Ms. Marvel is almost here! Now that the trailer has dropped, we’ve gotten our first tantalizing glimpse of Marvel’s latest Disney Plus limited series, but it’s led to so many questions: What are Kamala’s new powers? Are those bracelet things the Nega-Bands? Will Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) be dropping in for a cameo? How big of a part does Red Dagger play? Of course, even aside from those questions, there’s some practical information. For instance, how many episodes will Ms. Marvel have, and when will each one be released?
First off, here’s what we know. Ms. Marvel will focus on Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old gamer and fan fiction writer in Jersey City, who loves the Avengers. Kamala gets made fun of for fangirling over Captain Marvel and other female superheroes, but her dreams of becoming a superhero herself, come true when she gains the power to harness cosmic energy. Aided by her Scooby gang of high school friends, Kamala will navigate the superhero life—along with her Muslim Pakistani heritage—as she learns what being a hero is all about.
Ms. Marvel is based on the comics of the same name, which also tell the story of Kamala’s exploits as a teenage superhero. The show is making some significant changes, though, setting Kamala’s story after the Blip caused by Thanos, and switching her classic stretchy embiggening powers to the more cosmic look we saw in the trailer. It looks like the show will remain true to the spirit of Ms. Marvel, though, with Kamala being her lovable, geeky self.
Got all that? Good! So, here’s what we know about the episodes, or at least what we can deduce using our powers of logic.
How MCU Series Usually Work
With the exceptions of WandaVision and What If…?, which had shorter run times than other Marvel shows, most MCU series consist of six episodes. Marvel does this so that each series functions more like an expanded movie than an episodic TV show. This way, each show can work as both a self-contained story and a setup for whatever interconnected Marvel projects are coming next. Loki, for example, contained a very tight arc that began with Loki escaping the Avengers and ended with Kang freeing the multiverse, thus paving the way for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ant-Man: Quantumania, and possibly more. Similarly, Ms. Marvel will set up The Marvels, Kamala’s team-up with Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau coming this fall.
Some Likely Dates
True to Marvel’s pattern, Ms. Marvel will have six episodes. Marvel series are generally released on Wednesdays, so the first episode will be released on the morning of June 8th. If Marvel only releases that first episode on June 8, then here are the dates we can expect to see each subsequent episode:
Episode 2: June 15
Episode 3: June 22
Episode 4: June 29
Episode 5: July 6
Episode 6: July 13
But again, that’s IF Marvel releases each episode one at a time. When Hawkeye came out, the first two episodes were released on the same day, which meant that even though the show was six episodes long, it only ran for five weeks. If Ms. Marvel follows the same pattern, then the final episode would stream on July 6.
Interestingly, that would mean that Ms. Marvel would end just two days before the premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder. If Marvel wanted to segue from one project to another, then that would be a pretty good way to do it. That’s what they seem to be doing with Moon Knight, which will end shortly before Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness comes out.
But let me stress that this is just a wild theory. After all, there’s no evidence that Ms. Marvel will tie directly into Thor 4 in any way, so it wouldn’t be crucial to wrap up Kamala’s story before Thor premiered. Unless it is. So … hard to say. Also, Hawkeye’s run overlapped with the theatrical release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, so it’s clear that Marvel is okay with having multiple projects showing at the same time.
What are you most excited to see in Ms. Marvel? Kamala’s signature wit? Her snazzy new powers? You won’t have to wait long! June is right around the corner. Plus, Moon Knight is releasing on March 30th, so you can follow the adventures of Steven and Marc while you wait.
(image: Marvel)
