Film Phase 4 — Multiverse Opens (2024–2025)

The Marvels

Name: The Marvels
Released: 2023-11-10
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 5.9
Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Samuel L. Jackson, Zawe Ashton

"Higher. Further. Faster. Together."

Released November 10, 2023 1h 45m ★ 5.9TMDB ★ Essential to the MCU

When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, Carol's powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol's estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team up and learn to work in concert to save the universe.

Watch note

Carol, Kamala and Monica's powers become entangled — they swap places when using them. Monica enters a hole in space and ends up in an alternate universe.

Why It Matters in the MCU

The sequel to Captain Marvel cross-cuts between three characters whose powers have become quantum-entangled, and the conceit produces the franchise's most formally inventive action choreography in years — the swapping sequences in the opening act are a genuinely fresh visual idea. The ensemble chemistry between Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani is the film's strongest argument for itself, working in ways the plotting doesn't consistently support. It is the shortest MCU film since Thor and the most tonally playful entry in Phase 5, though its box-office performance confirmed that audience reconnection with Carol Danvers remains an open problem.

Watch These First

33 titles lead into The Marvels — 81 hours in total. 23 of the 33 are essential.

Captain America: The First Avenger Essential 2h 4m ★ 7.0
X-Men: First Class 2h 12m ★ 7.3
X-Men 1h 44m ★ 7.0 +1 before this
X2: X-Men United 2h 14m ★ 7.0 +1 before this
X-Men: The Last Stand 1h 44m ★ 6.4 +1 before this
X-Men: Days of Future Past 2h 11m ★ 7.5 +2 before this
X-Men: Apocalypse 2h 24m ★ 6.5 +1 before this
Dark Phoenix 1h 54m ★ 6.0 +1 before this
Captain Marvel Essential 2h 4m ★ 6.8
Iron Man Essential 2h 6m ★ 7.7
Iron Man 2 Essential 2h 4m ★ 6.9
The Incredible Hulk Essential 1h 52m ★ 6.3
Iron Man 2 (Post-Credit Scene) Essential 0h 2m
Thor Essential 1h 55m ★ 6.8 +2 before this
Captain America: The First Avenger (Credits) Essential 0h 2m
Thor (Post-Credit Scene) Essential 0h 2m
The Avengers Essential 2h 23m ★ 8.1 +2 before this
Iron Man 3 Essential 2h 10m ★ 6.9
Thor: The Dark World Essential 1h 52m ★ 6.5
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Essential 2h 16m ★ 7.7 +3 before this
Guardians of the Galaxy Essential 2h 1m ★ 7.9
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Essential 2h 16m ★ 7.6
Avengers: Age of Ultron Essential 2h 21m ★ 7.3
Captain America: Civil War Essential 2h 27m ★ 7.5 +1 before this
Eyes of Wakanda (Season 1) Essential 2h ★ 6.2
Black Panther Essential 2h 14m ★ 7.4
Spider-Man: Homecoming Essential 2h 13m ★ 7.3
Doctor Strange Essential 1h 55m ★ 7.4
Thor: Ragnarok Essential 2h 10m ★ 7.6 +2 before this
Avengers: Infinity War Essential 2h 29m ★ 8.2 +5 before this
Captain Marvel (Post-Credits Scene) Essential 0h 2m
Avengers: Endgame Essential 3h 2m ★ 8.2 +10 before this
Avengers: Endgame Encore Essential 3h 5m +10 before this
WandaVision (Season 1) Essential 6h ★ 8.2
WandaVision (Ep 9 Mid-Credit Scene) Essential 0h 2m
Peter's To-Do List 0h 4m ★ 7.0
Spider-Man: Far From Home 2h 9m ★ 7.4
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 2h 12m ★ 7.5 +2 before this
Ms. Marvel (Season 1) Essential 4h 30m ★ 6.3
Secret Invasion (Season 1) Recommended 5h 30m ★ 6.5

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Where It Fits in the MCU

The Marvels sits at position 141 of 158 in the MCU's story-chronological order, placing it within the Phase 4 — Multiverse Opens (2024–2025) era. It is rated Essential — must-watch for following the main MCU narrative. Watching in story-chronological order provides the most coherent character development experience — individual arcs build naturally toward the franchise's major crossover events, with each film's post-credits scenes carrying forward into what follows.