The Marvels may have a low Rotten Tomatoes score, but it’s still filled with plenty of good fun. Plus, it turns out that one of the movie’s most memorable scenes—and one of Carol Danvers’ (Brie Larson) best outfits—was foreshadowed over a year ago.
The Marvels is the sequel to 2018’s Captain Marvel. In The Marvels, Carol teams up with Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) to fight the Kree revolutionary Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton). As they chase Dar-Benn across the galaxy, the Marvels visit the planet Aladna, which is ruled by the handsome Prince Yan (Park Seo-joon). Once they get there, though, Carol drops twin bombshells on her teammates: On Aladna, everyone communicates through song and dance, and Carol just so happens to be Prince Yan’s wife.
What follows is arguably one of the funniest sequences in any Marvel movie, ever. As the Aladnans celebrate the return of their princess, Carol’s outfit transforms into a gauzy ball gown with her starburst logo at the neckline. She then dances a duet with Prince Yan as Monica and Kamala look on, bewildered.
Believe it or not, the Aladna scene isn’t the first time we’ve seen Carol wearing a gown befitting a princess.
Ms. Marvel mentioned “Princess Captain Marvel” over a year ago
Ms. Marvel, which debuted on Disney+ in summer 2022, introduces Kamala, who starts off as a Captain Marvel fangirl and gains superpowers when she dons her grandmother’s bangle (revealed in The Marvels to be a Kree artifact called a quantum band).
In episode 1 of Ms. Marvel, “Generation Why,” Kamala and her best friend Bruno want to attend AvengerCon. After working on Kamala’s Captain Marvel cosplay outfit, the two of them ride to school, throwing around cosplay ideas like an Asgardian Captain Marvel, or a mashup with Doctor Strange. Bruno suggests Princess Captain Marvel, and Kamala quickly rejects the idea.
As they talk, their ideas appear on the buildings behind them in Ms. Marvel‘s signature animation. Sure enough, you can see Carol in her ball gown appear briefly, before Kamala suggests Zombie Captain Marvel instead.
Whether the reference to Princess Captain Marvel a deliberate Easter egg or just a coincidence, it’s a cool little treat! It’s also a great reason to dive into a Ms. Marvel rewatch … as if anyone needs an excuse.
(featured image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
