Love or hate The Marvels, it's clear that an awful lot of the movie was left on the cutting room floor. We're not entirely sure why that happened, but Ms. Marvel actress Iman Vellani has now revealed the Captain Marvel sequel once featured a vastly different ending.
Talking to Yahoo Entertainment, the actress confirmed that Kamala Khan and Carol Danvers once helped Monica Rambeau close the tear leading to a parallel universe. And, right before Monica got trapped in another reality, the plan was for her to officially be named "Photon."
"It was a cool moment, but I think they took it out for a good reason," Vellani tells the site. "It wouldn't make sense tonally if Monica is about to sacrifice herself and we're like, 'But your code name!'"
"You don't even need the words - she was Photon in that moment," she adds. "And I don't think Captain Marvel was even called Captain Marvel in her own movie!"
It's a fair point, and Marvel Studios has frequently decided against blatantly using a character's superhero code name in its movies and TV shows. Still, Vellani's comments may speak to bigger issues with the movie's pacing and tone, perhaps explaining why so much was ultimately cut.
In the same interview, she was asked about Stephen King recently defending the movie from fans taking great delight in The Marvels' box office failings. "Having Stephen King in anyone's corner is pretty awesome," she said before diplomatically tackling what many have singled out as a toxic sect of the fandom responsible for delcaring the sequel too "woke" to succeed.
"I had a lot of experience in high school alone when I would share my excitement with someone, and then they'd immediately shut me down for being so excited," Vellani recalls. "I would hate to see that within the fan community as well, because it does feel awful. If people are excited about something, let them be excited about it. And if you have constructive criticism, voice it - but never be the wet blanket on someone else's excitement."
"I don't want to focus on something that's not even in my control, because what's the point?" she added when asked about the movie's disappointing opening weekend. "That's for Bob Iger. [The box office] has nothing to do with me."
"I'm happy with the finished product, and the people that I care about enjoyed the film. It's genuinely a good time watching this movie, and that's all we can ask for with these films. It has superheroes, it take place in space, it's not that deep and it's about teamwork and sisterhood. It's a fun movie, and I'm just so happy that I can share it with people."
It's always great to hear from the actress and, as Vellani is a fan herself, there are a lot of very compelling insights here. The way she handles questions which the interviewer must have known could see her receive backlash from some people online is also admirable, and this role is clearly one she cares deeply about.
The Marvels is now playing in theaters.