The Marvels Finally Sets Up A Long-Awaited MCU Avengers Team
Contains spoilers for "The Marvels."
After mixed-to-negative pre-release reviews, troubling box-office projections, and (apparently overstated) reported behind-the-scenes drama during post-production, it's fair to say that expectations for "The Marvels" were neither "higher" nor "further" than they were for previous Marvel Studios projects — and, factoring in multiple delays, there was certainly nothing "faster" about the sequel either. And yet, its landing has been a little more marvelous than many previously expected. Although the film is set to make MCU history in the worst way at the weekend box office, its Rotten Tomatoes score has already improved past its "rotten" opening — and, arguably way more importantly, "The Marvels" turned out to be more integral to the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large.
In addition to the relatively surprising fate of Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and the mid-credits reveal of Hank McCoy, aka Beast (Kelsey Grammer, from the original Fox "X-Men" timeline) and a variant of Maria Rambeau (still played Lashana Lynch, but now sporting the costume of the Marvel Comics hero Binary), "The Marvels" uses its last scene to finally confirm the coming arrival of the Young Avengers. Inspired by her time working with Monica and Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) travels to New York City to recruit Kate Bishop (a welcome cameo from "Hawkeye" star Hailee Steinfeld) for a team of young heroes. This moment has been a very long time coming for MCU fans well-versed in Marvel Comics lore.
Kevin Feige has teased a Young Avengers team-up, but has yet to confirm a film or series
Ever since at least the introduction of Kate Bishop (one of the most beloved team members on the comic book iteration of the team) in the "Hawkeye" Disney+ series, fans have been wondering — and at times asking Marvel Studios directly — if we'll ever see a "Young Avengers" film or Disney+ series in the future. At a press conference for the aforementioned series, Steinfeld and Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige were grilled about the possibility, leading to a viral non-verbal exchange that silently screamed, "Please don't pull a Tom Holland."
After the Young Avengers were noticeably left off the near-complete Multiverse Saga slate when it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in the summer of 2022, Feige was once again questioned (this time by Josh Horowitz of MTV News) about the potential team-up. He was characteristically coy and seemed to still be ironing out how exactly the various heroes introduced in Phase Four would form their respective groups, the Young Avengers being one of them.
Now, it appears they have found their path toward success in the form of Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan, a superhero super-fan who will use her unrivaled charisma and fangirl know-how to bring together a team of young(ish) heroes. Cassie Lang (played by Kathryn Newton in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania") was mentioned in "The Marvels" as a potential member, and she could conceivably be joined by Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) and older versions of Billy and Tommy Maximoff. A "Young Avengers" project is likely still a ways off, but "The Marvels" has taken things a massive step in the right direction in this regard.