The Marvels' director Nia DaCosta has teased the upcoming sequel as silly in a recent interview.
Captain Marvel 2 is set as the best big-screen adventure in the MCU, bringing with it two major Marvel players in their theatrical debut after making waves on Disney+.
Iman Vellani's Ms. Marvel and Teyonah Parris's Monica Rambeau (who both played big parts in two streaming series over the past couple of years), will join in on the intergalactic fun alongside Brie Larson's Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel).
Fans have gotten a glimpse at the space-faring epic so far, showing off plenty of action, as well as some goofy fun thanks to the Freaky Friday-esque body-switching at the heart of The Marvels' story.
Getting 'Silly' With The Marvels
Speaking in a conversation with Total Film Magazine, The Marvels director Nia DaCosta promised a "silly" sequel is on the way in her Marvel Studios directorial debut.
DaCosta, while describing superhero fatigue plaguing the industry, remarked, "The biggest difference from the other MCU movies" and her Marvel film is that The Marvels is "really wacky, and silly:"
“I think superhero fatigue absolutely exists. The biggest difference from the other MCU movies to date is that it’s really wacky, and silly. The worlds we go to in this movie are worlds unlike others you’ve seen in the MCU. Bright worlds that you haven’t seen before.”
This is in line with DaCosta's previous comments, teasing "full comic book madness." She added that working on The Marvels was "a lot less traumatizing to work on" than some of her past work - a potential allusion to her work on the horror movie Candyman:
“It’s a lot less traumatizing to work on for sure...[laughs]... But this movie also deals with specific, personal, sometimes sad things. But no, it’s been nice to work in a different world for sure.”
Just How Wacky Will The Marvels Get?
Some may see words like "silly" and "wacky" getting thrown around in relation to a Marvel Studios project and scoff, but a goofier tone may be the perfect fit for Captain Marvel 2.
While most MCU titles incorporate elements of comedy and silliness, few are straight comedies.
The Marvels still has been given Marvel Studios' all-too-common "action adventure" branding, but as Nia DaCosta described, things will be a little more zany than they have in the franchise before.
Captain Marvel was one of the more earnest Marvel Studios movies when it was released in 2019, with some lamenting the film lacked identity because of this. However, incorporating that comic book wackiness could give the movie a unique, identifiable feel that makes it stand out amongst other comic book movie fare.
And "silly" is okay! For a plot that features "powers become[ing] entangled," body-swapping, and this particular cast of characters, silly makes sense.
One of the more successful MCU projects of Marvel's Phase 4 was Ms. Marvel, and that was a series that wore its comic book zaniness on its sleeve.
Given that Ms. Marvel herself, Kamala Khan (played by Iman Vallani), is starring in the Captain Marvel sequel, surely, she will be the queen of NaCosta's "wacky" branding, bringing kooky comedy to this usually pretty serious trio of lead characters.
The Marvels is currently set to hit theaters on November 10.
