The Marvels

Ahead of the release of Captain Marvel (2019), star Brie Larson expressed interest in a sequel featuring the character Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel.[22] Producer Kevin Feige previously said there were plans to introduce Kamala in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) following the release of Captain Marvel because Kamala is inspired by Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel;[23] Iman Vellani was later cast as Kamala for the Disney+ television miniseries Ms. Marvel (2022).[24] In March 2019, Feige said Marvel Studios had some "pretty amazing" ideas for a sequel,[25] which could either be set in the 1990s like the first film, or the present day.[26] Lashana Lynch expressed interest in reprising her role of Maria Rambeau in a sequel, even if it was set in the present.[27] At the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con in July, Feige confirmed plans for a sequel.[28]

Official development on the film began in January 2020, when Megan McDonnell entered negotiations to write the script after serving as a staff writer on Marvel Studios' Disney+ miniseries WandaVision (2021).[29] Larson was confirmed to return as Danvers,[4] but Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were not expected to return after directing and co-writing the first film. The studio hoped to hire a female director to replace them. The film was expected to be set in the present day, and was aiming for a 2022 release.[29] In April 2020, Disney scheduled the film for release on July 8, 2022, filling the July 2022 date that the studio had previously reserved for an untitled Marvel film.[30] Nia DaCosta was hired to direct the film that August. Deadline Hollywood's Justin Kroll called this another sign of Marvel Studios adding diversity to its films due to DaCosta being the first Black woman hired as a director by the studio, adding that the film would likely break the record for the biggest-budgeted film directed by a Black woman.[31] The studio had also considered Olivia Wilde and Jamie Babbit as directors for the film,[32] but DaCosta was said to have been the frontrunner for some time.[31] DaCosta, a self-professed comic book nerd, developed the film with WandaVision producer Mary Livanos, who she said gave her "creative latitude" so the film would not "be a puppet on a string".[33][34] Larson said DaCosta was the "best person for the job" and said her presentation to pitch the film was incredible, and also noted her confidence in her work.[35] Richard Newby of The Hollywood Reporter said DaCosta's hiring could bring new energy to the MCU and Captain Marvel franchise, saying she "enjoys challenging preconceived notions about the relationship between characters and the lore behind stories". Newby also felt the film could explore Danvers' story from the perspective of Maria Rambeau's daughter Monica, a Black woman in present-day America.[36]

Feige announced Captain Marvel 2 in December 2020, with a new release date of November 11, 2022. He confirmed DaCosta's involvement, and revealed that Teyonah Parris would reprise her role as Monica Rambeau from WandaVision and Vellani would reprise her role as Kamala.[8] Parris was excited to work with DaCosta again after Candyman (2021), and to further explore Monica's relationship with Danvers that was teased in WandaVision.[37] Larson felt it "made sense" narratively to have Kamala and Rambeau introduced to the MCU in other projects before the three of them meet in this film, something she had discussed with Feige "from the beginning".[5]

Pre-production work on the film was starting by February 2021, when Zawe Ashton was cast as the film's villain.[38] By that time, all of the scripts for Ms. Marvel had been written, so The Marvels creative team was able to read those to know what happened to Kamala in that series,[39] with Larson also having a cameo appearance in that series.[40] Principal photography was expected to begin at the end of May,[41] though some second unit filming began on April 9 in Jersey City, New Jersey,[42][43] under the working title Goat Rodeo,[42][44] to capture aerial footage, establishing shots, and green screen plates.[42][45] In May, Marvel Studios revealed that the sequel would be titled The Marvels.[46] Ethan Anderton of /Film noted that this title refers to both Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel, since the film's logo includes the same stylized "S" from the Ms. Marvel series' logo.[47] Graeme McMillian at The Hollywood Reporter acknowledged this explanation, but also wondered if there was a connection to the 1994 comics series Marvels—which tells various Marvel Universe events from the perspective of a photographer—or a project of the same name announced in 2020. He also wondered if "The Marvels" referred to a family of heroes, much like DC Comics' Marvel Family (now known as the Shazam Family).[48] Later that month, pre-production work was starting in the United Kingdom.[49]

Park Seo-joon was cast in an undisclosed role in mid-June, and was set to join the production after completing work on the film Concrete Utopia (2023).[50] His role was reported as Prince Yan of the planet Aladna.[13][16] Larson and Parris began preparing for filming the next month.[51][52] DaCosta said The Marvels would deal with "specific, personal, [and] sometimes sad things",[53] such as how people deal with pain and trauma,[54] but would have a lighter story than her films Little Woods (2018) and Candyman. She felt that she had more creative freedom on The Marvels than on her prior films.[53] Feige said that the dynamic between Danvers, Kamala, and Rambeau was the center of the film and likened their team-up to the formation of the Avengers in The Avengers (2012). He revealed that The Marvels would have "fun cosmic elements", including some from Roy Thomas' 1971 "Kree–Skrull War" comic book storyline, with the story directly picking up from the ending of Captain Marvel. He described the film as being tonally different from the MCU miniseries Secret Invasion (2023),[12] which is another Captain Marvel follow-up and also serves as a lead-in to the film.[12][5]

Principal photography was expected to begin on May 31, 2021,[41] and began on July 26, 2021,[15] at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire,[15][41][53] and at Longcross Studios in Longcross, Surrey, England.[15][55] Sean Bobbitt served as cinematographer.[56] Larson confirmed she started filming on August 10,[57] and shortly after, Samuel L. Jackson revealed that he would reprise his MCU role as Nick Fury in the film,[17] working on it in London at the same time as he was preparing to film Secret Invasion.[58] Filming for The Marvels took place in Tropea, Italy, beginning on August 27, including on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea.[59][60] On September 3, Park left for Los Angeles to begin filming.[61] Shortly after, Saagar Shaikh, Zenobia Shroff, and Mohan Kapur were revealed to be reprising their respective roles as Kamala's older brother Aamir, mother Muneeba, and father Yusuf, from Ms. Marvel.[18][2] In October 2021, the film's release was delayed to February 17, 2023.[62] Park shot his scenes for two months, and completed filming in England by November 2.[63] Production designer Cara Brower said the scale and scope of the film were massive, contrasting her work with DaCosta on Candyman.[64] For the sets at Pinewood and Longcross Studios, the production created 54 sets for five different planets (including Aladna) and spaceships, the S.A.B.E.R. space station, Maria Rambeau's and the Khan family's houses. DaCosta wanted each planet "to feel distinct" with their production design.[15] In April 2022, the film's release was moved to July 28, 2023, swapping places with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania given that film was further along in production than The Marvels,[65] which still had some filming left to occur.[66] Filming had wrapped by the middle of the following month.[67]

Jackson revealed in mid-June 2022 that he would return to London in August to work on reshoots for The Marvels, before doing the same for Secret Invasion,[68] and Marvel was preparing for those reshoots by the end of July.[69] Filming occurred in early August in Battery Park in New York City to capture visual effects plates.[70] DaCosta was revealed in January 2023 to have also worked on the film's script alongside Elissa Karasik and Zeb Wells, who had respectively served as a writer on Marvel Studios' Loki (2021–present) and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022),[71] though only DaCosta, McDonnell, and Karasik were credited.[72] In February 2023, the film's release was delayed to November 10, 2023, as Disney and Marvel Studios were re-evaluating their content output and costs.[73] This allowed more time for post-production.[74] Joanna Robinson of The Ringer reported in April that the film was undergoing a "massive overhaul" and reshoots.[75] With the release of the first trailer, Ashton's role was revealed to be Dar-Benn, while Daniel Ings joined the cast as Ty-Rone.[13][20] Lynch was reported to be reprising her role as Maria Rambeau, alongside Cobie Smulders and Randall Park in their respective MCU roles as Maria Hill and Jimmy Woo,[19] although Smulders denied her involvement in June.[76] Also in June, it was revealed that Gary Lewis joined the cast,[77] portraying Emperor Dro'ge.[15]

Visual effects for the film were created by Industrial Light & Magic, Rise FX, Rising Sun Pictures, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Trixter, Wētā FX, and Wylie Co., while Tara DeMarco serves as the visual effects supervisor.[78] Catrin Hedström serves as an editor of the film, after working with DaCosta on Candyman,[79] alongside Evan Schiff.[15]