Ms. Marvel arrives on June 8! The six-episode Disney Plus series will focus on Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), a sixteen-year-old Captain Marvel fangirl who fantasizes about being a superhero in her own right. Kamala gets her wish when she finds a relic that grants her the power to manipulate cosmic energy, but soon finds out that superhero life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Ms. Marvel also serves as a prequel to The Marvels, the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel starring Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, Tayonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and Vellani as Kamala. Since Ms. Marvel will set up Kamala’s upcoming team-up with Carol and Monica, fans are wondering if Brie Larson will be making an appearance in Ms. Marvel to bridge the gap between the series and the movie. Could it happen? Here are all the clues we’ve found!
Multiple signs point to a cameo
First off, there’s the question of Kamala’s Nega-Bands, the bracelet-type things she puts on in the trailer. When she puts them on, her eyes glow in that signature “something cosmically magical is happening to me” Marvel sort of way, and then her powers manifest. The consensus online is that these wrist bands are very likely the same ones that Captain Marvel uses in the comics, or their Marvel Cinematic Universe equivalent. If that’s true, that means they probably come from space, since in the comics, they’re a Kree invention. And guess who likes to hang out in space and has a strong connection to the Kree? Carol Danvers!
Seriously, Marvel is going to need to give viewers a good explanation for how a sixteen-year-old in Jersey City gets her hands on such a powerful interstellar relic, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Carol is involved somehow, either by bringing the Nega-Bands to Earth in the first place, or coming to find them once they’re activated.
The second clue that Carol might show up in Ms. Marvel is the fact that the show is serving as a way to set up Kamala’s involvement in The Marvels. It would feel odd and forced if Ms. Marvel ended its own story arc, and then Kamala suddenly showed up in the Captain Marvel sequel with a quick and contrived explanation. Marvel generally likes to tease its interconnected stories earlier and more gradually, especially through mid- and post-credits scenes.
One example of this kind of scene is Monica Rambeau’s post-credits scene in WandaVision. At the end of the final episode, after Westview is freed and Wanda goes off to learn about the Darkhold, Monica is wrapping up the last of the loose ends when an FBI agent asks to speak to her privately. Once they’re alone, the agent reveals herself to be a Skrull, sent by Carol Danvers to invite Monica to go to space to help with some mysterious problem.
Of course, Carol doesn’t actually appear in the flesh in WandaVision‘s stinger. She’s just mentioned as an old friend of Monica’s mother. It’s possible that Ms. Marvel will do something similar, setting up Kamala’s trip to space without actually having Carol show up, but that would just feel repetitive, basically giving us a copy of the WandaVision scene; it would also fall flat after hyping up Kamala’s love for Captain Marvel so much.
Carol Danvers is kind of Chekov’s Gun
You know that Anton Chekov quote about the gun? How if the audience sees it in the first act, it has to go off in the third? It means that if you call the audience’s attention to something that seems super significant and important, you can’t just have it sit there for no reason. Ms. Marvel seems to be setting Carol up to be the metaphorical gun in Ms. Marvel. Kamala loves Carol. She owns Carol merch and seems to attend a Carol-themed party. She’s a super Carol Danvers fan girl! Then she gets powers that are similar to Carol’s and becomes a superhero in her own right. That means they have to meet in Kamala’s story arc! It’s just good writing! Right?
Okay, truthfully, we have no idea if Carol will show up in Ms. Marvel. But it would make narrative sense for all the reasons described above. Even if we don’t know for sure what will happen, we have good reason to be hopeful.
In any case, Ms. Marvel premieres on June 8!
(featured image: Marvel Entertainment)
