“The Marvels” may have been Marvel Studios biggest flop—grossing only $207 million worldwide, the lowest of any Marvel film ever— but now that it’s available on Disney+ and DVD, its co-star Teyonah Parris is urging fans who never saw it in theaters to give it a chance and make up their own minds.
Released during the actor’s strike on November 10, which only ended just as the film was opening up, Parris, who plays Captain Monica Rambeau and the rest of the cast— Brie Larson as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury—weren’t able to promote the film outside of very last minute appearances; something Parris says she laments.
“I haven’t actually done a full press run where I get to engage one-on-one, in person, face-to-face with fans,” the actress told People magazine this week. “I wanted to be a part of that and feel that.”
Asked why the film fizzled at the box office, Parris seemingly alluded to many of the anti-woke bad actors on social media and YouTube who were badmouthing the film for months before it was even released, leaving a bad narrative in the air for those that might have been interested in it.
“I think there was a lot of talk, and people hadn’t seen it. So that’s frustrating when people comment on things they haven’t actually experienced,” Parris remarked, adding that “there’s a lot of people who put a lot of their time, spirit and talent into bringing this forward.”
The actress asked that audiences “show grace” when weighing in on the movie. “I would hope that people would give it a fair shot by just seeing it or trying it,” Parris explained. “If you don’t like the first 10, 15 minutes, fair enough. Your time is precious. But we make these films so that it can be an escape from your real world in a moment for levity and joy and fantasticalness.”
“You do not have to like something, but give it a chance by actually seeing it and forming your own opinion,” she continued. “And if you did, then that’s fair. That’s how you feel, and I cannot take that from you.”
When asked about the dreaded super-hero fatigue catch-all, which is often employed anytime a superhero movie doesn’t perform to expectations, regardless of the quality of the film, Parris suggested the term was too simplistic.
“I think people want good movies,” she said. “And if there’s superheroes and there’s passion and there’s storytelling, and you’re not giving it to me by numbers, I think people are here for it.” “So I don’t know,” she continued. “I think we say that because it’s easy to just say, ‘Oh, superhero fatigue,’ but I think we want — because I watch them as well — I want good stories with great characters, and that mean something and have something to say.”
By nearly every measure, “The Marvels” was the studio’s biggest turkey underperforming, domestically and internationally. Rotten Tomatoes wasn’t ultimately too unkind to the film; it eventually landed on a 62% Fresh score higher than “The Eternals” and “Secret Invasion,” two other recently critically maligned Marvel offerings.
And if you believe the most recent rumors that literally came out today, Marvel is veering away from sequels that Disney’s Bob Iger doesn’t think we’ll perform. If the gossip is to be believed, Iger reportedly canned Kevin Feige’s plans for an “Eternals 2,” an “Ant-Man 4,” and “The Marvels 2.” To be fair, Iger himself has already said much of the same, stating that Disney had quietly killed a few films—these could be among them—and suggesting the studio would lean into franchises that are working and steer away from ones that are flailing.
