Anticipation is hotting up for the release of The Marvels on November 10, and some new promotion seems to hint at the return of the biggest and baddest MCU villain yet – Thanos.
There has been speculation for some time that Zawe Ashton’s new Marvel villain Dar-Benn could be a disciple of Thanos, who is looking to commit mass genocide on planets linked to Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers. When a new TV spot promoting The Marvels featured Thanos, MCU fans initially assumed that it was just a reminder of Captain Marvel’s pivotal role in defeating the Mad Titan.
However, the line of dialogue that Thanos says in the spot; “There will always be more to finish my work,” is new, and one that we haven’t heard the major Marvel villain say in any of the Marvel movies in order. The line certainly seems to hint that a new character is inheriting the Thanos mantle in some way. If Dar-Benn is in fact a follower of Thanos, we may get a flashback to him training her.
According to ComicBookMovie, it was recently reported that Marvel has added a “game-changing” cameo to The Marvels (presumably in a mid or post-credits scene) that could have ramifications on the upcoming Marvel movies such as Deadpool 3 and the two Avengers movies coming up in Marvel Phase 6.
The TV spot also reveals that Dar-Benn has a bangle which allows her to absorb the powers of Captain Marvel, Photon and Kamala Khan. If Dar-Benn gets her hands on the second bangle (which Kamala has), her powers could increase even more. The bangle can form a hole in space and time.
Producer Mary Livanos recently told Total Film; “With the power of both bangles, more is definitely possible. And we see the culmination of that over the course of this movie. It definitely leads to plentiful opportunities for the future of the MCU, whatever the Avengers and Secret Wars teams may want to do with them.”
In the midst of some MCU fatigue, with excitement for each new movie not quite what it used to be, pre-Endgame, the producers are clearly keen to get across that The Marvels will be important for the rest of Marvel Phase 5 and for Phase 6. A Thanos cameo would certainly be something to get excited about.
Other rumored cameos from returning MCU characters include Cobie Smulder’s Maria Hill (who we recently saw die in Secret Invasion) and an Asgardian “friend” being called via the Bifrost – we’re guessing this will be Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie – but we’ll have to wait and see.
Due to the 2023 strike action, it is looking more likely that Captain America 4 (which has finished filming) might move before Deadpool 3 on the Disney release slate. This will have big consequences, due to the MCU’s tendency to tee up whatever the next movie is (usually in mid and post-credit scenes). How much Deadpool 3 will be integrated into the MCU remains to be seen, but anticipation for that movie is going to be huge.
Check out our guide to Spider-Man 4 and make sure to keep up-to-date with all of our Loki season 2 content, including how the Marvel series has just killed off a villain more deadly than Thanos.