According to Nick Fury star Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson won't be the MCU's one and only Captain Marvel.
Following his run on Secret Invasion on Disney+, Jackson's next Marvel role will come in The Marvels, the sequel to 2019's Captain Marvel, which features a female leading ensemble cast.
The Marvels trailer revealed the three superpowered leads' powersets are "entangled," but Jackson's latest comments suggest the film's title is more than just a name.
The Marvels Is Setting Up Three Captain Marvels
In talking to Sway's Universe, Samuel L. Jackson claimed that his next MCU project, The Marvels, features "three different people who are Captain Marvel."
“After 'Secret Invasion,' I’m moving on to 'The Marvels,' where you got like three different people who are Captain Marvel. You got Brie [Larson], you got a black Captain Marvel, and you got a Muslim Captain Marvel. So, they’re working on the universe in a way that’s inclusive. Even like Shang Chi and all those things that happen there. And… who the hell is Bad Bunny gonna be? Like, Bad Bunny’s in the Marvel universe. Who that? What he gonna be?”
In addition to Brie Larson, the other Captain Marvels Jackson referred to are WandaVision's Monica Rambeau played by Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan from Ms. Marvel on Disney+.
Their power entanglement was first teased in Ms. Marvel's post-credits scene where Captain Marvel physically swapped locations with Kamala Khan.
The opening scene of The Marvels trailer shows a similar incident with astronaut Monica Rambeau when she reaches out to touch an energy field and is suddenly replaced by a panicked Kamala.
Of course, smack in the midst of the cosmic confusion is Jackson's Nick Fury, who has a history with both Captain Marvel and Monica.
In his interview, Jackson addressed the criticism superhero projects tend to receive, admitting that he's "one of them" who enjoys the genre and is "really proud that I've been part of it:"
“We hope so. And as we watch how all these things play out and what the world of superheroes is when people continue to say, ‘Well, we hate these superhero movies. I’m sick of this… Make some movies that make sense.’ Well, some people like superhero movies. A whole bunch of people, you know? I’m one of them. I’m really proud that I’ve been part of it."
From there, the Nick Fury star went on to explain why current blockbusters resonate with audiences.
According to him, and much in the way The Marvels is expected to do, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Little Mermaid feature diverse characters, and "fantasy" movies transport audiences "away from the reality of the crap that we have to deal with:"
"And I think the significance of characters that have been in those things that people care about in a specific kind of way speaks to why the 'Spider-Man: [Across the Spider-Verse]' movie is making so much money right now. Why not, you know? It should. And Miles Morales is somebody that’s different from Peter Parker, because it can be and it should be. You hear people fussing about, ‘Oh, Black [Little] Mermaid.’ Mermaids aren’t real. They can be black, they can be green, they can get orange. They’re not real things. But representing it and giving people a fantasy life or something that takes them away from the reality of the crap that we have to deal with day in, day out of, you know, mass shootings, robberies, homelessness, all these other things, we still need an outlet."
In the end, Jackson's point is popular movies are "A place to go to take us out of it, even if it’s for two hours, or an hour and a half, or whatever.”
How Will Three Captain Marvels Work?
Until now, The Marvels title hasn't entirely made sense.
Brie Larson's Carol Danvers is Captain Marvel and Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan is Ms. Marvel, but Teyonah Parris' Monica is, reportedly, called Photon.
However, if the MCU intends to elevate Monica and Kamala to the status of Captain Marvels - and possibly even change their names - The Marvels title would make a lot more sense.
Another possibility is that Captain Marvel's powers may need Kamala and Monica, elevating the two to help fill her former role.
There has been speculation that Carol Danvers may lose her powers in The Marvels, and the heroine has made it known in times past that she's stretched thin across the universe.
Maybe a "team" of Captain Marvels is exactly what Carol - and an Avengers-less universe - truly needs?
It will be interesting to see if any of The Marvels' upcoming marketing sheds new light on Samuel L. Jackson's comments, and if his Secret Invasion lays any groundwork for the future film.
The Marvels arrives in theaters on Friday, November 10.
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