of The Marvels have had adventures since then, including Kamala Khan, played by Iman Vellani. So when, in relation to Ms. Marvel, is The Marvels?   

You’d think that The Marvels comes IMMEDIATELY after Ms. Marvel, given the fact that in the mid-credits scene of the finale, Brie Larson shows up, seemingly due to the fact that the three heroes are swapping locations when they use their powers. And now, The Marvels director Nia DaCosta clarifies Kamala’s age in her story, confirming that she will be the same age that she was when introduced in Ms. Marvel. DaCosta told Total Film:

This, by way of deduction, means that the events of Secret Invasion had to be happening at the same time as Ms. Marvel, because Kamala remains 16 years old, and both stories conclude with events that appear to be carried out in Nia DaCosta’s movie. But it also likely means that Thor: Love and Thunder and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania also took place around this same time… only, in locations that wouldn’t put them anywhere near Secret Invasion or Ms. Marvel. Same for all of the Guardians stories, be it the Holiday Special, or the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. 

These issues compute, mainly because there hasn’t been as much crossover in those individual stories as Marvel fans have expected. We saw Hulk and Daredevil appear in She-Hulk, but feature films like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever or Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness didn’t lean as heavily on existing characters (outside of Wanda Maximoff), and instead introduced new MCU characters like Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez). 

Sooner or later, the MCU timelines are going to have to start teaming up, as Marvel Studios builds toward its next Avengers movie, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. According to reports, teases for that movie will be included in The Marvels, so maybe the process of lining all of the existing MCU heroes already is underway. Bookmark our guide to Upcoming Marvel Movies, and stay up to date on the latest as it happens. 

Since its launch in 2019, Disney+ subscription holders have invested in the House of Mouse’s flagship streaming platform for a number of reasons. A particularly big draw has been the plethora of exclusive content related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The service has dropped a wide range of offerings at this point, including WandaVision, What If…?, Moon Knight and the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. And up until this point, all of that content has remained exclusive to those who pay for it. However, that’s about to change, as one of the MCU TV shows is officially set for a history-making debut on ABC. And it’s none other than the Iman Vellani-led Ms. Marvel!

The alphabet network announced the news in a press release, which broke down when viewers should expect to see the coming-of-age superhero series. The six-episode show will be split up and aired on two specific days. The first three episodes will be shown from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 5. The final three will be shown the following Saturday, August 12 during the same time slot.

It goes without saying that this is a major moment for Marvel Studios and ABC, which both fall under The Walt Disney Company’s corporate umbrella. This move could potentially help to get more eyes on the show. Of course, this also now poses the question of whether or not more MCU series could follow suit in the near future. While that remains to be seen, it very well could be a possibility, especially as the network gets creative with its programming amid the actors and writers strikes.

The well reviewed Ms. Marvel proved to be one of the most delightful entries in the canon and ultimately struck a chord with many general viewers when it premiered in the summer of 2022. It centers on the character of Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American teen who idolizes the Avengers. In an unforeseen turn of events, she gains superpowers herself and seeks to become a hero. The show received positive reviews for the performance of its lead actress as well as those of the supporting cast. Its visual style was also the subject of much praise.

This news comes on the heels of the reveal that Kamala Khan has been established as a mutant in the pages of Marvel Comics. And at present, the fan-favorite character is set to receive a brand-new limited series that’s being co-written by Iman Vellani. The upcoming title was announced not long after Khan seemingly met the ultimate fate in the recently released Fallen Friend title. But as many readers probably know, demises like that don’t last all that long. 

The Disney+ show’s broadcast TV debut is also incredibly appropriate given that Kamala is slated to return in Marvel Studios’ next movie, The Marvels. A sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, it will see Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers teaming up with Khan and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau after all three heroines’ powers become entangled. Other plot details have been kept under wraps, though what we do know based on the first Marvels trailer is that the MCU heavy-hitters are going to have a funny dynamic.

Ms. Marvel’s ABC debut is sure to be exciting for those who haven’t been able to check it out up to this point. It’ll be interesting to see just how many tune in to see the adventures of Kamala Khan, before she makes the jump to the big screen later this year.

At this time, Ms. Marvel is still available to stream on Disney+, and The Marvels will open in theaters on November 10 as part of the schedule of 2023 new movie releases.

One of the big ways that the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, initially stood out from her comics counterpart is that in the finale of her Disney+ show, it was revealed that she’s a mutant, not an Inhuman. However, with Ms. Marvel’s recent death in the Marvel Comics pages, fans speculated this original version of her would somehow become a mutant too, and sure enough, that is indeed happening. Furthermore, Iman Vellani, the actress who plays Kamala in the MCU, is involved with this status quo change.

Just two months after it was announced that Ms. Marvel would die in Amazing Spider-Man #26, word’s come in that, as a lot of people understandable suspected, her demise is temporary, as is often the case in superhero comics. Fresh off the release of Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel, EW revealed that a four-issue limited series is on the way called Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant, which will depict both her resurrection and her official unveiling as a mutant in the Marvel universe. Vellani is co-writing this series with Ms. Marvel TV writer Sabir Pirzada, Carlos Gomez and Adam Gorham are illustrating the interior artwork, and Sara Pichelli is drawing the main covers. This limited series will also see Kamala getting a new costume that’s designed by artist Jamie McKelvie (who designer her original costume) and is covered with X-Men logos.

Although readers will need to follow along with Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant to learn the circumstances behind Kamala’s resurrection and shift from Inhuman to mutant, the groundwork will start to be laid for that later this month in the X-Men: Hellfire Gala # 1 one-shot. That said, one key aspect of this story has been confirmed: Kamala will be brought back to life through Krakoan technology that’s been a mainstay of X-Men comics in recent years, and that’s how Kamala learns she’s a mutant. However, before she can come to terms with this revelation, the events of Fall of X will, as Marvel itself put it, “throw her world into chaos…and a secret mission on behalf of the X-Men.”

It’s worth noting that rather than obtaining the ability to create hard light construct like the MCU’s Ms. Marvel can do, the one from Earth-616 will retain her “stretchy powers,” as Iman Vellani described them. And for those wondering if Ms. Marvel now being a mutant means that her time as an Inhuman is being retconned, Vellani shared that this isn’t the case, saying:

The actress also mentioned how co-writing this comic book was “way scarier than joining the MCU” for her, but considering how she was a comic book fan even before she was cast as Ms. Marvel, naturally the opportunity to work on such a project was appealing to her. While this marked Vellani’s first time writing something, the story she hashed out with Sabir Pirzada ultimately boiled down to something she “would want to read.” She also amusingly described Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant as a Very professional tool” to write what is “essentially” her “own fan fiction.”

Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #1 will be available to buy digitally and at your local comic book store on Wednesday, August 30. As for the MCU’s Ms. Marvel, while it remains to be seen if Disney+ subscribers can expect another season of her show. Iman Vellani will be seen reprising the role on November 10 in the upcoming Marvel movie The Marvels, which co-stars Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers and Teyonah Harris’ Monica Rambeau.

2023 marks 10 years since Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, was introduced to Marvel Comics, with the Pakistani teenager gaining her shapeshifting powers after she breathed in Terrigen Mist, which activated her Inhuman genes. The Marvel Cinematic Universe opted to go a different way with her genetics, as it was revealed in the finale to Disney+’s Ms. Marvel series that Iman Vellani’s Kamala is a mutant. Now thanks to a major turn of events in the life of Marvel Comics’ Kamala, some fans are wondering if that mutant background might be incorporated into the mythology depicted on the printed page.

Before going any further, what I’ll be discussing concerns a plot twist that happens in Amazing Spider-Man #26, which will be released tomorrow. This twist was initially leaked online, and has since been officially acknowledged by Marvel. So here’s your warning: SPOILERS are ahead!

The current run of Amazing Spider-Man from writer Zeb Wells and artist John Romita Jr. has featured Kamala Khan as an intern at OsCorp who’s keeping an eye of Norman Osborn, the form Green Goblin who’s supposedly reformed, on Peter Parker’s behalf. Unfortunately, Amazing Spider-Man #26 sees Kamala dying, though the events that lead to her demise are still a secret. EW shared this pivotal issue will be followed on July 12 by Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel, a one-shot written by G. Willow Wilson, Saladin Ahmed and Mark Waid (all of whom have extensive history writing for the character) that shows various Marvel heroes gathering to remember Kamala.

Kamala’s death has already drawn a lot of negative reactions from Marvel fans, particularly because her death is occurring in a Spider-Man book rather than her own. That’s not what I’m here to talk about. Rather, given how often characters return from the dead in superhero stories, it’s already widely assumed that Kamala will eventually be resurrected. Remember, later this year Iman Vellani’s Kamal will co-lead The Marvels with Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau. Marvel loves synergy between the comics and the MCU whenever possible, so count on either a new Ms. Marvel ongoing series or a team-up book featuring these three launching before that upcoming Marvel movie’s arrival.

But there may be more to it than this. Oftentimes Marvel likes to retcon certain aspects of characters in order for the comics to better align with the MCU’s continuity, like when Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were revealed to not actually be mutants around the time Avengers: Age of Ultron came out. With that in mind, some fans are now speculating that when Kamala is resurrected, that will pave the way for her either be changed from an Inhuman to a mutant, or just having been a mutant this entire time. Regarding the latter option, the Resurrections Protocols that have been set up on the sentient mutant island of Krakoa allow any mutant to be brought back to life in a new body, as decreed by the governing Quiet Council. 

If Kamala is resurrected like this, then her mutant heritage will be set in stone, though that then begs the question of why her powers didn’t awaken until she was exposed to Terrigen. Whatever that answer is, this would bring the comics’ depiction of Ms. Marvel more closely in line with how she’s shown in the MCU. Sana Amanat, one of Kamala’s creators, even said to Empire last year that they were originally going to have her be a mutant before changing her into an Inhuman. So in a way, this is getting back to the character’s roots, though obviously there would still be a number of differences between the comics and MCU Ms. Marvels, such as Iman Vellani’s version making hard light constructs rather than being a shapeshifter. 

Again, this is all just speculation for now, but even with Kamala Khan dying in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, don’t assume that’s going to stick, especially as we get closer to The Marvels’ release. For now, use your Disney+ subscription to stream Ms. Marvel and nearly all other MCU content, or learn what the streaming platform has coming up for this franchise by reading through our upcoming Marvel TV shows guide.

It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a behemoth franchise spanning both TV and film. Throughout Phases Four and Five a ton of new characters have been introduced, who will presumably factor into major events like Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Fans are eager for any information regarding Elizabeth Olsen’s return as the Scarlet Witch, but even the actress is clueless at the time being. Although Olsen did reveal which Marvel newcomer she'd like to crossover with as Wanda… and her choice is solid.

Phase Four was big for Olsen’s hero, who kicked it all off with WandaVision before shocking fans by becoming the villain of Doctor Strange 2. The Ingrid Goes West actress recently did an interview with Buzzfeed while playing with puppies, where she eventually spoke about the state of the MCU. When asked who she’d like to team-up with in the future, she picked Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel. 

I mean points were made. Vellani gave an endlessly charismatic performance playing the title character of Ms. Marvel, with the series finale seemingly opening a ton of doors for the greater MCU. She’ll be going from the TV to the big screen in Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels, which is one of the most hotly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies. The sky’s the limit for Kamala, so meeting the Scarlet Witch doesn’t seem totally out of the question.

Elizabeth Olsen’s comments to Buzzfeed come as she’s been promoting her new show Love & Death, which is available with a HBO Max subscription. As previously mentioned, she seemingly isn’t aware when she’ll be back as the fan favorite character Wanda Maximoff, although she has expressed interest in returning. It definitely seems like the fans and Olsen are in agreement in not believing the Scarlet Witch actually perished during the ending of Doctor Strange 2. 

As previously mentioned, Ms. Marvel is going to be hitting the big screen for the first time as one of The Marvels’ trio of heroes. The movie will follow as Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel is paired with both Kamala Khan and Teyonahh Parris’ Monica Rambeau. You can check out The Marvels trailer below:

With a number of MCU OGs retired, Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff is one of the most popular characters currently in play for the shared universe. And despite her actions in WandaVision and Doctor Strange 2, fans are eager to see her redemption arc. With the threat of Kang in the next Avengers movie looming, the Scarlet Witch might be one of the galaxy’s biggest weapons against that villain.

The Marvels will hit theaters on November 10th, and new episodes of Elizabeth Olsen’s Love & Death air Thursdays on HBO. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

I’ve been a massive Marvel fan since the beginning, however, I never felt like there was a character who I really identified with until Ms. Marvel flew onto Disney+ last summer. I adore Kamala Khan, and seeing a young fangirl at the center of a story who is smart, funny, and awkward was a type of female representation I'd never seen before. 

Not to mention that she also made history as the first Muslim superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a lot of her power is based in her culture, which is extremely meaningful. Overall, it means the world to me to see a character like Ms. Marvel on screen, and I know that’s true of a lot of other Marvel fans, and that's just one of the reasons I think Iman Vellani’s character is the most empowering new addition to the MCU. 

Kamala Khan Is So Proud Of Who She Is

I was immediately struck by Kamala Khan’s pride while watching Ms. Marvel. She is so sure of who she is, and so proud of it that it’s infectious. From the jump, we meet a spunky, nerdy, sarcastic and caring gal who knew who she was and what she wanted. We don't often see confident and proud nerdy girls on screen, and for me, a fellow geeky gal, that really meant a lot. What this also means, is young girls like Ms. Marvel will see themselves in her, and they won’t be afraid to be their true selves, because there’s someone just like them who is a superhero. 

What’s also great about this series is it’s about a woman who is figuring out how she fits into her culture, and that was really empowering too. While Kamala is so proud of who she is, she’s also still figuring it all out, and to see a three-dimensional character who is strong-willed and confident, but is also still in the process of self-discovery is comforting. While speaking with EW, Vellani talked about this journey of self-discovery Kamala goes on, but also how proud, and well-rounded her character is:

Vellani is so right, seeing all the aspects of Ms. Marvel’s life really helped show the world what a wonderful character she is. It’s also representing and helping empower girls and women who identify as fangirls, Muslims, children of immigrants or all of the above, which is so inspiring.

Ms. Marvel Is The First Muslim Superhero In The MCU

One of my favorite elements of the MCU is that over the last few years, it’s been bringing in characters who have been historically underrepresented in mainstream media. While we’ve seen more Muslim characters in TV and movies lately, seeing Kamala Khan in the Marvel universe is historic.

Vellani spoke to NPR about the importance of Kamala Khan being in the MCU, and being the first Muslim hero in the universe, saying: 

While I am not Muslim, I understand the power of being seen and represented, and I agree with Vellani that Marvel can really help shine a light on underrepresented cultures through its content. So many people have been able to learn about Islam and Pakistani culture through this show, and as the director, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy explained this story is “resonating with millions of people” and “changing the way we see superheroes.” 

Seeing A Fangirl On Screen Brings Me Immense Joy

One of my favorite things about Kamala Khan is she’s a massive fangirl. She loves the Avengers so much, she goes to Comic Cons and she has posters of Captain Marvel plastered all over her walls. I really can’t recall another show or movie that shows a young fangirl who is so freaking proud of who she is. The show isn’t trying to transform her into someone she’s not, it capitalizes on her nerdiness, and that’s what makes her powerful.

Not only is Kamala a fangirl, but Iman Vellani is also a massive one, too. She is like a Marvel encyclopedia, and she unabashedly loves the MCU and comic books. While promoting Ms. Marvel the young actress talked about her favorite Marvel comic storylines, her love for Robert Downey Jr., and her knowledge of the MCU. 

Her passion and love is infectious. I know I’ve always been a bit self-conscious to show my love for movies, TV shows, and books out of fear that I’ll be made fun of, or told I don’t know what I’m talking about. However, I learned from watching Ms. Marvel that you should never be ashamed of what you are passionate about, and it brings me so much joy to know that young girls will be able to learn this through Ms. Marvel, and will see a major figure in pop culture who is a proud fangirl.

So Many Young Girls Now Have A Strong, Funny, Awkward Superhero To Look Up To 

Overall, my favorite shows and movies are ones that give young people someone to look up to and be inspired by. Growing up, I never had a character like that, but seeing Ms. Marvel on the screen will allow so many to find themselves in pop culture. So, knowing that so many young girls have a strong, awkward, funny and powerful superhero to find comfort and power in brings me so much joy.

Vellani had the same feeling, and while speaking with Variety she explained what her hope was for the show, saying: 

Comfort is exactly what I found in Kamala, and I’m sure so many others were able to do the same. As we move into Phase 5 of the MCU, Ms. Marvel has the power to change the universe, and our favorite fangirl is going to help shepherd in a new era of Marvel content. The fact that a young, nerdy, Muslim woman is a major part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is so incredibly exciting, and seeing her confidence in who she is and what she stands for is empowering. 

You can stream Ms. Marvel with a Disney+ subscription, and the next time we see Kamala Khan she’ll be fighting alongside Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau in The Marvels, which is among Marvel's lineup of upcoming movies. 

Brie Larson’s 2019 Marvel debut came in the knick of time for her to join the Avengers in their battle against Thanos, but since then we’ve been patiently waiting to see Carol Danvers back in action. We’ve known for some time that her sequel, The Marvels, is finally on the way this year, but with the release of the movie’s first poster, we’ve learned we'll now have to wait a bit longer to see it. 

Rather than The Marvels sticking with its July 28 release date, the 2023 movie release date has been moved to November 10. The move was made by Disney at the same time as the studio also shifted the release of the Haunted Mansion movie from August 11 to The Marvels former date. Check out The Marvels first poster: 

The Marvels poster showcases the big team up set to occur in the superhero movie. Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers will reunite with Monica Rambeau, the daughter of her best friend, Maria, after we first got to know their relationship in the ‘90s-set Captain Marvel movie. Teyonah Parris is reprising her role as an adult Monica, now with superpowers, as the MCU introduced during her stint in WandaVision. She graces the top third of the poster. 

Brie Larson can be seen in the middle of the poster in the middle of her character’s symbol and Iman Vellani’ Ms. Marvel is at the bottom of the poster. We met Captain Marvel's biggest fan-turned-superhero Kamala Khan during her titular Disney+ series. And, at the end of Ms. Marvel's first season, it connected Kamala with Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers when they mysteriously switched places, thus setting up the upcoming The Marvels storyline. The tagline for The Marvels is fitting too: "Higher. Further. Faster. Together."

The release date shift could give The Marvels a better chance to perform well at the box office in a rather crowded summer 2023. In its previous date, The Marvels was going to come out just a week after Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer share a debut on July 21, which is already set to be a massive weekend for moviegoers. The week following, on August 4, The Marvels would also come up against The Meg 2 as well. 

Now that big summer time slot befalls Disney's second try at a live-action adaptation of their beloved classic Disneyland ride, Haunted Mansion. That doesn’t mean The Marvels won’t face some major competition during its new November date. The upcoming Marvel movie will now be released one week after Dune: Part Two and one week before The Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. 

The new release date for The Marvels also gives fans of the MCU more time between movies. Initially it was going to come out little over two months after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but now we’ll have six months between the two MCU releases. While it’s a bummer we’ll have to wait longer to see Brie Larson return as the hero, at least our summer movie schedule won’t be quite as crowded. 

Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have come to expect a number of key elements from the shared fictional universe over the years. They like layered superheroes, compelling stories and awesome action sequences, among other things. Something that’s become equally important is continuity. Devotees love when plot points and easter eggs connect smoothly, though sometimes the franchise does slip up in this area. For example, a Disney+ MCU show recently included an error that has ties to Spider-Man: No Way Home. But the streamer has now fixed that mistake. 

In 2021, Spider-Man: No Way Home introduced an intriguing change that had been made to one of New York’s most iconic landmarks. The MCU’s version of the Statue of Liberty was revealed to have been restored back to its original copper color. It was even given a shield (which was apparently destroyed at the end of No Way Home) that was meant to honor Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America. The Jersey City-set Ms. Marvel featured the New York skyline on a few occasions, including the famous statue. However, when it appeared, it was still shown to be the blue-green shade that we know. 

Eagle-eyed fans seemed to notice the slight error and, now, one has also taken the time to highlight the fix. On Twitter, a fan account made note of the detail, with a few folks in the comments mentioning that they recently noted it upon watching Ms. Marvel as well. You can take a look at the “before” and “after” pics in the following post:

It’s honestly a very small detail in the grand scheme of the cinematic universe, but it’s one that continuity fans (like me) do appreciate. Elements like these help to contribute to the illusion that the MCU is indeed a singular place in which various big events overlap with each other. So this specific situation clarifies that Kamala Khan’s first solo outing does indeed take place after the events of Peter Parker’s multiverse-centric trilogy capper.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that one of Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man flicks has been involved in a continuity flub. 2017’s Homecoming threw fans for a loop when a title card suggested that the events of the movie took place eight years after the events of 2012’s The Avengers. (In reality, there was only a four-year gap.) Company head honcho Kevin Feige addressed the error at the time, saying that it wasn’t meant to “flummox” anyone. He also stated that the studio would need to release an official timeline – which will be released in book form later this year.

The creatives at Marvel have had mixed feelings on the importance of keeping with the timeline. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever producer Nate Moore told CinemaBlend just a few months ago that the time jump in Avengers Endgame is making things complicated at the moment. Years ago, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn stated that continuity hadn’t been much of an issue for him, though he later admitted to a mistake in Vol. 2, which involved Stan Lee.

To be fair, the MCU has become so sprawling now that it’s difficult for the powers that be to have every single base covered. There are sure to be folks who have nitpicks such as Ms. Marvel’s Statue of Liberty. But in the long run, as long as major plot threads are maintained, most viewers should be pleased. 

You can check out Ms. Marvel by streaming it with a Disney+ subscription, while Hulu subscription holders can treat themselves to a showing of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Keep an eye on upcoming Marvel TV shows as well.

2022 is now over, with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever being the last of the past year's superhero movies upon arriving in November. Since we’ve already ranked 2022’s Marvel and DC movies, it’s time to turn our attention to the Marvel and DC movies that are among the 2023 movie releases. On Marvel’s side, we’re getting Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Marvels, and DC will be delivering Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

With so many Marvel and DC movies coming our way (plus Kraven the Hunter over in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe), there will be a lot of characters from them to enjoy; some of whom we’ve already spent some time with in other projects, and others we’ll be meeting for the first time. So let’s go over the folks I think will steal the show in 2023. Also, to be clear up front, although the MCU and DCEU franchises now encompass both movies and TV shows, I’m only focusing on the former category, hence why you see anyone from series like Secret Invasion and Echo, as examples.

Kang The Conqueror

In 2021, we met a Kang the Conqueror variant named He Who Remains in Loki, but next year we’ll finally meet the main Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Jonathan Majors will of course be bringing Kang to life, but don’t think he’ll just replicate his He Who Remains performance. Quantumania director Peyton Reed said that Kang is a “very different character” as "someone who has dominion over time, and he’s a warrior and a strategist.” Why Kang is trapped in the Quantum Realm and what sort of arrangement he wants to reach with Scott Lang hasn’t been revealed yet, but this should be a great first taste of Kang’s unique brand of antagonism before he starts causing wider trouble in the MCU, culminating in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

Revisit He Who Remains’ appearance on Loki over at Disney+.

Batman (Michael Keaton)

I had Michael Keaton’s Batman on my list of Marvel and DC characters who would shine in 2022, but because The Flash was pushed back to 2023, I must do the proper thing and include him again. Unfortunately, with Batgirl having been scrapped, a Batman Beyond movie reportedly not moving forward and his appearance in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom still up in the air, this may be the only time we see Keaton reprise his version of the Caped Crusader. It doesn’t matter though, because even though over 30 years having passed since Batman Returns, we know he can deliver the goods. More importantly, The Flash presents an opportunity to see how he does as a mentor to Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen.

Before The Flash arrives in theaters, rewatch Batman (1989) and Batman Returns on HBO Max.

Adam Warlock

One of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’s end-credits scenes teased the birth of Adam Warlock, and in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Will Poulter’s version of the character will finally arrive. Granted, the Vol. 3 trailer only threw in a quick shot of Adam, so we don’t really know what’s in store with him other than being a weapon for Ayesha and the Sovereign people. Still, Poulter’s a dynamic actor and Adam is one of Marvel’s biggest powerhouses, so the combination of the two should achieve wonderful results.

The Guardians of the Galaxy’s previous MCU appearances can be watched on Disney+.

Hespera

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is unique among DC movies in that its antagonists don’t hail from the comics. As such, the sky’s the limit for what we can expect from Hespera, Calypso and Anthea, the daughters of Atlas, one of the mythological figures from whom the Shazam Family draw their powers. Helen Mirren’s Hespera looks to be taking lead on the villainous from in Fury of the Gods, and with the actress having already shown off her blockbuster chops in the RED and Fast & Furious movies, I’m confident she’ll delight in the superhero genre too.

The first Shazam! movie can be streamed on HBO Max.

Ms. Marvel

Disney+ subscribers have already spent a lot of time with Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan in the Ms. Marvel series, but if you didn’t watch Kamala’s origin story unfold earlier this year, you should at least carve out time to watch her team up with Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau in The Marvels. Vellani has already proven herself to be an amazing Kamala, so now the next step is to see how she does alongside two other superheroes, one of whom is her idol. Who knows, maybe we’ll also get more answers regarding Kamala being a mutant.

Catch Ms. Marvel Season 1, Captain Marvel and WandaVision (the debut of Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau) on Disney+.

Blue Beetle

Considering that Jaime Reyes is Blue Beetle’s main protagonist, it would be pretty disappointing if he didn’t shine at all in his theatrical debut. Fortunately, Xolo Maridueña performance as Miguel Diaz has been one of the highlights of Cobra Kai, and getting to play Jaime, the first Latino superhero to lead their own movie, clearly means a lot to him. While Jaime hasn’t existed as long as most of the other individuals on this list, he has built a sizable fanbase, and Maridueña seems like an excellent choice to bring this character to life on the big screen for the first time.

You can check out Blue Beetle’s appearances in animated projects like Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Young Justice on HBO Max, or watch his sole live-action appearance so far, in the Smallville episode “Booster,” on Hulu.

The High Evolutionary

Chukwudi Iwuji already has experience working with James Gunn from playing Clemson Murn in Peacemaker, and that’s what led to him being cast as The High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Iwuji has described his character as being "hugely intelligent and unusually charismatic,” but also “a complete piece of shit” who believes he’s doing “the best thing for humankind, which all sort of narcissists and sociopaths do.” When you throw in that he’s Rocket’s creator, High Evolutionary has all the makings of being a villain you love to hate.

Watch Chukwudi Iwuji’s performance in Peacemaker on HBO Max ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s release.

Black Manta

Here’s another character who’s on this list again thanks to a delay. While David Kane, a.k.a. Black Manta, got some time to shine in Aquaman, he was always going to be second fiddle to Patrick Wilson’s Ocean Master. For Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom though, it looks like Black Manta will be occupying main villain status. With a new suit of armor and an alliance with Randall Park’s Stephen Shin, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s character will once again try to exact revenge on Arthur Curry for the death of his father. Black Manta is widely considered to be Aquaman’s arch-nemesis in the comics, and this is the movie that will hopefully prove this is the same case in the DCEU.

Refresh yourself on what happened to Black Manta in Aquaman over at HBO Max.

Cassie Lang

Although Cassie Lang has been part of the MCU since 2015, Abby Ryder Fortson and Emma Furhmann’s versions were never given much to do. But now Freaky’s Kathryn Newton is playing her, and the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer makes it abundantly clear Cassie will have a lot to do. After all, it’s inadvertently Cassie’s fault that Scott, Hope, Hank and Janet end up trapped in the Quantum Realm, but we’ll also see Cassie donning her own supersuit, though it remains to be seen whether she’ll go by the codename Stature or Stinger. Either way, it’s nice to see her being officially added among the MCU’s Young Avengers lineup, even though this team hasn’t officially formed in the franchise… yet.

Cassie Lang’s appearances in the Ant-Man movies and Avengers: Endgame can be streamed on Disney+.

Mary Bromfield

Just like her siblings, Mary Bromfield was given the powers of Shazam by Billy Batson in the first Shazam! movie, with Michelle Borth playing her in superhero form. However, for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Grace Fulton will be pulling double duty as Mary in both her regular and superhero forms. It’s unclear if the sequel will directly address this change, but even if it doesn’t, at least Fulton has this unique opportunity that her other costars don’t. Hopefully this also means Mary will be given more to do in Fury of the Gods. After all, she’s arguably the second-most famous member of the Shazam Family, so a bigger platform would be appropriate this time around.

If you’re looking for something to watch Grace Fulton in besides Shazam!, stream Annabelle: Creation on Hulu.

Now we wait to see just how these 10 Marvel and DC characters do in 2022. Before these movies start premiering on the silver screen, be sure to read through our guides detailing how to watch the Marvel movies in order and DC movies in order.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a behemoth franchise, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Phase Four continued throughout 2022, with the studio offering new additions in the movies, TV shows, and even special presentations. While fan reception for each new release has varied, there have been plenty of big moments for the shared universe during the last year. And I've decided to rank the 7 biggest MCU moments from 2022, going across all medias. Buckle up, true believers.

While the MCU was a movies-only franchise throughout its first Three Phases, that changed with the recently completed Phase Four. Some of these projects hit harder than others, but there were some truly epic moments that have the potential to change the shared universe moving forward. Let's break down the twist and turns that arrived throughout 2022. 

7. Marc Spector has a third personality (Moon Knight) 

Comic fans were thrilled when it was revealed that Star Wars icon Oscar Isaac would finally be joining the MCU as the title character of Moon Knight series, which was available for those with a Disney+ subscription. This was the first piece of new content to arrive in 2022, with Isaac playing multiple characters throughout the show's six-episode first season. But that seemingly changed greatly in the finale.

Moon Knight was fun because of how it incorporated Gods into the shared universe, including the truly iconic Hippo-faced Goddess Taweret. While Oscar Isaacs pivoted between playing Marc Spector and Steven Grant, the final scene introduced to another personality from the comics: Jake Lockley. What's more, he seems to be working with Khonshu, unbeknownst to the other two personalities. Hopefully Season 2 will come sooner rather than later. 

6. Thor becomes a father (Thor: Love and Thunder)

One of the other ways that Phase Four of the MCU made history was through Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder, which marked the first time a hero was given a fourth solo movie. The Ragnarok director once again leaned heavily on comedic tones for this story, while also including a surprisingly emotional story for Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher. 

This was especially true for the movie's finale. While fans mourned the loss of Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, we watched as Chris Hemsworth's title character actually became a father. He adopted Gorr's daughter Love, who was able to wield Stormbreaker. And the two seem to be a ragtag superhero duo that are sure to turn a few heads if they participate in future crossover projects. Fingers crossed.

5. Kamala Kahn is confirmed as a mutant (Ms. Marvel)

Phase Four's TV shows have all had very different tones, and some of the best succeeded by bringing something new to the table. Ms. Marvel was definitely in that category, following a teenage Avengers superfan as she discovers her own abilities. The movie also featured a powerful capsule episode, where Kamala Kahn traveled to 1942 India. But perhaps the biggest shock came in the finale.

During the last episode of Ms. Marvel, the title character finally adopts her superhero moniker, and has her first real adventure. And in the final moments we learned more about exactly why she was able to gain powers thanks to her bangle. Namely that she's a mutant. Fans have been not-so-patiently waiting for the X-Men to join the shared universe, so perhaps Kamala Kahn will be an important force in bringing mutants to life. 

4. Wanda massacres the Illuminati (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)

There was a ton of excitement behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ahead of its release, thanks to the inclusion of director Sam Raimi and the show's connection to WandaVision. In the end the project was somewhat divisive, namely because it made Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch into a full-on villain, despite her making things right in her TV series.

Regardless of how you felt about Wanda's story (I blame The Darkhold), it was awesome to see the Scarlet Witch's full power realizes. There were a number of exciting action sequences, but perhaps the most iconic moment of Doctor Strange 2 was seeing her absolutely massacre the Illuminati of Earth-838. The violence was surprisingly brutal for a PG-13 Marvel flick, and it also featured the brief live-action appearance of Captain Carter and John Krasinski's Mister Fantastic. We'll just have to see if she eventually answers for these crimes, assuming she's not actually killed off. 

3. Daredevil’s Return To The MCU (She-Hulk: Attorney At Law)

Throughout Phase Four we've seen characters from Netflix's Daredevil series slowly incorporated into the main timeline of the MCU. This started with Charlie Cox's quicks scene as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well as Vincent D'Onofrio having a role as Kingpin in Hawkeye. But things went into high gear when the Man without Fear popped up during the last few episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

While some fans were annoyed waiting for Charlie Cox to finally suit up in She-Hulk, it didn't disappoint. We were treated to a new suit in action, with the comedy series hilariously subverting the typical hallway fight. Matt Murdock was also charming outside of the costume, making fans all the more excited about his upcoming series Daredevil: Born Again, and his role in Echo. Daredevil is finally interacting with members of the MCU, and it's thrilling. 

2. Mantis is revealed as Star-Lord’s sister (The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special)

One of the biggest MCU moments of 2022 didn't come from a movie of TV show. James Gunn's The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special broke new ground for the shared universe, and was a delightful 42-minute romp through both space and Earth. This project finally gave Pom Klementieff's Mantis her own story, including a huge twist that should impact the future of the shared universe. 

Early in the special, Mantis and Drax speak about her biggest secret: that she's actually a daughter of Ego (Kurt Russell) and is therefore Peter Quill's half-sister. It takes the entire runtime for her to finally break the news, with Chris Pratt's character over the moon for this familial connection. It was a real tear-jerker of a scene, and should presumably greatly change their relationship in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

1. Shuri becomes the next Black Panther (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

Throughout Phase Four, the most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movie was definitely Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The acclaimed blockbuster didn't disappoint, and has been making a ton of money at the box office. The movie was a powerful meditation on grief, which also expanded the MCU with the inclusion of Ironheart as well as Namor and the Talokan. 

The biggest question surrounding Black Panther 2 ahead of its release was exactly who would take the heart-shaped herb and become the next Panther. Unsurprisingly this honor went to Letitia Wright's Shuri, who debuted a killer new suit and personally took Namor on. Although she didn't take the Throne, with M'Baku instead becoming the next ruler of Wakanda. But that all might change with the news of T'Challa and Nakia's son. Only time will tell, but there's a new Panther in town. 

Honorable Mention: Madisynn (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law)

Of course, I would be remiss to write about 2022's best Marvel moments without mentioning the queen of memes herself, Madisynn (Patty Guggenheim). She gave a truly hilarious performance during her appearance in She-Hulk, which went viral and was turned into countless memes. Her friendship with Wongers is one I hope to see grow in a future installment of the MCU. After all, who doesn't want to see them drink Gin & Tonics and binge watch prestige TV?

Now that we’ve witnessed Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4 is over. Over the last year and a half, starting with the release of Black Widow in 2021, we’ve just seen the most jam-packed phase of the MCU yet, with over fifteen new titles between big-screen features and Disney+ Marvel TV shows. As we anticipate the next two phases of the franchise’s Multiverse Saga, let’s reflect on Phase 4, particularly in terms of how it became more inclusive than ever before. 

Marvel has grown a lot since Phase 1 capped off with the assembly of the original Avengers a decade ago, consisting of six white heroes, one of them being female. Ahead of so many more upcoming Marvel movies coming in 2023 and beyond, the franchise made a lot of exciting moves for representation. Time to break them down. 

Sole Women Directors Helmed MCU Movies For The First Time 

It only took 23 movies over a decade, but Black Widow marked the first MCU movie to be solely directed by a woman with the hiring of Cate Shortland. The Australian filmmaker ushered in the long-awaited backstory of Scarlet Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff along with introducing a new MCU favorite with Florence Pugh’s witty Yelena Belova. Unfortunately, the movie also led to a lawsuit by Johansson to Disney regarding the company’s decision to make it available to purchase on Disney+ at the same time as its theatrical release, breaching her contract. It was later settled between them in fall 2021. 

In the same year, Chloé Zhao became the first woman of color to direct a Marvel movie with Eternals, which in and of itself made a ton of strides for representation. Given the MCU is the biggest franchise in Hollywood, it’s important for them to usher in more diverse filmmakers and Phase 4 was a great step in the right direction for female filmmakers.  

Shang-Chi Was The First Asian-Led Marvel Movie

Asian-American representation in Hollywood has a troublesome history. However, the Marvel Cinematic Universe did contribute to the forwarding of positive inclusion of Asian characters in the mainstream with 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The movie authentically approached the Chinese-American experience through Shang-Chi and Katy as they meet Chinese mythological creatures and discover Kamar-Taj. 

The release became a major blockbuster at a time where the theatrical industry was still finding its footing after COVID-19 shutdowns. It introduced Simu Liu to mainstream audiences, and he's booking movies left and right nowadays. It enlisted Asian director Destin Daniel Cretton, who is now set to helm an Avengers film next. Plus, the fire soundtrack highlighted a variety of Asian artists as well. 

The MCU Gets Its First Egyptian Superhero

In early 2022, Marvel also debuted its Moon Knight series starring Oscar Isaac. The series inspired by the comic book that is influenced by Egyptian mythology brought about the debut of the franchise’s first Egyptian superhero in May Calamawy’s Layla El-Faouly, aka the Scarlet Scarab. In a Hollywood landscape where Arab characters are few and far between, it was refreshing to see Marvel bring in Ramy actress, who is an Egyptian-Palestinian actress, get her moment to be introduced as a Marvel hero. 

Ms. Marvel Was A Big Win For South Asian And Muslim-American Representation

The introduction of Kamala Khan in the MCU marked a big moment for the inclusion of South Asian, particularly Pakistani-American South Asians and Muslim Americans. Iman Vellani’s Marvel character authentically captured the story of a Pakistani teen living in Jersey as she navigates her coming-of-age years and discovers some major powers. This was helped by the creatives behind the scenes who could speak to this background. That includes depictions of a Muslim-American community that pushes back against stereotypes. 

Wakanda Forever’s Talokan Was A Big Moment For Latin Inclusivity 

The last big moment for representation that Marvel tackled for the first time in a big way in Phase 4 was in the Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever. After the 2018 original had Ryan Coogler bringing a predominantly Black cast to the forefront along with depicting a variety of African cultures with Wakanda, his second movie puts the spotlight on the Latin kingdom of Talokan, which is the MCU’s version of Atlantis. 

In a beautiful retelling of Namor’s origins, Wakanda Forever tackled a Mayan-inspired story that saw a whole people retreating to the sea in light of colonialism. The Black Panther sequel also depicted another complicated villain following Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger, with Tenoch Huerta’s incredible debut as Namor. 

Over the course of a year and a half, Marvel fans have consumed a lot of content from the MCU. Between the most recent big-screen movies and Disney+ shows, MCU seems to have made a real effort to include more people from all types of backgrounds, religions and identities in Phase 4. With these various strides in representation, Marvel can be a leader in Hollywood becoming a place more honest to the diverse world we live in. Here’s to more inclusion in Phase 5 and beyond! 

Comic book movie fans could spend an infinity debating where Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ranks among the best Marvel movies yet or whether or not She-Hulk tops the list of the best Marvel TV shows on Disney+ so far, for instance. However, I think we can all agree that the Marvel Cinematic Universe installments on the 2022 movies schedule and also that of the 2022 TV schedule inspired some pretty cool merchandise. We included a few favorites in our following guide to the best Marvel gifts for 2022 movies and TV shows below.

Now You Can Be Moon Knight’s Avatar With This Awesome Decal 

One of the year’s most exciting moments in the MCU was the long-awaited introduction of Moon Knight in a six-episode series featuring a talented cast led by Oscar Isaac in the title role (or “roles,” more accurately). The costumed alter ego of Khonshu’s vigilante avatar, Marc Spector, inspired this sticker that is so simply designed, yet so cool to look at it. A must-have for fans of Moon Knight, the black and white, 6” x 6” decal would look great on a water bottle, the back of a car, the front surface of a laptop, you name it!

Buy Moon Knight Graphic Decal on Amazon.

Harness The Power Of The Eye Of Agamotto With This Light-Up Replica

The year 2022 also saw the return of Benedict Cumberbatch in the role of the MCU’s former Sorcerer Supreme (in his own movie, that is) with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While Sam Raimi’s psychedelic sequel never sees our hero use the Eye of Agamotto — which is no longer contains the Time Stone following the events of Avengers: Endgame — the mystical amulet is still part of his signature ensemble. You can help the Marvel fan in your life make it part of their own ensemble with this beautiful replica that even lights up with the included set of batteries.

Buy Doctor Strange Eye of Agamotto Replica on ShopDisney.

Let America Chavez Take You Through The Multiverse With This Limited Edition Vinyl Figure

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness featured many jaw-dropping character appearances, but the most important new face in the cast would have to be Xochitl Gomez as America “Ms. America” Chavez. While there is surely more of the Multiverse-traveling teen to be seen in upcoming Marvel movies, if you know someone who still cannot get enough of her, we have just the gift in mind to keep them happy. This limited edition Funko Pop! figurine depicts America standing in front of a star-shaped portal she uses to experience other avenues of the Marvel Multiverse.

Buy America Chavez Funko Pop Figurine on Amazon.

These Socks Are A True Marvel

Another super-powered teen who made her MCU debut in 2022, in her own Disney+ TV show, was the alter-ego of Kamala Khan — played by the Ms. Marvel cast lead, Iman Vellani. If there is someone in your life who loved this diverse coming-of-age series and cannot wait to see Ms. Marvel return in the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels, give them the opportunity to show the world their excitement with these officially licensed crew socks.

Buy Ms. Marvel Crew Socks on Amazon.

Keep Any Bottle Of Wine Worthy With This Mjolnir Bottle Stopper

We saw a number of exciting returns in director Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love & Thunder — including Chris Hemsworth in the title role, of course, and the surviving members of the Guardians of the Galaxy for a brief moment. However, it was especially refreshing to see Natalie Portman reprising the role of Jane Foster after nearly a decade and, not to mention, wielding a restored Mjolnir. If you know someone who was also very satisfied by this reprisal and later celebrated it with a glass of wine, perhaps this bottle stopper designed to resemble the Mighty Thor’s prized hammer would make the perfect stocking stuffer.

Buy Thor Mjolnir Wine Bottle Stopper on Amazon.

Wake Up Like A Superhuman Lawyer With This She-Hulk Coffee Mug

Speaking of powerful women of comic book lore, the MCU's introduction of Bruce Banner’s similarly green cousin, Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) had the honor of being the franchise’s first legal drama (or dramedy, more accurately). If your loved one is one of the many who made the sometimes bonkers She-Hulk: Attorney at Law such a success, give them the perfect memento in the form of this coffee mug bearing the logo of Jen’s law firm from the show, GLK&H.

Buy She-Hulk G.L.K. & H Superhuman Law Division Mug on Amazon.

Wear This Werewolf By Night/Man-Thing T-Shirt Night Or Day

One of the coolest surprises the MCU brought us in 2022 was a Halloween special called Werewolf By Night, headlined by Gael Garcia Bernal as the lycanthropic Jack Russell. However, the real heart of composer Michael Giacchino’s directorial debut was a (mostly) gentle green giant named Man-Thing, who shared a very endearing bromance with Jack. If you know someone who was especially touched by one of the MCU’s best new duos, this T-shirt with a special design inspired by the characters would make for a great holiday gift.

Buy Werewolf By Night/Man-Thing Graphic T-Shirt on Walmart.com.

Make Meals Fit For Royalty With Black Panther: The Official Wakanda Cookbook

Perhaps the MCU’s most impressive achievement of the year (or, arguably, of Phase 4 in it entirety) is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which delivers a visually stunning action thrill ride while simultaneously, and very effectively, paying tribute to the franchise’s late star, Chadwick Boseman. Chances are that any fan of Ryan Coogler’s hit sequel already has most of the related merchandise you can imagine, but I am willing to bet that they do not have a book of recipes inspired by the Black Panther’s homeland. Author Nyanyika Banda’s Black Panther: The Official Wakanda Cookbook will have your loved one eating just like a Wakandan in no time.

Buy Black Panther: The Official Wakanda Cookbook on Amazon.

Fly Like Namor With These Winged Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Socks

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever also introduced a new, unique iteration of Namor, the Sub-mariner — as played by Tenoch Huerta — who was also born with the ability to fly due to the wings attached to his lower shins. If your loved one was especially excited for this film and the opportunity to see the fan-favorite, aquatic anti-hero on the big screen, they will love this pair of crew socks that, just like Namor, come with wings.

Buy Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Namor Socks on ShopDisney.

Dress Like Drax Does During The Holidays With This Ugly Sweater

Closer to the end of the year, Disney+ debuted yet another seasonal special starring your favorite group of misfit heroes from outer space… and Kevin Bacon, too. During the centerpiece Christmas celebration near the end of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Drax (David Bautista) can be seen wearing a sweater with a very intriguing design depicting a cat with laser eyes wearing a Santa hat and riding a slice of pizza. If you know someone who lives for the ugly sweater tradition, they might love this even if they have not seen writer and director James Gunn’s fun holiday special.

Buy Drax’s Ugly Sweater From The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special on Theyakacom.

Every Day Is A Guardians-Style Holiday With This LEGO Advent Calendar

Wearing Drax’s ridiculous sweater is not the only way you can continue celebrating the holidays just like the Guardians all season long and for seasons to come. As your loved one counts down the days until Christmas, they can open a door on this advent calendar that reveals a new LEGO accessory. Once all the pieces are all together, they recreate the best moments from The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and even imagine some new scenes of their own.

Buy The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special LEGO Advent Calendar on ShopDisney.

You and your loved ones are guaranteed a Marvelous holiday with any of these epic gifts.

With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever now in theaters, Marvel’s Phase 4 has come to an end. It was a phase marked by the introduction of several new series on Disney+ to supplement the movies, which means as far as hours of content goes, Phase Four is the biggest thing Marvel has ever done.

Phase 4 was largely pretty good, and it had some real standout moments that were better than just good. Unfortunately, it also had some low points, so here’s a look at the best and worst of this MCU era.

The Best: The Multiverse

Following the end of Phase 3, Marvel had seemingly done the impossible, so why not see just how far they could take things? One of the biggest elements added to the MCU in Phase 4 was the concept of the multiverse, and while this story has only begun to play out, it’s already given us some fantastic movies and moments.

Chief among them, of course, is Spider-Man: No Way Home and its bringing together of the three cinematic Spider-Man actors in a massive adventure. However, we also got to see Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier and even Captain Carter, in both animated and live-action forms, arrive in the MCU. The multiverse makes nearly anything possible going forward.

The Worst: Black Widow

Fans had to wait an extra long time for Phase 4 to get started due to the global pandemic. Unfortunately, once the new phase did get started, it didn’t exactly kick off with a bang on the film side of things. Black Widow was fine. It wasn’t a bad movie, but it just wasn’t the movie many were probably hoping it would be.

Being a story set earlier in the timeline, for a character that had seen a heroic death in Avengers: Endgame, fans were looking forward to a movie that would bring some catharsis and complete Natasha’s story in a satisfying way. While Black Widow does fill in the character’s history, it’s just plot, not story, leading to an ultimately unsatisfying finish to a beloved character.

The Best: Yelena Belova

While Black Widow was not the highlight of Marvel’s newest set of movies, it did have one bright, shining spot, and that’s the introduction of Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova. The Black Widow film was ultimately meant as an origin story story for her, and it certainly left fans wanting more.

Fans didn’t need to wait too long for that. Yelena appeared in the Hawkeye series as well, and her appearance was one of the most well received parts of the show. Yelena has a lot of fans, and since we know she’ll be back again in Thunderbolts, those fans are very happy. 

The Worst: The Flag Smashers

For those who weren't necessarily looking for anything too different in their Marvel TV shows, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was a bit more of a traditional superhero story, following two characters that we already knew, while also acting as an origin story for Sam Wilson as the new Captain America. However, the show also fell victim to a well known Marvel problem: the villain was a bit weak.

The Flag Smashers didn’t start out that way; they were actually quite compelling. This was a terrorist group that saw the world actually come together following the Snap, but returning to old ways after the return of half population from oblivion. The bad guys actually had a good point, which is why it was so disappointing when their leader starts killing civilians just so audiences don’t start to think that maybe the heroes aren’t on the right side.

The Best: Disney+

Without question, one of the best things that happened to the Marvel Cinematic Universe was the advent of Disney+. Not only did the streaming service allow for there to be simply more Marvel content to enjoy, but the shows allowed for more types of Marvel content than we’d seen before.

We saw experimental creations like WandaVision, the “lawyer show” that was She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and more traditional Marvel adventures like Hawkeye. We were also introduced to a broad and diverse group of new heroes that likely would not have been given the stage like that on the big screen at least at this point.

The Worst: You Need Disney+

While Disney+ has added a lot to the MCU, that doesn't mean it's all good. It used to be that to follow the larger story, you only needed to watch the movies, but now, that is very specifically not an option. If you haven’t seen WandaVision, then you really have no idea why Wanda is who she is in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Disney+ is necessary to following the story.

This means that if you don’t subscribe to Disney+, you’re missing significant parts of the story. Obviously Disney wants you to subscribe, but for more casual viewers (and there are a lot of those), needing to subscribe to a streaming service to understand a movie later is just going to mean skipping the movie.

The Best: The Return of Daredevil And Kingpin

The series of more adult Marvel shows produced for Netflix were generally well received by fans, and even when the episodes themselves may not have been that great, the castings were viewed (with maybe one exception) to be perfect. But since those shows have faded from memory, it was unclear whether they were still considered canon. 

In at least two cases, we now have answers, as both Charlie Cox’s Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin have made their MCU debut (in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Hawkeye, respectively), and even more is planned for them in the future. Now we just need to wait and see what the MCU has planned for Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, The Punisher... and sure, even Iron Fist.

The Worst: Wanda Vs. Agatha

WandaVision started out the run of MCU shows on Disney+ and it did so in incredible fashion. The first episode was a classic black and white sitcom starring Wanda and Vision that gave us only the barest hints of anything else going on. Each ensuing episode gave us a fresh take on a popular sitcom formula, meaning every episode was a little bit different and we were always in for something new.

Which is what made the finale of WandaVision ultimately disappointing, as the series ended with the same sort of superhero punch up that nearly every movie ends with. It’s not that the fight sequence was bad, it was fine, but for a show that did so much differently, it ended as just another standard MCU fight. This in contrast to something like She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, that gave us a wild and bizarre ending, which was exactly what a show like that deserved.

The Best: Namor

The introduction of Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is quite possibly the best adaptation of a character that we’ve seen in the MCU yet. This is not exactly the same character that was introduced in Marvel Comics all the way back in 1939, but every change that has been made is absolute perfection.

From Namor’s origin story to the meaning of his name, everything is a little bit different. But the changes make the character speak to a modern audience in a way that makes much more sense than a traditional origin story for Namor would. 

The Worst: Possibly Too Much MCU

One of the big complaints about Phase 4 is that, as a collection, the phase has no focus, no direction. I would argue that’s one of this phase’s strengths. It’s able to tell a wide variety of stories that are given a chance to be powerful on their own without having to be crowbarred into place to serve a larger narrative. However, I won’t disagree there is a downside to this.

Each of these stories has left the door open to more adventures, but at this point, we have no idea when we’ll actually see those stories take place. When will we see the Eternals again? Meanwhile, Kit Harrington’s Black Knight is likely going in a different direction, but who knows when that will happen. Will these stories simply never continue, or will they do so years from now after everybody has forgotten them?

Marvel’s Phase 4 has a lot going on. For the most part, it’s good, which is all it needs to be. Fans are still invested, and looking forward to Phase 5 and beyond. 

The timelines of the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises in film and television are fairly complex, but they don’t really hold a candle to the Marvel Cinematic Universe at this point. There are not only dozens of blockbusters and multiple streaming shows, but even multiple realities to keep track of. And did we mention that there are always more upcoming Marvel movies and upcoming Marvel TV shows on the way? We sympathize with anyone trying to keep track of it all, and we put together this feature to help you in that endeavor – whether you want to watch everything in Chronological Order or in Release Order.

If You’ve Never Seen The Marvel Movies Before

If you’re a complete newbie when it comes to the goings-on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s no real reason to be cute about picking a specific entry point: you should stick with the Release Order route. You can start getting creative after you’ve watched everything and you start doing rewatches, but when you’re just getting into the MCU, your best path to take is the same path that all existing fans took into the comic book franchise.

If You’ve Seen The Marvel Movies Before

Are you a Marvel Cinematic Universe fan who remembers seeing Jon Favreau’s Iron Man on the big screen in 2008 and have seen everything else on opening weekend ever since? Rewatching all of the films and TV shows in release order may be too basic for you, so allow us to recommend giving Chronological Order a whack. You’ll be able to properly witness the full scope of the timeline going back to the first half of the 20th century and may pick up on things that you didn’t notice or understand during previous viewings.

Marvel Movies In Chronological Order

The filmmakers at Marvel Studios like to play around with time – and I don’t just mean via time travel (though that is certainly a part of it). The effort to construct a cohesive universe means crafting a firm and verbose timeline, and that has been accomplished with movies and TV shows set in the past, present, and future. Want to start a new MCU rewatch by witnessing the true launch of the Age of Heroes in the canon? This is the order you should follow.

Captain America: The First Avenger (Set In 1940s)

The full story set furthest into the past in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Captain America: The First Avenger – an adventure that entirely takes place towards the end of World War II. Spanning about two years (1943-1945), the story takes us from the transformation of Steve Rogers into Captain America, to his bold sacrificial move in the Arctic Circle that led him to being frozen in ice for decades. It’s in this film that we are introduced to not only the incredibly important titular hero, but also key supporting characters like James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, Johann Schmidt a.k.a. Red Skull, and Arnim Zola, all of whom have key roles to play in later movies. It's also the first of many stories to involve the Tesseract a.k.a. The Space Stone.

Captain Marvel (Set In 1990s)

There are flashbacks in Ant-Man, Ant-Man And The Wasp, Captain America: Civil War, and Black Panther that give audiences a peek into events that occurred after World War II in the MCU timeline, but the truth is that most of the 20th century remains open for exploration in future movies. The one part of the period that is an exception to this is the mid-1990s, which is when the events of Captain Marvel take place (specifically 1995). Naturally, this is where audiences get to meet Carol Danvers for the first time, and it’s also the introduction of the shape-shifting Skrull Talos, but from a chronological perspective, this also marks the debut of Phil Coulson and Nick Fury.

Iron Man (Set In 2010)

The opening scene of Iron Man 3 shows what it was like for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to experience the 2000 New Year’s celebration, but the timeline zooms ahead to 2010ish for the next big arc, and that’s the movie that started it all: Iron Man. It’s in this story that we get to watch Tony Stark transform into an armor-clad superhero, but also get to know James “Rhodey” Rhodes, Pepper Potts, and Happy Hogan. Plus it’s an opportunity to check in with Nick Fury and Phil Coulson more than 15 years after Captain Marvel.

Iron Man 2 (Set In 2010)

The reason why the setting of Iron Man is a couple of years after its release date is because the story directly dovetails with the events of Iron Man 2, which is set in 2010. The film begins with the same scene that ended the previous movie – Tony Stark declaring to the world that he is Iron Man – and gives fans a chance to catch up with James “Rhodey” Rhodes (who becomes War Machine), Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, Nick Fury, and Phil Coulson. This is the movie that also marks the first appearance of Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. Black Widow, who is operating as an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agent spying on Tony as he struggles with a life-threatening illness, confronts the possibility of his technology being proliferated, and weighs entrance to the Avengers.

Thor (Set In 2010)

In Iron Man 2 we see Phil Coulson leave his assignment babysitting Tony Stark for a developing situation in New Mexico, and it winds up being revealed that the situation in question is the arrival of Thor on Earth a.k.a. Midgard (which means that it too is set in 2010ish). The first Thor movie is big on introductions, as we get to meet not only key Asgardians like the God of Thunder himself, Loki, Odin, Frigga, Heimdall, Sif, and the Warriors Three, but also notable humans such as Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, Erik Selvig, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell, and Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye.

The Incredible Hulk (Set In 2010)

If you are paying attention during the second to last scene in Iron Man 2, you’ll notice a familiar broadcast playing on one of the monitors – specifically a news report about a rampage by the Hulk at a college. This is because The Incredible Hulk is yet another story that takes place around 2010. It’s not the most significant movie on the MCU timeline, as it only features two characters who go on to be really important (not counting the Tony Stark cameo), but it is noteworthy that those two individuals are Bruce Banner a.k.a. Hulk and future Secretary of State Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross, who is on a global hunt for the green monster.

The Avengers (Set In 2012)

Following the Iron Man 2/Thor/Incredible Hulk cluster, there is a small gap in the timeline, but things pick back up with The Avengers, which is set in 2012. This particular adventure was obviously notable for bringing Marvel’s established ensemble of characters together, with an alien invasion bringing together Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Nick Fury, Loki, Erik Selvig, Pepper Potts, and Phil Coulson in the same story, but the movie also marks the arrival of both Maria Hill and Thanos to the live-action canon.

Iron Man 3 (Set In 2012)

Immediately post-Avengers, both the chronological and release date timelines sync up for the most part. Iron Man 3 was the first movie to come out after the 2012 blockbuster, and it’s also the first story in-universe to follow it – taking place around Christmas of that year. Given that it is a more introspective story, with Tony Stark gaining a larger understanding of what it means to be Iron Man, the only important new character we meet is The Mandarin… who turns out to be a fake anyway. That being said, the film does also bring James “Rhodey” Rhodes, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan and Howard Stark (albeit in video form) back into the action.

Thor: The Dark World (Set In 2013)

Thor: The Dark World is set during an unspecified season of 2013, and while it doesn’t expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe at all with new characters, it does update audiences on what has been happening with almost the entire ensemble that was featured in the first movie, including Thor, Loki, Jane Foster, Odin, Frigga, Heimdall, Sif, the Warriors Three, Darcy Lewis, and Erik Selvig. Plus it has an adventure that centers around one of the most significant elements in the canon: the Reality Stone.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Set In 2014)

It’s in the calendar year of 2014 that the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier play out, as audiences primarily catch up with Captain America and Black Widow as they sniff out a conspiracy within the goings-on at S.H.I.E.L.D. The blockbuster notably also brings back Bucky Barnes (now the Winter Soldier), Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Jasper Sitwell, Peggy Carter (now in her 90s), and Arnim Zola (now a computer), but also has fans get to know Sam Wilson a.k.a. Falcon, Sharon Carter a.k.a. Agent 13, S.H.I.E.L.D. Secretary Alexander Pierce, and strike team operative Brock Rumlow a.k.a. Crossbones.

Guardians Of The Galaxy (Set In 2014)

Thanks to particular title cards in the beginning of the movie, we know for a fact that Guardians of the Galaxy takes place in the year 2014, though the narrative that unfolds in the movie couldn’t be set further away from the main action in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is, of course, the story that brought the likes of Peter Quill a.k.a. Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, Groot, Nebula, Yondu, and Kraglin into the live-action canon, while also seeing Thanos conspire with Ronan The Accuser to find The Power Stone.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (Set In 2014)

Because of the release schedule, most Marvel Cinematic Universe sequels are set at least a couple years after their predecessor, but that’s not the case with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which is set just a few months after the first movie – letting it come directly after it in chronological order. This adventure is very different than the last, centering on the titular group as they meet a being who claims to be Peter Quill’s father, and a great new addition is made to the team with the arrival of Mantis.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Set In 2015)

Back on Earth in the year 2015, the Avengers reunited for a world-threatening crisis of their very own making – namely Tony Stark’s creation of the deadly artificial intelligence known as Ultron. Avengers: Age Of Ultron not only brings back together Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon, War Machine, Nick Fury, and Erik Selvig for the first time since 2012, but also has a huge impact on the future of the franchise. This is the movie that initially put Scarlet Witch in action (not counting her Captain America: The Winter Soldier post-credits cameo), features the creation of Vision, has a role for Ulysses Klaue, and also involves two Infinity Stones: the Mind Stone and the Space Stone.

Ant-Man (Set In 2015)

Thanks to a particular line about the Avengers dropping cities out of the sky, we know that Ant-Man is set after the events of Avengers: Age Of Ultron, and as a result it’s pretty easy to pin it to its release year: 2015. It’s an important chapter for the MCU, as while the story about the heist of top secret technology doesn’t have much of an impact on the larger continuity of the franchise, it is the first movie for a lot of recurring characters, including Scott Lang a.k.a. Ant-Man, Hope van Dyne (pre-Wasp), Hank Pym, Luis, Kurt, Dave, Paxton, and Cassie and Maggie Lang. It also has cameos from Falcon, Howard Stark, and Peggy Carter.

Captain America: Civil War (Set In 2016)

It’s in the year 2016 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that a monumental change begins to take effect in regards to the way in which people of the world view superheroes. Understanding that there’s a serious risk in having costumed vigilantes operating without oversight, the Sokovia Accords are ratified globally, and it’s an issue that causes a great divide between members of the Avengers. This is obviously one of the most significant stories in the franchise timeline, both bringing together the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, War Machine, Falcon, Vision, Winter Soldier, Agent 13, Ant-Man, Thaddeus E. “Thunderbolt” Ross, Crossbones, and Howard Stark, while introducing T’Challa a.k.a. Black Panther, Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man, Helmut Zemo, May Parker, the Dora Milaje’s Ayo, and Everett Ross.

Black Panther (Set In 2016)

While there were four Marvel movies released between Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther, the latter is much closer on the timeline to the former than any other feature. With the 2016 blockbuster featuring the death of the Wakandan ruler T’Chaka, Black Panther is a film set in the aftermath as T’Challa returns home. While dealing with a challenge to the titular hero’s throne from a previously-unknown cousin, the new film brings in a couple of familiar faces with Everett Ross, Ayo, and Ulysses Klaue, but mostly features new characters, including Ramonda , Shuri , Okoye, M'Baku, Nakia, W'Kabi, and Ayo.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (Set In 2016)

Like Black Panther, Spider-Man: Homecoming is also very much set in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, but a little more time has passed in between the stories. While the plot has Peter Parker struggling to be the best Spider-Man he can be while operating under certain restrictions from Iron Man, the film also introduces audiences to all of the important people in the hero’s life, including his classmates Ned Leeds, Flash Thompson, Michelle, a.k.a. M.J., Betty Brant, and teachers like Mr. Harrington. May Parker also makes her second MCU appearance, while there is also a part to play for Happy Hogan and a cameo from Pepper Potts.

Black Widow (Set In 2016)

Cate Shortland's Black Widow may have been released as the first title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase Four, but it's a chapter that is still embedded amidst the various events that comprised the latter years of the Infinity Saga. While the blockbuster isn't set as close to the events of Captain America: Civil War as either Black Panther or Spider-Man: Homecoming, the plot is very much tied to that period – specifically in the sense that it picks up with the titular heroine on the run due to her disobeying the orders in the Sokovia Accords.

Doctor Strange (Set In 2016)

Dr. Stephen Strange gets specifically name dropped in Captain America: Civil War, but evidence suggests it’s because of his advanced skills as a brain surgeon – not because he eventually becomes one of the most magically gifted individuals on Earth. On the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, Doctor Strange doesn’t actually go through his whole origin story until after the events of both Black Panther and Spider-Man: Homecoming - which pins the start of his journey in late 2016.

Thor: Ragnarok (Set In 2018)

Where Thor: Ragnarok sits on the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline is most easily perceived by its proximity to Avengers: Infinity War – which is evident from the post-credits scene that directly ties into the massive blockbuster. Without any specific dates available, the best guess is that the bulk of the movie takes place in the year 2018, with the God of Thunder going on a wild adventure that sees him travel to a garbage planet while his sister, Hela, takes over Asgard. This movie is important to the canon in that it refreshes audiences on the whereabouts of Hulk, Loki, and Heimdall, while also showing the fates of the Warriors Three and Odin. There's also a fun supporting role played by Doctor Strange, who is shown to possess very skilled control over magiks, and the introduction of fun new players including Valkyrie, Korg, Meik, and The Grandmaster.

Ant-Man And The Wasp (Set In 2018)

Like Thor: Ragnarok, we know that Ant-Man And The Wasp takes place very close to the events of Avengers: Infinity War because of what is shown during the end credits (namely the effects of The Blip). However, because the story plays out over less time, and goes further into the future than the third God of Thunder film, we’re putting it next chronologically. While tracing a plot that finds its main characters working to rescue the long-missing Janet van Dyne, this movie catches fans up with all the key Ant-Man players, including Scott Lang, Hope Van Dyne (who finally becomes Wasp), Hank Pym, Luis, Kurt, Dave, Paxton, and Cassie and Maggie Lang.

Avengers: Infinity War (Set In 2018)

Taking place in the spring of 2018, Avengers: Infinity War plays out the first chapter in a two-part saga that Marvel Studios planned over the course of more than a decade. Following Thanos’ journey to collect all six of the Infinity Stones, the film features far too many characters to list here… and at the end of the day winds up killing approximately half of them.

Avengers: Endgame (Set In 2023)

As for Avengers: Endgame, the most significant events of the blockbuster take place in the year 2023, five years after the devastating ending of Avengers: Infinity War… but it’s also a hard title to specifically put on a timeline specifically because of the time travel antics that are featured. To get into all of the details here would be a touch too confusing, not to mention the crazy number of heroes and villains who appear, but the fact that the movie jumps the MCU canon into the near future is really the big takeaway from a timeline perspective.

WandaVision (Set In 2023)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe entered a new era with the release of WandaVision, not only because it's the first title in Phase 4, but also because it's the franchise's first Disney+ series. It's also an interesting story to consider in the Marvel timeline, as it's actually set between the events of Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home. It's specifically said in dialogue on the show that the plot really begins about three weeks after the final battle against Thanos, and head writer Jac Schaeffer has confirmed that the events that play out happen over the course of about a week.

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier (Set In 2024)

Beyond being clearly set in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Disney+ series doesn't really provide too many anchors regarding where it sits in the timeline, but given the featured animosity regarding political restructuring after The Blip, it seems fair to say that a few months have past, putting it after the events of WandaVision.

Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (Set In Spring 2024)

Thanks to its central antagonist having lived for a millennia Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings is a movie that features scenes that go way back in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – but the vast majority is set in the “present”. It's not easy to pinpoint exactly when the events of the film occur in relation to Avengers: Endgame, but there is a moment when Wenwu says that the portal to the mystical world of Ta Lo will be open during the Chinese holiday Qingming Jie, which is celebrated in the spring.

Eternals (Set In 2024)

While many Marvel movies have featured flashbacks that are set centuries in the past, Eternals is a special case in that it goes back a remarkable 7,000 years in history, chronicling its characters' journey shepherding human society. That being said, the bulk of the action takes place in the post-Blip "present," and while there aren't really any specific seasonal markers, it feels safe to line it up in release order and say that events transpire around the time or after what happens in Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (Set In Summer 2024)

Although Spider-Man: Far From Home was the first MCU film released in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame – evidence suggests that it takes place after a number of the films and shows that followed it. The set up of the story suggests it takes place in the summer of 2024. The fact that Tony Stark is dead still weighs heavily on the minds of characters in this story, but once again we get to reconnect with the important people in Peter Parker’s circle, including Ned Leeds, Flash Thompson, M.J., Betty Brant, Mr. Harrington, May Parker, and Happy Hogan.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (Set In Fall 2024)

Given the cliffhanger ending of Spider-Man: Far From Home, with J. Jonah Jameson and Mysterio revealing the web-slinger's secret identity to the world, Spider-Man: No Way Home had to be set in the immediate aftermath – and it delivers. It's made clear that the story is set in the immediate aftermath of Halloween (given that MJ's boss at the coffee shop requesting that decorations be taken down), and the narrative doesn't unfold over a great deal of time.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (Set In Fall 2024)

A considerable percentage of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness takes place outside of the normal MCU timeline, but there is still plenty of action set in the 616 Universe (which the movie designates). There aren't many details revealed within the film itself regarding when it is set – other than it being after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home – but thanks to the timeline order featured on Disney+, we know that it takes place between the events of the webslinger blockbuster and...

Hawkeye (Set In December 2024)

If you look closely in Spider-Man: No Way Home, you can see billboards for Rogers: The Musical, a fictional Broadway production that is more prominently featured in Hawkeye. With the blockbuster ending in November 2024, it's logical then that the Disney+ series is set in December of the same year – and specifically around Christmas.

Moon Knight (Set In 2025)

The Disney+ series Moon Knight in general has very few connections to the larger happenings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it most definitely is set within the canon, and we do have a general idea of when it's set thanks to the aforementioned official timeline on the streaming service. According to Disney, the events on the show take place after the events of Hawkeye – and given that Hawkeye is set in December 2024, it's fair that we pin the events to taking place sometime in 2025.

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (Set In 2025)

Notable mention of Wong's battle with Abomination featured in Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings gives us at least one standout way in which to pinpoint She-Hulk: Attorney At Law's exact place on the MCU timeline, but still we're mostly relying on info from Disney+ here. The streaming service puts the show's events after those that take place in Moon Knight, but notably it is set before the events of the Marvel show that directly preceded it...

Ms. Marvel (Set In Fall 2025)

The Ms. Marvel series was released prior to She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, but the streaming service that debuted it says that they didn't come out in chronological order where the MCU is concerned. We don't know what exact month the events take place during, but it's worth noting that Kamala Khan is depicted as starting her junior year of high school, which means that it takes place in the fall.

Thor: Love And Thunder (Set In Late 2025/Early 2026)

Although we know that Thor: Love And Thunder takes place a fair amount of time after the events of Avengers: Endgame, it isn't perfectly clear exactly how far. The best guess we have to the setting comes from Thor telling Mighty Thor that it's been eight years, seven months, and six days since he last saw her... but that only gets us so far considering we don't know exactly when they broke up. We know that happened before the events of Captain America: Civil War, but details are vague, leaving us to pin the movie to 2025/2026.

Werewolf By Night (Set In Late 2025/Early 2026)

The Special Presentation Werewolf By Night opens up a new monster-filled corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though in doing so it doesn't get too specific regarding when it takes place in relation to other events that are happening in the canon. Disney+'s timeline says that it takes place after Thor: Love And Thunder, but because we don't really know when that blockbuster is set, it's hard to get an exact read on the timeline spot for the MCU's first full-on horror project.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Set In Late 2025/Early 2026)

In the case of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, fans will have to suss out the specifics when it comes to months/seasons, but at the very least we do know its position on the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline thanks to producer Nate Moore. The filmmaker confirmed to CinemaBlend that the blockbuster's setting is "potentially concurrent" with both the events in Thor: Love And Thunder and Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special (Set In December 2025)

Marvel Studios celebrated Christmas 2024 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the adventure in Hawkeye, and set one year later is the shenanigan-filled Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special. There isn't a specific mention of the year that things are happening, but it's clearly set after the events in Thor: Love And Thunder.

Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (Set In Late 2025/Early 2026)

Because the film is primarily set in the time-warping Quantum Realm, Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania is not the easiest blockbuster to place on the Marvel timeline, but Nate Moore's comment about it being concurrent with Thor: Love And Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever gives us the confidence to at least pin it to late 2025/early 2026.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2026)

As noted, the adventures in Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 happened very close together on the MCU timeline, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has a similar relationship with the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. It's not made explicitly clear when the movie is set, but references are made to that Disney+ adventure, pinning the blockbuster to the early months of 2026.

Secret Invasion (2026)

The Disney+ original series Secret Invasion is heavy on flashbacks, dipping into many different eras of the MCU, but it's mostly set post-Blip. There aren’t any specific dates mentioned that specifically tell us whether or not the events are happening before or after the story in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (a tricky thing to pin down since so much of that film is set away from Earth), but we're going to stick by the rule of thumb and put it after.

The Marvels (2026)

Unlike Captain Marvel, which took audiences back to the 1990s in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Marvels is set in the contemporary era as to unite Carol Danvers with a post-Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan and a post-WandaVision Monica Rambeau. Even though it also features the return of Nick Fury, we're left to only assume that the events take place after Secret Invasion.

In Canon/Outside Of The Timeline

Clearly there is a lot going on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe… but you also have to remember that it is one of an infinite number of realities included in the multiverse. As the franchise has dug further into this idea, it has resulted in some projects being produced with stories that take place outside the MCU canon as it is generally recognized. We’ve included this special section in our feature to highlight these titles.

Loki

Technically a spin-off from Avengers: Endgame, Loki chronicles the version of the titular God of Mischief who managed to escape from the grasp of the Avengers thanks to a misplaced Tesseract. Having messed with the time stream, he is arrested as a Variant by the Time Variance Authority – and when he is brought to their headquarters, he finds himself in a location that exists outside of normal time and space. The series, which ran for two seasons on Disney+, doesn't really fit on the chronological timeline as a result, but it is at the very least best watched only after the aforementioned 2019 blockbuster.

What If

Debuting on Disney+ in summer 2021, What If is a series that is developed by Marvel Studios that exclusively focuses on stories that play out on alternate timelines that are similar to the events featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe... but with special changes altering everything. What if Peggy Carter had gotten the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers? What if the Ravagers kidnapped T'Challa instead of Peter Quill? What if Ant-Man and Wasp accidentally unleashed a zombie plague from the Quantum Realm? All those stories and more are told in this multiverse-centric animated series, and following the release of Season 2 at the end of 2023, a Season 3 is in the works that will spin even more of these kinds of tales.

Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool & Wolverine was heralded prior to release as the arrival of X-Men characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe... but that's not really what ends up playing out in the 2024 blockbuster. While there is an early scene set in the MCU and plenty of discussion about it between characters, the film mostly takes place in the Time Variance Authority, the universe from the X-Men franchise, and The Void at the end of time.  

Marvel Movies In Release Date Order

The construction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn’t an accident. Executives and filmmakers didn’t simply put a bunch of project titles on slips of paper in a hat and pick them out at random to create a release schedule. While not all of the stories unfold in chronological order, there is a design behind the introductions of specific heroes and villains in the construction of the franchise. To best appreciate this fact, your ideal way of watching and/or rewatching the canon is in Release Order.

• Iron Man (2008)
• The Incredible Hulk (2008)
• Iron Man 2 (2010)
• Thor (2011)
• Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
• The Avengers (2012)
• Iron Man 3 (2013)
• Thor: The Dark World (2013)
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
• Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
• Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)
• Ant-Man (2015)
• Captain America: Civil War (2016)
• Doctor Strange (2016)
• Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
• Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
• Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
• Black Panther (2018)
• Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
• Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018)
• Captain Marvel (2019)
• Avengers: Endgame (2019)
• Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
• WandaVision (2021)
• The Falcon And The Winter Soldier (2021)
• Loki (2021)
• Black Widow (2021)
• What If (2021)
• Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)
• Eternals (2021)
• Spider-Man: Far From Home (2021)
• Moon Knight (2022)
• Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)
• Ms. Marvel (2022)
• Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)
• She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (2022)
• Werewolf By Night (2022)
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
• The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)
• Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
• Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
• Secret Invasion (2023)
• The Marvels (2023)
• Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

That covers all of the existing films and TV shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (the vast majority of the MCU can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription), but it’s a franchise that is constantly expanding, and with each new addition to the canon, we will continue to update this timeline. For more MCU-related reading, check out our ranking of all the Marvel Movies so far.

As Ramy Season 3 arrives to Hulu’s new releases, Laith Nakli’s Uncle Naseem returns to the series as Ramy’s politically-incorrect uncle and New Jersey jeweler. It comes a few months following the actor entering the Marvel universe as Kamala Khan’s Imam. Between playing both Arab American and rare great Muslim roles, Nakli spoke to CinemaBlend about his experience with both characters. 

For many years, Arab American roles have been portrayed as villains and terrorists, which Laith Nakli has played earlier in his career. But when it comes to Ramy and Ms. Marvel, the actor is proud of playing characters outside of the stereotypes and harmful portrayals we’ve seen from Muslim and Arab characters in the past. In his words to CinemaBlend: 

As Nakli shared with us, Uncle Naseem is an honest portrayal of a person, rather than a projection of what Arab Americans should be or are perceived as. While he says a ton of offensive things throughout the series, he’s playing to that uncle we can all relate to having, no matter what background one comes from. The actor continued: 

Nakli plays two very different characters on two very different shows, but he drew comparisons between them because both feel “real” in terms of how they are written rather than being two-dimensional. Each of them play outside of the stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims we’ve seen many times before. In the instance of Ramy, he’s playing a relatable character that happens to be an Egyptian immigrant living in America. Through that lens, there are things such as his cultural and religious upbringing that make living in our society not easy, including difficulty accepting his sexuality, as Ramy Season 2 left us wondering about. 

In Ms. Marvel, Laith Nakli got to portray a Muslim Imam, who leads prayers in mosques and is easygoing. He also offers Ms. Marvel’s Kamala Khan helpful advice when it comes to accepting her heroic identity. Along with Ramy being a Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominated series, the reactions of Ms. Marvel were particularly positive, including the first depictions of Muslims in the MCU. 

In a recent report by USC (via Deadline), it was estimated that just 1.1% of characters in 100 popular U.S. films made from 2017 to 2019 were Muslim, and 90.5% of 200 films worldwide did not feature speaking Muslim characters. There’s clearly still a lack of representation for Muslim and Arab characters in Hollywood, but with things such as Laith Nakli’s latest roles on the TV schedule, the tides are beginning to turn for diversity. 

For more information bout the new season of Ramy, which is now streaming on Hulu, check out CinemaBlend’s interview with Ramy Youssef.

Teen dramedies are a genre that I have been quite familiar with for some time now. I’ve adored watching them since I was actually a teenager, and even now I still find so much to love about them as a young adult. One of my favorites most recently has been the Netflix original series, Never Have I Ever, co-created by Mindy Kaling, that details the life of Devi, an Indian-American teenager who is just trying to navigate school and her own personal problems. 

It’s a great coming of age story and one that I recommend to anyone who wants to try a teen dramedy. But, since I binged Season 3 quite quickly - and Never Have I Ever is only returning for one more season in 2023 - I’m going to need something else to fill the time. Luckily, there are plenty of other great shows like Never Have I Ever that you can watch right now. Be sure to check these out. 

The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime)

First up on the list, we have the fun Amazon original series, The Summer I Turned Pretty. Based on the book of the same name, this series follows Isabel, otherwise known as Belly, who is super excited for her family’s annual trip to their friends’ beach house. But, this summer is different, as love is now thrown into the mix when two brothers fall for her. 

This is a great teen show. While it’s not necessarily a comedy like Never Have I Ever, the romance is just top tier. I feel like I’ve seen stories about this kind of friends-to-lovers story so many times before, but it’s done well in this show. The Summer I Turned Pretty cast is all so talented, and the story is fun as well. It’s only one season, so it’s certainly worth a shot. 

Stream The Summer I Turned Pretty on Amazon Prime.

On My Block (Netflix)

Moving on, we take a look at another one of my favorites, On My Block. This Netflix original series follows a group of teenagers as they begin high school in Los Angeles in the inner-city, trying to navigate their personal lives and school, and their friendship is put to the test. 

I love this show. It's one of the best teen dramedies out there because the representation this show has is just awesome. Not only that, but the storylines are balanced so effectively. Like Never Have I Ever, not only do you get some truly funny moments, but the show is able to handle themes that most teens dramedies don’t necessarily go towards that much, such as racism, poverty, sexism, and so much more. It’s such a great show - and one that you should definitely check out if you want to celebrate some of the best Latinx TV shows out there. With four seasons, it’s worth the time. 

Stream On My Block on Netflix.

The Sex Lives Of College Girls (HBO Max)

This HBO Max original show is a hell of a fun time. The Sex Lives of College Girls follows a group of freshman living in the same dorm together and trying to learn the ways of college, but also have one goal in mind - to find love and have fun. 

As someone who is only two years out of college, I relate to this show on a whole other level because it wasn’t that long ago I was experiencing the same heartbreaks and happiness that these girls are facing. For fans of Never Have I Ever, Kaling also created this show, so it has a lot of the same comedic beats that you would expect, but the story is just as great, too. The cast of The Sex Lives of College Girls is also fantastic. 

Stream The Sex Lives of College Girls on HBO Max.

Derry Girls (Netflix)

Now, we take a look at a show that’s from across the pond. Derry Girls is a teen dramedy that follows a group of five girls who live in Derry, Ireland in the 1990s, and chronicles their adventures at a Catholic girls’ secondary school, as the world around is filled with political and cultural strife. 

Derry Girls is an incredibly popular show in Ireland, and it’s become even more popular while available on Netflix. For fans of Never Have I Ever, the representation is also great in this. The story is fictional, but the show often references real-life events that happened in Ireland in the 1990s, and is able to balance political messages very well with its absurd comedy. The cast is also so much fun. Definitely worth the time to watch if you’ve never seen it. It’s such a great comedy set in a school.

Stream Derry Girls on Netflix.

Ginny And Georgia (Netflix)

Next up on this list, we have Ginny & Georgia. This Netflix original tells the story of Georgia, a woman who had her daughter at fifteen and relocates them and her son to another state, where Ginny learns to adapt to the new world she is in – and gets into trouble along the way as she starts to question her mother’s past. 

Ginny & Georgia was quite popular when it released in early 2021, and is currently on track to have Season 2, so I have to recommend it as a teen dramedy. While the main character, to me, isn’t as likable as Devi is in Never Have I Ever, it still has some great comedic beats and has some good story moments that will make you want to keep watching until the next episode. 

Stream Ginny & Georgia on Netflix.

Outer Banks (Netflix)

I bet you knew Outer Banks was going to be on here, because it would be a sin not to include it. This show is also an action-adventure, and takes place on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, focusing on the rivalry between two different teen groups who are looking for territory in Season 1. But this story takes turns in places you never would have expected. 

This is much less of a dramedy than the other series listed, as it has some serious moments and reminds me more of the best teen dramas, but the reason why I put it on this list is that it has a great cast with awesome chemistry that really reminds me of Never Have I Ever. And when I say that the story takes turns that you would never expect, believe it. Outer Banks Season 3 is in the works, so I would definitely keep an eye out for that. 

Stream Outer Banks on Netflix.

Ms. Marvel (Disney+)

For all my fans of Marvel, this one’s for you. As part of the MCU original shows on Disney+, Ms. Marvel follows Kamala Khan, a sixteen-year-old who is struggling to fit in at school, but her life is made even more complicated when she is gains powers after putting on magical bangles, but there’s more to her story than you would expect. 

This is arguably one of the best Disney+ MCU shows. It’s not as dramatic as some of the others, and is able to stand out in the giant hodge-podge that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe at this point, adding a valid story and setting up characters for future sequels and film opportunities. Even if you know nothing about the MCU, Never Have I Ever, fans will find Kamala a fun character to watch. She’s cute, quirky, loves her family, and is badass in her own right, and I’ll gladly look forward to her next appearance in The Marvels. The diversity of including a Pakistani-American in the MCU is awesome, too. 

Stream Ms. Marvel on Disney+.

Sex Education (Netflix)

Oh, you want diversity? You’re getting that with Sex Education. This bingeable Netflix series mainly follows Otis, a seemingly awkward but normal teenage boy who ends up giving out relationship and sex advice for students at his school when they find out that his mother is a sex therapist. And boy, do they want tips. 

While that’s really just the premise for the first season, there is just so much to love here. The diversity of this cast is just astounding, well done, and reminds me so much of Never Have I Ever, but the idea that there’s this teen dramedy that isn’t afraid to ask the tough question in regards to love, sex, and relationships is something I so desperately could have used when I was a teen, and I’m so happy this show exists for modern-day teenagers. Sex Education Season 4 is on the way, so now’s the time to binge!

Stream Sex Education on Netflix.

Heartstopper (Netflix)

This show literally makes my heart stop. 

Jokes aside, Heartstopper is a cute teen dramedy that tells the story of Charlie, someone who falls in love with Nick, a student who sits next to him in his new class, and now he has to try and confront his feelings to be with him. 

This series is just so dang cute. If you like the romances of Never Have I Ever, you are going to love the romances here. It’s all the awkwardness and sweetness that is young love, and it’s so cute in every way possible. Again, the representation is also astounding, and is something that I truly, truly love. We adore LGBTQ+ romances and need more of them on television. 

Stream Heartstopper on Netflix.

I Am Not Okay With This (Netflix)

Last but not least, we have the Netflix series, I Am Not Okay With This. In the show, we follow Sydney Novak, a teenager who is just trying to figure out her life when she begins to realize that she has telekinetic powers and has to learn how to deal with them - even though she is, and I quote, “not okay with this.”

Don’t let the fact that this show was only one season fool you. This series is amazing. Fans of Never Have I Ever will like that it tackles darker issues well and in a comedic manner that makes you laugh and think at the same time. The cast is just outstanding and the effects are surprisingly good for a TV series, but then again, this is a Netflix show. Still will never forgive them for cancelling this so soon. 

Stream I Am Not Okay With This on Netflix.

There are so many amazing options for you to watch and I hope that you get the chance to view them all. If not, you’ll be like me, waiting patiently for Never Have I Ever Season 4 – and then crying when it’s all done.  

Although plenty of familiar faces have been present during the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four, the past year has also seen a number of prominent superheroes jump into action in this franchise for the first time. In September 2021, we were introduced Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, who inherited the Ten Rings from his father, Xu Wenwu (a.k.a. The Mandarin), right before he was killed by the Dweller-in-Darkness. Then this past June, Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan entered the picture, with this version of Ms. Marvel, who is the MCU’s first mutant, obtaining a bangle that unlocked her ability to create hard light constructs. These weapons are pretty cool, but a rumor has surfaced claiming that they’re even more important to the MCU’s future than has been indicated so far.

According to The Illuminerdi, Shang-Chi’s Ten Rings and Ms. Marvel’s bangle were left on Earth long ago by the same aliens, although the outlet wasn’t clued in on the identity of the species. That being said, the cosmic weapons are reportedly filling the same kind of role that the Infinity Stones did in The Infinity Saga, and as such will be especially key to the wider narrative of The Multiverse Saga, i.e. the Marvel movies and Marvel TV shows comprising Phases 4 through 6. Assuming this information is accurate, it’s unclear if any other weapons we’ve seen in Phase 4 or will end up seeing in Phases 5 and 6 will be directly tied to the Rings and bangle, although the Ebony Blade introduced in Eternals would be a logical candidate.

You’ll recall that in the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings mid-credits scene, the title protagonist and his friend Katy learned from Wong, Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers that the Ten Rings were doubling some kind of beacon. Also, although Xu Wenwu discovered the Rings a millennia ago, they were much older than that. Given that Shang-Chi 2 has been greenlit, there was already a good chance we’d learn more these weapons in the sequel, but now I’m wondering if the recipient of that beacon’s signal in a different Marvel project.

Moving to Ms. Marvel’s bangle, although the Disney+ show revealed that Kamala Khan’s great-grandmother Aisha, the original owner of the bangle, was one of the Clandestines, a group of Djinns who were exiled to Earth from the Noor dimension. However, the origins of the bangle itself were never explored, prompting fans to speculate that it could be the MCU’s take on the Kree Nega-Bands or Quasar’s Quantum Bands from the comics. As of right now, Ms. Marvel hasn’t been renewed for a second season, but Kamala will return next year in The Marvels, so don’t be surprised if some light is shed on the bangle there.

It’s worth mentioning that a connection has already been established between Ms. Marvel’s bangle and the Ten Rings, although in this case I’m referring to Xu Wenwu’s terrorist organization. In the Ms. Marvel episode “Destined,” Aisha was seen retrieving the bangle from a temple in British India in 1942, and on the floor of the temple was the symbol of the Ten Rings. Not only that, but the bangle was found around the arm of a dead, blue-skinned individual. Was this a Kree or someone from a different alien species? Also, what happened to the other bangle? There are so many questions to ponder!

The Multiverse Saga was already shaping up to be a wild ride thanks to Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror filling the main antagonist role Thanos once occupied. However, provided this rumor is true, now the exploration of other realities is strengthened by the cosmic mysteries surrounding the Ten Rings and the bangle. There’s no word yet on when Shang-Chi 2 will premiere in theaters, but The Marvels arrives on July 28, 2023.

Avengers, assemble! After Avengers: Endgame, those words will never be the same again, because when Captain America dropped the phrase, a flood of major Marvel heroes all portaled in and joined a massive fight against Thanos to save the universe. Since that iconic scene, Phase 4 of the MCU has unfolded (with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever left to round it out later this year), and with it, a number of great Marvel heroes who would be a great fit for the next Avengers team. 

Phase 4 started with WandaVision at the top of last year, and between six feature films and seven live-action Disney+ series, we’ve met, or will soon meet, a ton of new heroes who should be considered for the Avengers in 2025’s Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, which were announced during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. As we get ready for those back to back team-up films, here are the characters who should be part of it, ranked by their power levels. 

12. Kate Bishop 

Our only hero on the list without superpowers is Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, who was introduced across six episodes of Hawkeye alongside the original Hawkeye, Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton. The young hero proved herself to be quick with a bow and was mentored by the founding Avenger to take over the Hawkeye mantle. While she’s the least powerful of the new heroes introduced, she’d be a valuable addition to the Avengers in its next era. 

11. Ms. Marvel  

Kamala Khan already might have won best personality of the Phase 4 heroes, but when it comes to her readiness to defeat some big league villains, she’s not the first one we’d call, yet. The high schooler is rusty around the edges for now, but that being said, she might be the MCU’s first mutant, is able to shoot out crystal-like formations (allowing her to float in air) and can enlarge parts of her body in fights, not to mention has a family supporting her. Just wait til Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel shows her a few pointers in The Marvels. 

9 & 10. Moon Knight and Scarlet Scarab

Another pair of Marvel heroes you know about if you have a Disney+ subscription is Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight and May Calamawy’s Scarlet Scarab, who were introduced earlier this year in the Moon Knight series. As the show showcased, Moon Knight has some incredible powers, including enhanced strength and healing abilities, as well as impressive fighting skills, despite struggling with dissociative identity disorder. Over the course of the series, we also met Scarlet Scarab, who has comparable abilities and can fly. The Avengers could use the power of Egyptian gods on their side. 

8. Black Knight 

Now this one hasn’t technically been all introduced yet, but there’s some major potential here, and there was definitely a tease hinting it happening in the future: Kit Harrington’s Black Knight from Eternals. In the movie, we’re introduced to Dane Whitman, who received his Ebony Blade during Eternals’ end credits scenes. Once he is transformed into the hero from Marvel Comics, Black Knight is a badass swordsman, martial artist with knowledge of magic and a straight-up genius.

7. Hercules 

During the one of the Thor: Love and Thunder end-credit scenes, it is revealed that Brett Goldstein is playing Hercules in the MCU. Yes, Hercules, as in Zeus’ son from Greek mythology, the latter who we met as played by Russell Crowe. While his introduction wasn’t a lot to go off of, in Marvel Comics, Hercules has served as an Avenger before. His godlike abilities, which include amazing strength and immortality, would make him another especially powerful recruit for the Avengers. However, Thor taking a shot as his dad knocks his reliability score a bit. 

6. She-Hulk

We haven’t quite met She-Hulk yet as of this article’s publish date, but Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters is about to open for business and get real green. When she does, she’ll be among the more powerful heroes introduced on Disney+. She-Hulk is the cousin of Bruce Banner, and in the comics, Jennifer inherits her abilities via blood transfusion Bruce gives her to save her life. In her green form, she’d be a major help to the Avengers, just as Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk was to the original lineup. Plus, it looks like she'll have support from Hulk as well. 

5. Shang-Chi

One of the strongest hero introductions in Phase 4 has been Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Shang-Chi is one of the more powerful characters on this list because not only because he's incredible at fighting, but also because he's now empowered by the Ten Rings, which gives him a range of superhuman abilities, like energy manipulation, firing the Rings as projectiles and moving them around as a means of transportation. Plus, it’s likely Awkwafina’s Katy Chen will join as well given where we left off with her in Shang-Chi. 

4. Namor The Sub-Mariner

So far, we’ve only seen Tenoch Huerta’s Namor in the emotional first Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer, but as comic book fans already know, he’s an especially capable hero in the Marvel Universe. Think of him as the MCU’s Aquaman. He has mutant/Atlantean physiology that allows him to live and breathe underwater along with possessing aquatic telepathy and echolocation, along with the bonus power of being able to fly. Don't mess with him!

3. America Chavez 

During Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we met Xochitl Gomez’s America Chavez, a young hero with the distinct ability to travel to different universes. While she didn’t exactly know how to harness the power in Multiverse of Madness, through the arc of the film, she gained the ability to control it, making her perhaps the strongest young hero we’ve met in Phase 4. Because America's able to go to different worlds, her power creates infinite possibilities that could be incredibly helpful to the Avengers more than many of the others. 

2. Spectrum

After knowing Captain Marvel in her childhood, we caught up with Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau in WandaVision, where she gained some insane abilities. Although she’s not fully formed as a hero just yet, the character goes by Spectrum in the comics and can transform, absorb and fire back any form of energy within the electromagnetic spectrum – including gamma rays, infrared radiation, microwaves, radio waves, ultraviolet radiation and so forth. Talk about some major power! She’ll be featured next in The Marvels. 

1. The Eternals

Although Eternals was the worst-received Marvel movie in a while, it introduced the most powerful forces that could be absolutely crucial to the upcoming threats coming the Avengers’ way. This is a team of heroes who have been around throughout much of Earth’s history, and each have incredible powers to show for it. Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos in particular can create some incredible technological inventions, Makkari’s super speed is unmatched and Thena’s combat skills are top notch. Plus, during the Eternals end credits, Harry Styles’ Eros was introduced, who is the brother of Thanos. 

This is a solid roster of new heroes, and that’s without including the heroes who have previously been established in the MCU. Hopefully in the upcoming Marvel movies, including the two Avengers films, we’ll see these established characters team up together. 

Avengers: Endgame introduced a number of major plot developments and fictional concepts that are still at play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe today. One of the biggest, however, has to be time travel, which ultimately aided Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in defeating Thanos. Loki (which is available to Disney+ subscribers) was the next MCU production to feature time-hopping and more recently, the complex and (dangerous) practice cropped up again in Ms. Marvel. Time travel came into play during a pivotal moment for the latter series, and some may be wondering whether that incident syncs up with Endgame’s pre-established rules. To that end, the show’s head writer, Bisha K. Ali, has shared some thoughts. 

Bruce Banner a.k.a. Smart Hulk was the one to lay out the rules of time travel in Avengers: Endgame. The good doctor, and the film’s writers, ignored Back to the Future and explained that changing the past won’t automatically adjust the future. Instead, any kind of change at some point in time could result in the creation of a branch reality. This was expanded upon further in Loki, in which the operatives of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) referred to those moments as Nexus events. And the massive organization doesn’t take kindly to those who attempt tamper with the Sacred Timeline. 

In Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan was sent back in time to the 1940s amid the partition of India, where she encountered her great grandparents and a young version of her grandmother, Sana. Before this point, the show had established that Sana was separated from her father as they attempted to flee to Karachi and that she was led back to him by a trail of stars. Well, as viewers eventually learned, it was Kamala who created those stars, after being asked by her dying great grandmother to guide Sana. When I spoke with Bisha K. Ali, I asked whether that broke any of the MCU’s principles of time travel, and she believes that everything works: 

In addition to serving as the head writer and EP on Kamala Khan’s solo series, Bisha K. Ali was a writer and story editor on the God of Mischief’s show. So she’d definitely be an authority when it comes to the way time travel works in the cinematic universe, and her reasoning does make sense. When helping Sana find her dad, Kamala didn’t actually alter anything but simply fulfilled something that was meant to happen. I guess you could say she simply helped to “fill a need” in the timeline. 

Marvel has created some fairly interesting rules for time travelers, and some fans seem to think that they clash with each other. When Loki dropped, some debated whether its time travel rules fixed Avengers: Endgame’s issues in that regard. The jury may still be out, but I’d agree with Bisha K. Ali in that the TVA would serve as the be-all and end-all when it comes to the rules of time in the MCU.

Since big things are poised to happen in the franchise over the next few years, you have to wonder if time travel will come into play again. The recently announced Phase Six slate is confirmed to include the film Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (which just found a director), and will see the heroes face off with the titular conqueror. Might they use time travel to defeat him as they did with the Mad Titan. Probably not, though I’d expect it to come into play again at some point down the road. 

All episodes of Ms. Marvel is now streaming on Disney+ alongside Loki, Avengers: Endgame and other Marvel movies and TV shows.

Massive spoilers for the season finale of Ms. Marvel, “No Normal,” lie ahead, so read on at your own risk!

The season finale of Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel has come and gone, but fans are still buzzing about it. The eventful episode saw Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan finally solidify herself as a superhero by taking on the shady Damage Control. She also risked her life to save the newly super-powered Kamran. Of course, many are also still reeling from the game-changing reveal that was dropped within the last few minutes. But what was it like for the show’s head writer, Bisha K. Ali, and her team to learn about it for themselves? Well, the producer has shed some light on that as well as whether she’d personally be interested in building on that aspect of Kamala’s journey. 

In the closing moments of Ms. Marvel’s sixth episode, the teenage heroine met up with friends Nakia and Bruno for a night out. The latter then proceeded to tell Kamala that while doing some research for her older brother, Aamir, he discovered something about her physiology. Interestingly, her DNA differs from that of her relatives, due to what Bruno refers to as a “mutation.” That term alone was enough to get fans excited, but many probably lost it when a snippet of the classic X-Men theme song played during that moment. (Funny enough, one of Iman Vellani’s favorite Kamala moments involves Wolverine.)

Bisha K. Ali teased this major reveal when we spoke during the Disney+ show’s junket – where she also talked about preparing Kamala Khan for The Marvels. Since the finale, she’s explained that the idea of Khan being a mutant wasn’t something that she and her team had planned from the beginning. So when I chatted with her about the show post-finale, I was curious as to when the creative decision came into play and who delivered it. I mean, would Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige (who had notes on the development) reveal such a thing personally? As it turns out, that wasn’t the case but, as Ali divulged, she learned of the reveal from another person, one who knows the character quite well:

It’s fitting that the writer/producer would get the news from EP Sana Amanat, as she co-created the Ms. Marvel character in 2013. Per the head writer, Amanat served as a nice conduit between the folks working on the show and the higher-ups at the studio. The mutant development was definitely a surprise for her, especially since she wasn’t too focused on the larger things going on in the cinematic universe: 

The huge finale reveal surely could (and should) change the MCU going into Phase 5. It also solidifies the notion that Kamala Khan’s role will grow even after her appearance in the Captain Marvel sequel next year. But should the character eventually fall in with the X-Men and other mutants, it’s only natural to wonder if Bisha K. Ali would be interested in tackling said project. When I asked her about that, she provided some honest thoughts on the prospect while reflecting on her Marvel journey:

Aside from this show, the writer/producer also worked on Loki as a writer and story editor so, over the past few years, she’s been steeped in the world of superheroes. One can understand why she’d be ready to move on to other things. While discussing the topic, she went on to explain what she would love to see happen behind the scenes:

Better to go out on top, right? I’m sure the company can find some other talented creatives to expand upon Kamala’s mutant heritage. (Series directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah actually pitched X-Men as a potential Marvel gig for themselves.) Nevertheless, because of her strong work on the show, I’d love to see Bisha K. Ali return to Marvel Studios at some point down the road.

Every episode of Ms. Marvel is now streaming, so be sure you grab a Disney+ subscription so that you can check out the show.

With the release of Thor: Love and Thunder last week and the conclusion of Ms. Marvel this week, we are six movies and seven TV series (that's counting the animated What If... ?) deep into Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While we’re not exactly sure whether every upcoming project we know about will be part of Phase Four or if some will become part of Phase Five, we're maybe only halfway through the first post-Infinity Saga phase. Regardless, Phase Four will certainly have more content in it than any phase before it. And yet, we’d all be hard pressed to describe what Phase Four is “about.” I find this to be one of the best things about the current MCU, but I feel like I’m the only one.

There seems to be a general feeling that the current MCU is unfocused, that we don’t really know where it’s going, and I would not disagree with that statement. While a few larger plotlines have clearly been introduced and will be dealt with in the future, most of the MCU stories recently have been very much their own thing. People seem to want to know when we’ll get the next Avengers movie, or at least see indications that one is coming, but I’m quite happy just getting more Marvel stuff that I enjoy watching. 

Phase Four Of The MCU Doesn’t Need To Be About Anything

It’s certainly true that the MCU's current phase has been all over the map as far as the stories we’ve been getting. We’ve seen a lot of origin stories for brand-new characters, like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings or Eternals on the big screen, and the introduction of Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel on the small screen.

Even movies we’ve seen for characters we already knew, while they have fleshed out those characters, don’t really give us an impression how they will fit into the larger tapestry of the MCU. Black Widow was a prequel story for a character who died and we don’t expect to see again. Thor: Love and Thunder sends the Asgardian into a very different direction that feels much more small scale and personal.

There have been hints of bigger stories. The multiverse is a thing now. Eternals ended on a sort of cliffhanger. Shang-Chi’s 10 rings have an unknown cosmic origin. Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is out recruiting potential heroes for… some reason (probably the Thunderbolts). All this stuff is happening and it will likely become important at some point, but which of these stories may become the core of a larger narrative, we have no idea. Some of these pieces may end up connecting to each other, but it's very difficult to see how right now.

But the truth is I don’t care. I don’t need or want Marvel movies to spend their time worrying about the future of the bigger storyline. All they need to do is tell interesting/fun/exciting stories now. For the most part, I think Phase Four has done that. We’ve seen creatively-told stories in WandaVision, as well as a diverse cast of brand new characters that will only add to the MCU as a whole. While some of the recent Marvel projects are obviously better than others, I would consider the vast majority of them good and a few absolutely great.

Most Phases Of The MCU Had No Specific Direction And Were Still Great 

We look back at what was retroactively called the Infinity Saga and we see a broad and cohesive story, an incredible achievement for a franchise that was more than 20 movies long. However, it’s important to realize that we only see that this all with the benefit of hindsight. The fact is that the first three phases of the MCU didn’t have as much of a focused direction as we now think.

Even the first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was really just a collection of origin story movies. The only real connections were made during post-credits scenes, and even they were just surface level nods. As the audience, we all knew that the plan was for all the heroes to come together in an Avengers movie, but the individual movies were never about that. No steps were taken to actually form the Avengers until we got to that movie.

Phase Two was even more all over the place. While we had the post-credits scene in The Avengers, the finale Phase One movie, telling us Thanos was coming, none of the movies that followed were about that. They introduced the concept of the Infinity Stones in a couple of the entries, and two of them featured Thanos, but there were more that had nothing to do with Infinity Stones. One of those was Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which is widely regarded as one of the best films in the entire franchise to this day, and you can skip it entirely and still make sense of Infinity War and Endgame. 

Marvel’s Wider Story Will Become Clear Soon Enough 

None of this is to say that I don’t love the Infinity Saga, It’s great. It’s an incredible achievement in cinematic storytelling and I’m excited to see what Marvel Studios is planning next. Assuming, of course, the company knows what it's planning. It's never been entirely clear just how much of the MCU is planned in advance versus how much is built as these movies are made.

It’s possible even Marvel doesn’t know exactly what is coming next. Many of the movies that we know are on the way still haven’t been written, never mind the stuff that is currently in the development phase. We're expecting to learn a lot more about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con and D23.  

Even so, if Marvel is planning another long running storyline that will take 20 or more movies to complete (and with Disney+ now in the mix, it will likely be even bigger), then it will probably be some time before we even have a hint of what the next Infinity Saga-level story is. I look forward to it, but until then, I will simply look forward to the next movie or TV series. I hope it’s great all by itself. 

Created by comic book heavyweights Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Inhumans are one of the more unusual groups of characters in the Marvel universe, but definitely not without their share of fans. With the main Royal Family consisting of Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak, Crystal, Triton, Lockjaw and Maximus the Mad, these characters, and others of their kind, are born with special DNA that allows them to physically evolve and/or develop special powers when exposed to the Terrigen Mists. The Inhumans have been adapted in other media, but when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, their standing is more complicated.

While there once was a time when the Inhumans were being positioned as major players as in the MCU, their standing nowadays is significantly more tenuous. So do these characters have a bright future ahead of them in this franchise, or will they be relegated to the shadows?That’s what we’re here to discuss, but before that, let’s go over what we’ve seen of the Inhumans in live-action so far. 

What’s Happened With The Inhumans So Far In The MCU

As far as official Marvel Studios productions go, our only dive into Inhuman lore has been through Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which featured Anson Mount’s Black Bolt as a member of Earth-838’s Illuminati. This Black Bolt was described by that Earth’s Mordo as the “keeper of the Terrigen Mists” and the “Inhuman King,” but sadly he met a messy end when Earth-616’s Wanda Maximoff made his mouth disappear, causing him to scream in panic using his powerful voice and vaporize his own skull. At one time there had been plans for the Inhumans to get their own movie, but those were later scrapped.

Now if we’re talking about general MCU continuity, then the Inhumans have been around for a lot longer than that. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. brought them into the fold in its second season, with Chloe Bennett’s Daisy Johnson and many other important characters in the series boasting special abilities after going through Terrigenesis. The Inhuman Royal Family then led their own series, which is where Anson Mount first played Black Bolt. However, that show was met with mostly negative critical reception and was cancelled after just one season.

Given that the now-defunct Marvel Television was behind Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Inhumans, and those creative endeavors were run separately from what Marvel Studios cooked up, their placement within official MCU continuity is questionable at best. You’re certainly welcome to imagine those shows as taking place on another Earth, but if we’re looking strictly at Earth-616, i.e. where most of the Marvel Studios tales have unfolded, then technically we still haven’t seen an Inhuman. 

Why The Inhumans Might Not Be A Priority For The MCU

First off, it’s important to note that the MCU is in a much different place now compared to when Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Inhumans pulled from this corner of Marvel lore. At the time, 20th Century Fox was still a separate film entity that held the film rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four, and Marvel Comics was spotlighting the Inhuman mythology through the ‘NuHuman era,’ where scores of new Inhumans popped up around the world as a result of a Terrigenesis Bomb being detonated at the end of the Infinity event. Because the MCU didn’t have access to mutants at the time, the franchise opted to follow the comics’ footsteps and use Inhumans in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. essentially as the MCU’s mutant fill-ins. But as already made clear in the previous section, we never saw an Inhuman in any of the Marvel movies during Phases 1-3.

By 2019, Disney acquired Fox, thus finally giving Marvel Studios access to the X-Men and Fantastic Four. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we also met Earth-838’s versions of Mister Fantastic and Professor X, and the Fantastic Four and X-Men will lead their own adventures in the main MCU reality in the coming years. So now that mutants are on the table, there’s no need to use Inhumans as a substitute for people with the genetic makeup to naturally gain special abilities. 

Which brings us to Ms. Marvel, which dropped a major bombshell concerning Iman Vellani’s version of Kamala Khan in its finale. In the comics, Kamala developed shapeshifting abilities when she went through Terregenesis, but in the episode “No Normal,” Kamala’s friend Bruno informed her that the reason she was able to get her hard light-constructing powers and not the rest of her family was because of some type of “mutation” in her genes. So right there, we know for a fact that Kamala is not an Inhuman in the MCU, and Sana Amanat, the character’s co-creator, even told Empire that she’d originally wanted to make Kamala a mutant in the comics.

Kamala Khan could have been an easy entry point for folks who only watch MCU projects and missed out on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Inhumans to be exposed to this colorful corner of Marvel lore, but that ship has sailed. It’s become abundantly clear over the years that the increased spotlight on the Inhumans in the comics was more of a corporate mandate, and nowadays this group of characters doesn’t get nearly as much attention. There was even a miniseries published called The Death of the Inhumans which ended with the Royal Family and a scattering of others being the only Inhumans left active on Earth. Between all that, plus the eventual arrival of the main X-Men team in the MCU and meeting the franchise’s Eternals last year, there’s a lot of ground covered that make the Inhumans unnecessary.

Why There Might Still Be Hope For The Inhumans’ MCU Future

Even with all of the above points working against the Inhumans, I wouldn’t necessarily count never seeing them have a prominent platform in the MCU.  If Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and the MCU’s leadership team was willing to have Black Bolt appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, then that indicates that there’s still hope for these characters to score the spotlight again someday. And to be clear, I’m specifically talking about the Inhuman Royal Family and the civilization they rule over, not having random people around the world suddenly develop Inhuman powers.

One big way to put the Inhuman Royal Family in a more unique position to stand out is by making them major players in the MCU’s cosmic realm. Yes, this overlaps with the Eternals, but to be fair, the Inhumans have been involved in their fair share of cosmic events in the comics, including War of Kings and the previously-mentioned Infinity. If Earth is becoming too crowded with superpowered folks, then just have the Royal Family follow in their comic book counterparts’ footsteps by transporting their capital city of Attilan to either the Blue Area of the Moon or even a different corner of the galaxy. Let’s get the Inhumans involved with affairs of species like the Kree, Skrulls and Shi’ar.

 Another possibility for how to effectively utilize the Inhumans in the MCU would require them to chiefly be supporting characters rather than placed center stage. The Inhumans debuted in the comics within the pages of the Fantastic Four series in the mid-1960s and have maintained close ties with that superhero team. One major way the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot (which will no longer be directed by Jon Watts) could distinguish itself from the prior movies is by having Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Thing and The Human Torch cross paths with the Inhumans. This would an especially good way to feature Crystal, Medusa’s sister who’s capable of manipulating air, water, fire and earth elemental forces. Not only is Crystal one of Johnny Storm’s love interest, she also was a member of the Fantastic Four, taking over for Sue Storm, who was pregnant with her son Franklin at the time.

Basically, the Inhumans don’t have nearly as solid a standing in the MCU as they once did, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t still get time to a significant amount of time to shine in this world someday. For now though, we’ll simply have to be content with Black Bolt’s minor appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and make peace with Ms. Marvel either being a mutant or some kind of mutate in the MCU. 

Once any concrete details on the Inhumans’ live-action future are shared with the public, CinemaBlend will pass them along. Until then, keep track of what upcoming Marvel movies and upcoming Marvel TV shows are on the slate.

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains a massive spoiler for the Ms. Marvel finale. If you have not yet watched the episode, proceed at your own risk!

While Ms. Marvel in its entirety is a wonderful, inventive and fun new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the final moments of the finale will likely be remembered as ushering the franchise into a special new era. As it turns out, Kamala Khan does not just have powers because of the mystical bangle that she wears, but because she is a mutant (the first character identified with that term in the canon). It’s very clearly a big step toward the eventual introduction of the X-Men in the MCU… and it evidently had Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige go into full compartmentalization mode – not even spilling details to Ms. Marvel directors/producers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.

In the wake of the Ms. Marvel finale arriving on Disney+ this week, I interviewed the two filmmakers about their work on the show this morning, and the first topic of conversation was about Kamala Khan being established as a mutant. I asked about the origins of that bombshell, and Adil El Arbi explained that he and Bilall Fallah (who co-directed both the first and last episodes) didn’t know about the revelation until they were delivered the script. Said El Arbi,

Marvel fans have spent more than a decade witnessing Kevin Feige’s remarkable ability to hide spoilers and evade questions about the future of the MCU – and that’s not just something that he does with members of the press. The only way to keep secrets is by limiting the amount of information that gets disseminated at all levels, and there is perhaps no secret bigger in the franchise right now than the mystery surrounding how the X-Men will eventually be introduced.

Evidently Kevin Feige didn’t feel it wholly necessary to elucidate the subject of Kamala Khan’s future as a mutant in conversation with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah in the development of the Ms. Marvel finale – though obviously that will change if the filmmakers become further involved with the development of the character in the canon. El Arbi continued,

Clearly Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were blown away by the Kamala Khan’s mutant-hood, but according to the latter, the news basically broke the brain of star Iman Vellani. The young star is very proudly a hardcore Marvel nerd, much like her character (hence why she froze up when meeting Kevin Feige for the first time), and learning a new bit of trivia about the hero’s DNA rocked her world. Fallah explained,

Ms. Marvel is the first time that Iman Vellani has starred in anything, and she has been earning rave reviews for her performance from the very start of the series. Bilall Fallah explained that he and Adil El Arbi had a wonderful time working with her, and he predicts that she will have an exciting future – just like her Marvel character:

The exciting future for Iman Vellani in the immediate sense includes director Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels, which features a stellar cast and has already completed production. The Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster will be the third one delivered to theaters in 2023, arriving on the heels of Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 on July 28, 2023. To learn all about the theatrical future for the franchise, be sure to check out our Upcoming Marvel Movies guide.

All six episode of Ms. Marvel are now streaming, and you can start watching them immediately with a Disney+ subscription.

The following feature is going to get into massive spoilers for Ms. Marvel and Doctor Strange, so if you haven’t yet watched the season finale of the Disney+ program or caught the latest sequel, stop reading now and go watch it on the streaming service.

Ever since Walt Disney acquired 20th Century Fox back in 2019, Marvel fans have been waiting (on the creative side) for some of the heroes who were in the Fox stable to make their way over to the MCU. Similar shifts occurred when Sony struck a deal with Marvel to share Spider-Man. Only in this case, the players involved from a Marvel standpoint were The Fantastic Four and the X-Men (as well as every character on the mutant side of the Marvel equation). Movement has been happening behind the scenes to bring those coveted characters into the MCU fold. John Krasinski played a version of Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness earlier this year. And in the season finale of the Disney+ program Ms. Marvel, it was confirmed that Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) is the first mutant in the MCU.

How did this happen? Well, Kamala’s best friend/sidekick Bruno (Matt Lintz) was running ongoing tests on her DNA, trying to find out why she reacted to the bangle the way that she did. If another member of the Khan family had placed the bangle on, would they have been able to harness the Noor energy. As it turns out, no, they would not have. Because there’s “something different” in her genes, according to Bruno. “Like, a mutation.” At that point, the score for Ms. Marvel plays the very familiar theme to the X-Men animated series – the same one that played when Charles Xavier appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as a member of the Illuminati – and it’s confirmed that Ms. Marvel is the first official new mutant in the MCU. 

This was immediately confirmed by Ms. Marvel head writer Bisha K. Ali, who tells Marvel.com that making Kamala a mutant wasn’t the show’s intention when it began planning, but:

And so, we can officially say that Mutants are part of the MCU, meaning major characters from the Marvel comics can (and should) start showing up in droves. The Professor X cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness now serves a higher purpose than fan service. It demonstrates that there has been a Charles Xavier out there in an alternate universe, and he’s likely training iconic X-Men heroes such as Cyclops, Storm, Iceman, Beast and Wolverine.

Given the fact that Phase 4 appears to be planned out, and the slate of upcoming Marvel movies and television shows on the radar already, this has us looking towards what we assume will be the studio’s Phase 5, which likely will be revealed during the Marvel Studios panel in San Diego Comic-Con. It’s here where a traditional X-Men live-action movie can be announced. It’s also here where a major Mutant villain with strong ties to The Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) could be established as the next Thanos-level threat in the MCU. 

Magneto.

At the same time, it’s also possible that – given the introduction of Reed Richards in the same Doctor Strange scene as Charles Xavier – Marvel is planning to move forward with The Fantastic Four, and then use Doctor Doom as the Phase 5 threat level. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has discussed wanting to land a major director to helm that movie, now that Jon Watts has declined to direct it. And at the same time, we can’t forget that the first season of Loki introduced Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), a villain we will see again in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.  

As you can see, with the utterance of the word “mutation,” Marvel Studios has opened up a slew of exciting doors it officially can walk through. If the Infinity Saga focused heavily on The Avengers, with Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) leading the charge, Phase 4 has been all about introducing new heroes to lead this universe… and mutants are now expected to play a major role. Fans have been speculating about HOW mutants would be introduced into the MCU, with many (myself included) waiting for Wanda to be responsible for their creation – in a reverse House of M move. But thanks to Kamala Khan have a genetic mutation, we know that mutants have been walking among us this whole time, waiting for their potential to be unlocked. We just needed to be looking in Jersey City, NJ! We should have known.

Minor spoilers for the latest episode of Ms. Marvel, “Time and Again” lie ahead.

Ms. Marvel has nearly reached the end of its season, which is a shame, because it’s downright delightful. The series, which has received high praise from critics, introduces a great new hero to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sports some creative visuals and features some stunning action sequences. On top of all that though, it also beautifully highlights various aspects of Muslim culture. It’s been refreshing to see this play out in a big, mainstream Marvel production, and it’s part why Kamala Khan’s presence in the MCU is so special. All of this certainly wasn’t taken for granted by its stars, who were excited by the fact that it would cover aspects of their culture. 

Though this notion has been conveyed many times over the years, it must be said that representation does matter. You can never discount just what it means for people to see themselves and their culture portrayed on screen in a positive light. The cast of Ms. Marvel, which includes a number of veteran actors, was eager to jump in. While I spoke to him, Mohan Kapur, who plays Kamala Khan’s lovable dad Yusuf, enthusiastically explained to me which aspects of Muslim culture he was most looking to seeing represented:

As the actor so eloquently explained, the culture (like all others) is not a monolith and contains a multitude of elements and experiences. The series has done a masterful job of showing the array of traditions and festivities that are present within the community. I personally loved seeing the Eid celebration in the second episode and Aamir and Tyesha’s wedding in the third. The show also dives deep into the Partition of India, and it’s something that audiences get a good look at in the latest episode, in which Kamala crosses paths with her ancestors in the heart of the 1940s.

There’s another great aspect of the show that many people on social media, including myself, have been buzzing about – the music. Series head writer Bisha K. Ali and her team have curated a truly awesome soundtrack that features songs from the likes of Riz Ahmed, Eva B. and Husan & Bhangra Knights. Saagar Shaikh, who plays Aamir Khan, was appreciative of the tunes and how varied they are:

The music, the food, the ceremonies and other pieces of iconography are more than just cool to see, though. Collectively, they also help to break down misconceptions that have surrounded Muslim culture for so many years. Zenobia Shroff, who plays Khan family matriarch Muneeba, is hoping that the show will help to break down such barriers:

It’s a sentiment that I think we can all agree with and, while there’s still more work to be done, progress is certainly being made. One can only hope that we get more shows that highlight unique cultures and experiences while also providing engaging stories with endearing characters. It’s what the media landscape you use right about now.

The season finale of Ms. Marvel drops on Thursday, July 13, so be sure you put that Disney+ subscription to use and catch up if you need to. Those who are so inclined can also seek out other great portrayals of Muslim characters in recent movies and television.

Warning: SPOILERS for the Ms. Marvel episode “Seeing Red” are ahead!

Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan came to Karachi, Pakistan with her mother in the hopes of learning more about the strange things that have been happening in her life lately. What she didn’t expect was to run into the Red Daggers, an organization dedicated to protecting humanity from the Clandestines. While Bollywood actor Farhad Akhtar played the leader of the Red Daggers, Kamala spent more time with Aramis Knight’s Kareem, who hails from the Marvel Comics pages. Kareem didn’t lack for opportunities to be a badass in the Ms. Marvel episode “Seeing Red,” and Knight spoke with CinemaBlend about how he had a “leg up” when it came to tackling the role.

You may recognize Aramis Knight from projects like Ender’s Game or Into the Badlands, the latter of which saw his character, M.K., frequently wielding a sword. As is to be expected with a name like Red Dagger, Knight’s Kareem specialized in using smaller kinds of blades, so during my interview with the actor, I asked what it was like learning how to properly use daggers during his time on Ms. Marvel. Knight answered:

Aramis Knight has years of martial arts experience under his belt, so it’s not like he was coming to the Kareem role as a newbie. Yes, there are differences between Kareem and MK’s fighting styles, but between his Wushu background and the training catering to his existing skills, Knight did indeed have a leg up on nailing his combat-heavy scenes in Ms. Marvel. And he came right out of the gate with those moves, as Kareem ambushed Kamala Khan at the Karachi train station, initially thinking she was one of the Clandestines. However, after they cleared things up, Kareem brought Kamala back to Red Dagger headquarters (an all-practical set) to meet Farhad Akhtar’s Waleed, leader of the Red Daggers. 

Kareem broke out his trusty daggers later on in “Seeing Red” when the Clandestines attacked Red Dagger HQ, with the fight soon spilling out into the streets of Karachi and escalating into a destructive car chase. It wasn’t long after the close quarters combat resumed that Waleed was killed by Najma, the Clandestines’ leader, leaving Kareem and Kamala Khan on their own. The episode ended on a strange note when Najma accidentally stabbed Kamala’s bangle, which transported the teen girl to the previously mentioned train station, only in 1947, in the middle of Partition. How exactly Kamala will find her way out of this situation remains to be seen, but presumably she and Kareem will reunite before Episode 5 concludes.

New episodes of Ms. Marvel drops Wednesdays to Disney+ subscribers. Don’t forget to look through our guide detailing upcoming Marvel movies, which includes The Marvels, where Iman Vellani will reprise Kamala Khan, opening on July 26, 2023.

When looking at the entire tapestry of Marvel Comics history, Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, is still a relatively new character, having debuted in the pages of 2013’s Captain Marvel #14. But in that time, Kamala has become one of Marvel’s most popular characters, and now she’s part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Iman Vellani bringing the character to life in her own series accessible to Disney+ subscribers. For director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who helmed Ms. Marvel’s fourth and fifth episodes, having Kamala appearing in this superhero franchise is particularly “special” given their shared Pakistani backgrounds.

During my chat with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy about Ms. Marvel Episode 4, a.k.a. “Seeing Red,” in addition to going over why the Partition ending was her “favorite bit” from that episode, the director also answered my question about what it meant for her to be the first Pakistani director to work on a Marvel Studios project. Obaid-Chinoy explained her feelings thusly:

Much like Black Panther and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings before it, the critically well-received Ms. Marvel is providing an opportunity to spotlight culture that hasn’t been explored in the MCU before, let alone gotten much attention in Hollywood overall. In this case, we’re talking about Pakistani/Pakistani-American culture, with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy specifically honing in on this being a story revolving around Pakistani women. Looking at the bigger picture, Obaid-Chinoy is also glad that not only has Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan been so well received, but the character also serves as yet another example of the MCU’s lineup of superheroes becoming more diversified.

Warning: SPOILERS for the Ms. Marvel episode "Seeing Red" are ahead!

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s first Ms. Marvel episode saw Kamala and her mother traveling to Karachi, Pakistan at the request of Kamala’s grandmother, who witnessed the same vision of the train that her granddaughter saw towards the end of “Destined.” While in Karachi, Kamala  met Kareem and Waleed of the Red Daggers, was taken to their headquarters (an all-practical set) and learned more about the antagonistic Clandestines. Unfortunately, things spiraled out of control in the final chunk of “Seeing Red,” and the episode ended with Kamala being sent back in time to Pakistan during Partition after Najma, the leader of the Clandestines, stabbed her bangle. Now the stage is set for Kamala to witness firsthand this historic event and hopefully learn more about her great grandmother, the Clandestine known as Aisha.

There are two episodes left to go in Ms. Marvel, as it hasn’t been announced yet if the show will return for Season 2. That being said, Iman Vellani will reprise Kamala Khan for The Marvels, which hits theaters on July 28, 2023. For more news on upcoming Marvel movies and upcoming Marvel TV shows, keep your eyes peeled on CinemaBlend.

Warning: SPOILERS for the Ms. Marvel episode “Seeing Red” are ahead!

During her trip to Karachi, Pakistan in the Ms. Marvel episode “Seeing Red,” Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan learned about the Red Daggers, an organization dedicated to keeping our world safe from the Clandestines. Aramis Knight’s Kareem was the first person to hold the Red Dagger mantle whom Kamala met, and soon after she came face to face with Farhan Akhtar’s Waleed, the leader of the organization. With Ms. Marvel marking his Hollywood debut, Akhtar compared the action work he did on the Disney+ show to his many years of Bollywood experience while chatting with CinemaBlend.

I had the opportunity to speak to Farhan Akhtar about his work on the fourth episode of Ms. Marvel (which can be streamed now with a Disney+ subscription), and among the questions I asked him was how his time on the critically acclaimed Marvel series compared to the action-heavy projects he’s done in the past. Akhtar responded:

For Farhan Akhtar’s first Hollywood project to practically feel the same as the action-related projects he’s worked on in Bollywood, whether it be as a performer or a behind-the-scenes person, is fortunate. This was in large part thanks to Gary Powell, who’s also been a second unit director on Ready Player One, Morbius and the underwater unit of Skyfall. And Akhtar certainly wasn’t lacking for action in this Ms. Marvel episode. While a good chunk of Waleed’s screen time in “Seeing Red” was revealing new information to Kamala Khan about the Clandestines, eventually these antagonists infiltrated the Red Daggers’ headquarters, which was an all-practical set.

Waleed put up an adorable fight against the Clandestines, both at Red Dagger HQ and in the streets of Karachi, but while protecting Kamala and Kareem, he was killed by Najma, the Clandestines’ leader. While there are certainly plenty of instances in the MCU where someone’s injuries weren’t actually fatal or their death was somehow undone, for now, it sadly looks like Waleed’s demise is permanent. Still, fingers crossed this isn’t the last time we see Akhtar in Hollywood, as he was among the standout elements of “Seeing Red.”

There are only two episodes of Ms. Marvel left this season, and it hasn’t been announced yet if another season of the show will follow. Fortunately for fans of Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan, she’ll return on July 28, 2023 for The Marvels, one of the many upcoming Marvel movies.

Warning: SPOILERS for the Ms. Marvel episode “Seeing Red” are ahead!

Ms. Marvel Episode 4, a.k.a. “Seeing Red” saw Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan and her mother traveling to Karachi, Pakistan at the request of her grandmother, who had sent the mystical bangle to her granddaughter at the beginning of the season. While investigating the train station where her great grandmother, the Clandestine known as Aisha, disappeared in 1947, Kamala met Aramis Knight’s Kareem, a member of the Red Daggers, and she was soon brought to the Red Daggers’ headquarters, which was hidden as part of a restaurant. To say Knight was impressed with this particular Ms. Marvel set would be an understatement, as he called it the “coolest set” he’s seen in his life.

Aramis Knight revealed this to me when I recently spoke with him about his work on the critically acclaimed Ms. Marvel’s fourth episode. After the actor (whose other major credits include Into the Badlands and Ender’s Game) offhandedly praised Red Dagger HQ, I asked what aspect of that set he was especially impressed by, and he answered:

It probably would have been easy enough for the Ms. Marvel team to craft Red Dagger HQ either partially or in different locations, and then make it all look like one area through a mix of visual effects and clever editing. Instead, the entire set was a practical creation, which wowed both Aramis Knight and Iman Vellani to the point that they needed to pause for a bit to take it all in. So future sets that Knight works on will have an uphill battle to top what the Ms. Marvel crew put together for what the Red Daggers call home.

Upon arriving at Red Dagger HQ, Kamala Khan met Farhan Akhtar’s Waleed, the leader of the Red Daggers who provided some additional information to her about the Clandestines, including that these antagonistic characters are trying to break the Veil of Door, which separates their dimension from the human world. Unfortunately, the Clandestines eventually infiltrated the headquarters, leading to a chaotic chase through the streets of Karachi and ending in a fight that saw Waleed being killed by Najma, the Clandestines’ leader. Kareem and Kamala put up a good fight, but things took an unexpected turn when Najma stabbed Kamala’s bangle, which sent the teenaged girl back to the aforementioned train station, only in 1947 Pakistan, during the middle of Partition.

We’ll find out what’s in store for Kamala Khan in the past, and how she’ll find her way back to Kareem in the present day, when Ms. Marvel’s fifth episode drops to Disney+ subscribers next Wednesday. Until then, take a look through the upcoming Marvel TV shows on the way in the near future, and remember that Iman Vellani will reprise Kamala in The Marvels, which comes out on July 28, 2023.

Warning: SPOILERS for the Ms. Marvel episode “Seeing Red” are ahead!

At the end of Ms. Marvel’s fourth episode, a.k.a. “Seeing Red,” Kamala Khan and her new ally Kareem, a.k.a. the latest Red Dagger, found themselves clashing with the Clandestines. During the fight, Najma accidentally stabbed the bangle that allows Kamala to channel her superpowers, and Iman Vellani’s character soon founds herself transported to 1947 Pakistan, right in the middle of the Partition. For director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, this powerful conclusion is her “favorite bit” of the latest Ms. Marvel episode.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy about her work on “Seeing Red,” which Disney+ subscribers can view now. When I asked her if there were any major moments from Ms. Marvel’s fourth episode that ended up being scrapped, Obaid-Chinoy, who also directed the Marvel TV show’s forthcoming fifth episode, informed me that almost everything she and her team shot for the episode made it into the final product. She then shared why she liked the ending so much with these words:

For those who need a refresher, Partition refers to when British India was separated into two separate dominions, India and Pakistan. During Ms. Marvel, we’ve learned that Kamala’s grandmother Rana and her father were separated from Rana’s mother, Aisha, in the middle of Partition while the family was at the train station and getting ready to begin a new life elsewhere. That was the last time they saw Aisha (who it turns out to be one of the Clandestines), and Kamala now finds herself at that very moment in history. So it was important for Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy to make sure that this important event was done justice in the critically well-received Ms. Marvel, particularly with the way its main protagonist witnessed it.

In the final seconds of “Seeing Red” before the credits roll, viewers watch as Kamala Khan gets on top of one of the trains to get a fuller view of her surroundings. There are people as far as the eye can see in this massive train station, so I inquired with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy about how much of that scene was shot practically and how much of it was enhanced with visual effects. She responded:

But it wasn’t just the Partition aspect that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy greatly enjoyed about “Seeing Red.” During our conversation, she also brought up the moment when Kamala is eating with family during her trip to Pakistan and finds the meal incredibly spicy. In the filmmaker’s words:

Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more coverage on Ms. Marvel, which only has two more episodes left in this season. While it hasn’t been announced yet if there will be a Season 2, Iman Vellani is reprising Kamala Khan in The Marvels, the upcoming Marvel movie that will be released on July 28, 2023. Don’t forget to check out the other various Disney+ shows in the meantime.

Some incredibly talented directors have burst onto the cinematic scene as of late, and Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are definitely a part of that group. The duo has been making movies for the past several years, but they truly rose to prominence when they helmed Bad Boys for Life. More recently, they’ve made their way into the superhero genre with Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel (which is currently available to those with Disney+ subscriptions). And even before the show was released, they’d already been tapped to direct Warner Bros. and DC Films’ Batgirl. The two comic book adaptations certainly have their similarities and differences, but how exactly do they compare? Well, El Arbi and Fallah have spoken to that. 

Kamala Khan and Barbara Gordon are somewhat alike. They’re both capable young women with a desire to fight the good fight and are passionate about protecting their respective cities. However, they both have different power sets, with Khan’s being more energy-based (in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and Gordon’s more reliant on her fighting skills and gadgets. When I spoke with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah during the press junket for Marvel Studios’ latest TV venture, I couldn’t help but ask about how the series informed their approach to the upcoming DC movie. When answering, El Arbi provided insight into the other factors that went into the pair of productions:

These comments suggest that the directors understand what’s needed for both of the beloved comic book characters. For instance, in the case of Ms. Marvel, a lighter touch was needed, and that’s something that many have seemingly appreciated about the critically acclaimed MCU show. On the other hand, it sounds like Batgirl is going to be a bit more mature, which makes sense considering that you’re dealing with a Gotham City-set story that involves the villainous Firefly, played by Brendan Fraser. 

Not much is known in the way of specific plot details when it comes to the DC Comics’ adaptation, but the tidbits that have been dropped so far tease a tale that’ll stay true to the source material. Before the Leslie Grace-led movie wrapped in April, she dropped the first look at her comics-accurate costume. The movie will also see the return of J.K. Simmons’ Commissioner Gordon, who will be showing off a paternal side that wasn’t apparent in Justice League.

Though the directors’ most recent comic book venture took place in the DC Universe, they’re still hoping to do more work in the MCU. They actually pitched future Marvel gigs for themselves during our chat, including an X-Men film and a live-action flick starring the Miles Morales iteration of Spider-Man. Personally, I think they’d be great fits for either property.

Their next superhero project doesn’t appear to be set in stone just yet, but I’m confident that they’ll receive more opportunities to craft comic book features. Ahead of that though, I’m curious to see what they do with Batgirl and the Ms. Marvel season finale in a few weeks.

Ms. Marvel drops new episodes on Disney+ every Thursday as part of the 2022 TV schedule. Meanwhile, Batgirl is slated to hit HBO Max, but a release date has yet to be announced.

Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel works so well due to a number of reasons. The critically acclaimed superhero show has a strong lead in up-and-coming actor (and comic book superfan) Iman Vellani, and the writing is impeccable. You also have to give props to the talented directors, though, including formidable duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. The two (who are also EPs on the series) have already made quite a splash in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and they’re ready for more. They even pitched some other gigs for the massive franchise, and they sound great!

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who rose to mainstream prominence as a result of their work on Bad Boys for Life, directed the pilot and season finale of Ms. Marvel. When watching the premiere episode, it’s apparent that the two are comic book fans, especially when it comes to their handling of the thrilling AvengerCon sequence. When I spoke to the pair during the Disney+ show’s press junket, I asked if they already had their eyes set on any other MCU properties now that their work with Kamala Khan is done (for the moment). It didn’t take two long to name their favorites, and El Arbi mentioned some pretty famous mutants when doing so:

It’s no secret that Marvel Studios is looking to introduce the X-Men into the MCU at some point in the future. A reboot seems to be years away at this point, but it wouldn’t hurt for studio head Kevin Feige and co. to look at some potential candidates now. The Bad Boys directors would be strong choices for the project and could bring a freshness to the former Fox franchise that’s been sorely needed. However, there’s another project that they’re really passionate about, and it may even be a better fit for them. The two went on to say:

Adil El Arbi: And [Spider-Man] Miles Morales would be cool, too. 

Bilall Fallah: Yeah, live-action Miles Morales, yes.

2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is arguably a perfect film, though many would still love to see Miles Morales (its protagonist) make the jump to live-action via the MCU. While many have been fancasting Morales, I’m just as, if not more concerned about who’d helm such a production. And I firmly believe that Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah could create something truly epic. Not only are they passionate about the character, but they could also provide a unique visual style similar to the one they developed for Ms. Marvel. As a matter of fact, El Arbi explained that they approached that art style as a”tryout” of sorts for a Spidey movie starring Miles:

Well, I’d say it’s working because a number of critics and fans have made note of the vibrant visuals when heaping praise on the show. Considering what they’ve achieved thus far, I wouldn’t be surprised if Marvel recruits Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah for another production. And if that happens, they’ll have plenty of experience under their belts, thanks to Ms. Marvel and the upcoming Batgirl movie they’re helming. Here’s hoping they get a chance to do more in the MCU!

Ms. Marvel drops new episodes on Thursdays as part of the 2022 TV schedule and is available to stream with a Disney+ subscription.

Major spoilers for the second episode of Ms. Marvel, “Crushed,” lie ahead, so read on at your own risk.

The latest installment of the critically acclaimed Ms. Marvel has arrived, and it easily manages to maintain the energy and fun that was established in Episode 1. Following the chaotic events at AvengerCon, young Kamala Khan attempts to learn how to control her new powers, with some help from best friend Bruno. During the episode though, viewers are also introduced to a new character in the form of Kamran, who quickly becomes the object of Kamala’s affection. However, it’s soon revealed that there’s more to the young man than meets the eye, and Rish Shah has opened up about why he loves playing this somewhat “mysterious” character. 

Kamran is established as a British-Pakistani senior who’s only recently arrived in Jersey City and, after formally meeting Kamala at a party, the two become fast friends (much to Bruno’s irritation). The show seemingly sets up the charming young man to be merely a love interest for the main hero. However, in the closing minutes of the episode, he arrives to save the superpowered Kamala from being captured by DODC agents. And as they drive away, he also introduces the hero to his mother – the same woman who appeared in Kamala's vision earlier in the show. 

Ahead of the series premiere, I had the opportunity to speak with Rish Shah and his Ms. Marvel castmates at the show’s press junket. Having seen the first two installments, I asked him about Episode 2’s ending and what it’s like to play such an enigmatic figure. The star couldn’t say too much about his exact character’s intentions, but he did explain that he relishes the opportunity to subvert the expectations that come with the “love interest” role:

The scenes between Kamran and Kamala are indeed enjoyable to watch. Whether it be them gushing over their favorite Bollywood stars or dodging the latter’s older brother while grabbing a bite, they’re simply adorable. Nevertheless, this recent reveal should help ensure that their relationship doesn’t play out in a way that’s too conventional. Rish Shah’s further comments also seem to suggest that the dynamic between the two will be layered:

It’s early but, right now, it would appear that the suave newcomer could end up being a driving force that helps move Khan further down her path as a hero. (That could go a long way in preparing her for the events of The Marvels). And on the other side of that equation, she could help provide a sense of stability for her potential boyfriend, who’s seemingly led an unpredictable life thus far. Again, this is all speculation but not totally out of the realm of possibility. 

We’ll just have to keep watching to see how things play out with Kamran, Kamala and the rest of the gang on Ms. Marvel. One thing that’s clear at this point, though, is that the stage is certainly being set for what could be one of the most intriguing origin stories the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever delivered.

Ms. Marvel drops new episodes on Wednesdays as part of the 2022 TV schedule, so be sure that you have a Disney+ subscription so that you can check them out!

Despite nearly a quarter of the world’s population being Muslim, throughout Hollywood history there has not only been a major lack of representation of Muslim characters, but the few on screen are typically overwhelmingly stereotyped and made into villains of the story. There’s a lot of work left to be done when it comes to the portrayal of Muslim characters in movies and TV shows, but in recent years there have at least been more authentic and varied depictions on screen – most recently with Marvel Studios introducing its first Muslim superhero with Ms. Marvel. 

Last summer, a report by USC (via Deadline) estimated that just 1.1 percent of characters in 100 popular U.S. films made from 2017 to 2019 were Muslim and out of 200 films worldwide, just over 90 percent did not feature even one Muslim speaking character. The study also showed that over half of Muslim characters were in films set in the past. In summation, Muslim characters have greatly been erased from popular media. Despite these stats, there have been a handful of great recent portrayals of Muslim characters who’ve managed to break some much needed ground: 

Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) - Ms. Marvel 

The most mainstream and exciting depiction of a Muslim character to date is Ms. Marvel, starring Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan. The Disney+ series follows a teen Avengers superfan and American Pakistani Muslim living in Jersey City who gains the ability to harness cosmic energy and create constructs from a magical bangle. 

The Disney+ show is adapted from the comic character created by Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker, and writer G. Willow Wilson. The series highlights a Muslim family living in the United States and trying to uphold their traditional values by going to the mosque and celebrating holidays like Eid in a refreshingly authentic way. We can’t wait to see this series soar and Ms. Marvel make her transition to the big screen for 2023’s The Marvels. 

Ramy (Ramy Youssef) - Ramy 

Hulu’s Golden Globe-winning series, Ramy also depicts a New Jersey Muslim, but from a much more grown up perspective. Created by American-Egyptian comedian Ramy Youssef, this dramedy takes a super honest approach to what it’s like growing up as a first-generation American Muslim these days. Ramy is caught between living in the western world and trying to uphold the values of his family, and runs into struggles with his faith and relationships. 

It’s incredibly relatable to those of the same background and has been praised as such, not only for Youssef drawing from personal experience, but looking to his costars like May Calamawy for theirs. The series also has a great storyline involving Mahershala Ali (who is really an American Muslim as well) which showcases a Black Muslim and Imam in a post-9/11 divided community. 

Kumail (Kumail Nanjiani) - The Big Sick 

Another especially personal portrayal of a Muslim character came in the form of the 2017 romantic comedy, The Big Sick. The Amazon film, which was written by husband and wife Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, loosely tells their love story. Amidst Kumail being constantly set up by his parents with Pakistani women with hopes for an arranged marriage, he meets Emily, a white psychology student, not soon before she becomes hospitalized and is placed in an induced coma. 

Kumail pretends to be her husband to visit her and ends up creating a bond with her parents, who have a skewed view of Muslim Americans. The movie was praised by other Muslims for portraying its lead character as a normal American in a romantic comedy, with some of the intricacies of his background also weaved in as well. 

Dahlia Qadri (Sophia Ali) - Grey’s Anatomy

Grey’s Anatomy has long been one of the most popular TV shows of the modern age. So when the ABC series decided to include Dr. Dahlia Qadri as a surgical resident on the medical series, it became a major moment for Muslim representation. Indian-Pakistani American actress, Sophia Ali, portrayed the character from Season 14 to 16. 

Dahlia is a rare recurring character in a network series to wear a hijab and in one especially viral 2018 episode (S14, E13), Dr. Qadri broke stereotypes about female Muslim characters when she takes off her hijab to save a patient and when asked why, she says "It's a symbol of my faith. And my faith is about service and compassion."

Adena El Amin (Nikohl Boosheri) - The Bold Type

Iranian-Canadian actress Nikohl Boosheri made network TV history, as well, on Freeform’s The Bold Type as Adena El Amin, a photographer and artist who had a powerful storyline throughout the show’s five season run. Adena has been praised by Muslim viewers for the show’s depiction of topics relating to her hijab, which she says empowers her within the series. Plus, Adena is a rare Muslim character from the LGBTQ+ community. In the series, a love story blooms between Adena and Aisha Dee’s Kat Edison, who even find a happy ending by the series’ conclusion. 

Sayid (Amir Korangy) - Superstore

There are not enough Muslim characters who are simply fun and funny and in a light-hearted space of a sitcom, but NBC’s Superstore turned that around with their recurring character, Sayid, played by Amir M. Korangy for Seasons 4 through 6. Sayid is another misfit worker at the Cloud 9 store who gets into their hijinks, but between that there’s a few situations that inject his identity. In one episode storyline, Sayid must share the same utility closet he uses for prayers with America Ferrera’s Amy when she needs it for breastfeeding. In another episode, it discusses his status as a Syrian refugee, all while keeping its sitcom tone. 

Abdul Karim (Ali Fazel) - Victoria & Abdul

In a rare moment in movies, Universal Pictures released Victoria & Abdul in 2017, which tells the true story of Queen Victoria’s unlikely friendship with her Indian servant, Abdul Karim. The movie starred Dame Judi Dench as the Queen in the late 1800s as she develops an interest in Ali Fazal’s Abdul Karim, a Muslim from British India. Through the movie, it explores Islamophobia and Colonialism in a unique way we don’t typically see in theatrical releases.  

Parvana (Saara Chaudry) - The Breadwinner 

Also in 2017, the Angelina Jolie-produced animated feature, The Breadwinner, was released. The movie is an adaptation of a book of the same name about an 11-year-old girl named Parvana and her family who struggle to survive in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The movie was praised by Afghani audiences, particularly for its depiction of the Taliban rule and its strict interpretation of Islam that fiercely restricted women’s freedoms. It allows an Afghan girl to tell her own story and be a strong character. The movie was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2018 Oscars, but Pixar’s Coco took home the award. 

Nadia Shanaa (Mina El Hammani) - Elite

Over on streaming, Netflix's teen thriller, Elite, includes a Muslim character in Mina El Hammani’s Nadia Shanaa. Nadia, who was in Seasons 1 through 4 was a transfer student who was the daughter of Palestinian immigrants. Her character served as a way for Elite to discuss some common conflicts Muslim teens deal with as the balance between practicing her religion and fitting in at school clashes. For example, finding interest in a boy at school despite it being against her values and discussions related to her hijab, which at one point is banned at her school. Elite began an uncommon discussion in high school-set series. 

Naya Temple (Betty Gabriel) - Counterpart 

The short-lived Starz series, Counterpart, starring J.K. Simmons, featured another female Muslim character in Betty Gabriel’s Naya Temple. The Get Out actress plays a former FBI agent in the series who's hired to assist in its exploration of parallel Earths. Naya is a practicing Muslim, and per IndieWire, in order to play the role authentically the actress reached out to the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and actually learned the Islamic prayer for Counterpart. The character showed a practicing Muslim who doesn’t regularly wear a hijab (like many Muslim women throughout the world) who is also a Black American. 

Changez Khan (Riz Ahmed) - The Reluctant Fundamentalist

We’ll wrap this list up with a 2012 film that signalled the beginning of some of the Muslim representation we’ve seen even more recently in the movies and TV shows above. 2012’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist was another rare Hollywood movie that featured a Muslim lead in Riz Ahmed’s Pakistani-American character, Changez Khan. 

In the political thriller, Kate Hudson plays an American professor who is kidnapped and held for ransom. Liev Schreiber’s Bobby Lincoln is an American journalist who arranges a meeting with Khan under suspicion that he kidnapped her. Despite being an educated American, the movie shows how Khan is victim to the negative image of Muslims following 9/11 as he's blamed for a crime he did not commit.  

For the time being, these characters are exceptions to a norm in movies and television that greatly erases Muslim characters. As these characters open the door for normalizing telling more stories about a major part of the population, perhaps in five to 10 years this list will be overflowing with examples. 

Warning: This video contains spoilers for “Ms. Marvel” Episode 1 and “Eternals.”

“Ms. Marvel,” Disney+'s new Marvel Studios series starring Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan dropped this week, so CinemaBlend's Sean O’Connell, Hannah Saulic and Law Sharma deep dive into theories on Ms. Marvel’s powers, including how the show could bring some of her Inhuman backstory in and adapt the Nega-Bands and Quantum Bands from the comics. Plus, Iman Velanni and Lia McHugh (Sprite) may have hinted at a possible “Eternals” connection in our junket interviews with them. Finally, watch (mainly) Hannah and Sean completely fail at an “Eternals” pop quiz.

Video Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:45 - ‘Ms. Marvel’ Episode 1 Review
• 04:03 - Ms. Marvel’s Power Change
• 06:20 - Is Ms. Marvel’s Bangle The MCU’s Nega-Band/Quantum Band?
• 09:22 - Did Iman Vellani and Eternals' Lia McHugh Just Hint at a Sprite/ Ms. Marvel Team-Up?
• 12:52 - Hannah And Sean Fail At ‘Eternals’ Trivia

There’s a new hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and her name is Kamala Khan a.k.a. Ms. Marvel! The young crimefighter debuted in her eponymous show (available to stream with a Disney+ subscription), and it’s received praise from critics and fans thus far. Something that’s seemingly endearing Kamala to viewers is her love of superheroes, a level of fandom that’s only matched by that of the actress who plays her, Iman Vellani. The rising star has adored Marvel Comics for years and has no problem geeking out about small, intricate details. This was definitely clear when she revealed that she tried to add a sweet Easter egg to the show – and is now trying to get it into a potential second season. 

In the comics, Kamala Khan has a plethora of allies, from witty Spider-Man Miles Morales to the grizzled Wolverine (a team-up moment that Iman Vellani loves). One of her more “unconventional” superpowered friends, however, is the Inhuman protector Lockjaw. Unsurprisingly, Vellani is more than aware of the relationship between Khan and the giant, teleporting dog and, when CinemaBlend caught up with her at the Ms. Marvel premiere, she revealed her efforts to reference him on the show:

The Inhuman Royal Family’s canine protector was tasked with keeping an eye on Kamala shortly after her superhuman abilities surfaced. The two would become quite close, with the dog even assisting her when she took on the villainous Inventor. It was certainly a sweet relationship to see, and one can easily understand why Iman Vellani loves the character and would love to give him a shoutout of sorts.

Should the lovable beast appear in any future MCU production down the line, it wouldn’t be his first time making the transition to the live-action realm. He was previously featured in Marvel Television’s short-lived Inhumans series, which aired in 2017. Despite the show’s shortcomings, the first look at Lockjaw was impressive and teased a comic-book accurate interpretation of him. Ahead of Ms. Marvel’s premiere, it was rumored that he’d show up on the show (a development that would right a major wrong.) But considering these comments from the lead star, it would appear that we can now debunk that theory. 

I’d still say there’s a firm chance that the character reappears at some point, though. Last month, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness dropped Anson Mount’s Black Bolt into the MCU proper. It wasn’t the same version of the hero that appeared on the small screen, mind you, but it’s still an indicator that Marvel Studios hasn’t completely forsaken the classic race of cosmic characters. 

With any luck, Lockjaw will indeed make a return and team up with Kamala Khan. The on-screen dynamic between the two would be precious, and they could easily solidify themselves as one of the funnest duos in the cinematic universe. I don’t know about all of you, but I’m definitely hoping that Iman Vellani, at the very least, gets her Easter egg - and that second season.

Ms. Marvel drops new episodes on Thursdays (as part of the 2022 TV schedule), and you can stream Inhumans on Disney+ as well. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for updates on upcoming Marvel TV shows.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s newest hero, Ms. Marvel, is making a serious impression thus far. The coming-of-age superhero show has earned major praise from critics thus far, with many especially singling out newcomer Iman Vellani’s performance as Kamala Khan. Of course, this is just the beginning of the teenage vigilante’s journey in the expansive universe, as she’s already slated to appear in The Marvels next year. Of course, there was plenty of work that had to be done before Vellani’s Kamala made her big-screen debut. And the Disney+ series’ showrunner (or head writer), Bisha K. Ali shed some light on how her team prepared the character for the upcoming film. 

Those who stay up on the inner workings of Marvel Studios know that there’s frequent collaboration between creatives whenever certain productions directly connect to one another. For instance, Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo contributed to Ant-Man and the Wasp’s mid-credits scene, which tied into their own movie. More recently, I spoke with Bisha K. Ali on behalf of CinemaBlend during the Ms. Marvel press junket and asked if or how she and the team from The Marvels worked closely together. Though the writer and EP quickly revealed that she knows nothing about the film’s plot, she explained that it did help to shape her thinking as it pertained to Kamala’s journey:

So the writer had to introduce a completely new character to the MCU, tell her story and get her ready to team up with two other heroes in a film she knows nothing about. I mean, no big deal, right? Despite that, the TV boss seemingly took things in stride when it came to crafting Kamala Khan’s arc. She also further explained that she and her collaborators assisted the folks working on the feature film in a key way: 

Plot details on the Nia DaCosta-directed movie are scarce at the moment. All fans know is that the movie will see Ms. Marvel join forces with Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau. Samuel L. Jackson returns to the role of Nick Fury as well. DaCosta has been careful not to spoil anything, but she has teased an emotional story for the sequel. The Candyman filmmaker has also spoken about balancing screen time between the three heroines.

Given her track record, Nia DaCosta is sure to create something that aptly represents all three of her central protagonists. And now that we’ve gotten a taste of how Bisha K. Ali, Iman Vellani and co. have handled Kamala Khan, I really can’t wait to see her mix it up with the others in the MCU film. 

The Marvels soars into theaters on July 28, 2023 and is one of several Marvel movies dropping over the next year. And while you wait for it, be sure to stream new episodes of Ms. Marvel on Thursdays using your Disney+ subscription.

I’m not sure Marvel Studios could’ve found an actress more perfect for the role of Kamala Khan than Iman Vellani. Aside from being a skilled actress, the up-and-comer is also a major Marvel fan, who has a deep understanding of the comics. Of course, she has a particular soft spot for the character that she plays and knows just about everything there is to know about Ms. Marvel. As such, she has a number of favorite moments involving the teenage heroine, but the one that tops them all involves Wolverine.

Some of the most delightful moments within Kamala Khan’s publication history have been her team-ups with other Marvel heroes. This is due to the fact that Khan is a massive fan of superheroes and typically fangirls out whenever she meets one of her idols. This was the case when the enthusiastic young woman crossed paths with veteran X-Man Wolverine in her native New Jersey during the sixth issue of the Khan’s initial comics run.

There’s plenty of humor present within the interaction, for sure, such as the teenager’s delight over the adamantium-clawed hero almost killing her when surprised. But when I spoke with Iman Vellani during the Ms. Marvel junket and asked about a Kamala moment that resonates with her the most, she provided a deeper perspective on the superhero run-in:

The seasoned mutant certainly speaks the truth, and his young comrade certainly took the words to heart. The exchange also stuck with the actress as she and her cast and crew members filmed the show:

As the trailers and TV spots revealed, Kamala’s powers are indeed different here, but that’s not exactly the most important thing. What is vital is the character’s sheer sense of heroism and desire to do the right thing. And those who’ve seen the new MCU series’ first episode no doubt know that Iman Vellani perfectly embodies this through her performance. She’s a key reason why Ms. Marvel has received strong reviews from critics and, while it's early, her casting may be one of the best decisions Marvel Studios has ever made. 

Her character’s future in the MCU is bright (and could even see her join the Young Avengers). But whenever Marvel decides to bring the mutants back into the fold, I wouldn’t mind if Iman Vellani’s Kamala got to recreate that sweet comic book moment with the new Wolverine actor. 

Ahead of that though, be sure to stream Ms. Marvel, which drops new episodes for Disney+ subscribers on Thursdays as part of the 2022 TV schedule.

There’s a new superhero on the Marvel Cinematic Universe block, and her name is Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel. Played by Iman Vellani, this version of Kamala is leading her own Disney+ series, and while she didn’t inherit her superhero identity from Carol Danvers like in the comics, she is still a huge fan of Brie Larson’s character, who battles the forces of evil as Captain Marvel. Next year, we’ll see these heroes share screen time in The Marvels, but following Ms. Marvel’s debut to Disney+ subscribers, Larson has shared a sweet throwback photo to when she first met Vellani.

Iman Vellani was announced back in September 2020, and three months later, it was revealed that she’ll star opposite Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris, who plays Monica Rambeau, in The Marvels, i.e. the Captain Marvel sequel. Alas, Larson and Vellani’s first interaction wasn’t in person, but as you’ll see in Larson’s below Instagram post, the two had a delightful time chatting over Zoom.

Brie Larson didn’t share specifically when her meeting with Iman Vellani took place, but the Carol Danvers actress knew right away that she’d be a wonderful addition to the MCU. Vellani’s debut as Kamala Khan comes almost nine full years after the character debuted in the Marvel Comics pages. It didn’t take long for Kamala to start collecting fans, and having already popped up in animated projects like Avengers Assemble and Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors, as well as many video games, now she’s hit the live-action scene. As for Larson, she made her debut as Carol in 2019’s Captain Marvel, and then returned a few months later in Avengers: Endgame and made a cameo appearance in last year’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

As a result of switching release dates with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels now isn’t arriving until summer 2023, but that’s better than it taking multiple years for the MCU’s Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan to cross paths. No specific plot details have been revealed yet for The Marvels, but between these two and Monica Rambeau, who gained special abilities during WandaVision, this Marvel movie is packing a lot of firepower. In Kamala’s case though, her special abilities in the MCU are derived from a different source rather than having Inhuman genes that are activated by the Terrigen Mists.

Along with Brie Larson, Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris, The Marvels will also feature the return of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, who’s also appearing in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and the Secret Invasion series. Saagar Shaikh, Zenobia Shroff and Mohan Kapur will reprise their Ms. Marvel characters, and Zawe Ashton and Park Seo-joon have been cast in undisclosed roles, although the former is reportedly playing a villain. Candyman’s Nia DaCosta is directing the feature, and Megan McDonnell (another WandaVision alum) wrote the script.

The Marvels is now slated for July 28, 2023, and it’s one of the many upcoming Marvel movies either officially on the way or in development. As always, CinemaBlend will pass along any major news items about these projects and the Marvel TV shows.