The MCU’s upcoming 33rd feature film, The Marvels, breaks a long-held MCU sequel tradition, and now we know why. Over four years after the release of Captain Marvel, its highly anticipated sequel will soon hit theaters and follow Captain Marvel as she suddenly finds herself transported to Earth. However, far from another solo movie, The Marvels features two other light-powered heroes: Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan. While this is a sequel to Captain Marvel, her name is not included in the title, which is standard practice for MCU sequels.

In an interview with Yahoo, The Marvels director Nia DaCosta reveals that she pushed for the movie to be named “The Marvels.” This is a significant departure for the MCU, as, ever since it released Iron Man 2 in 2010, its sequels’ titles have always included the full superhero names of its leads. DaCosta says she “pretty much badgered” Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige to let her keep the title because she wanted to stress that all three of The Marvels‘ heroines are equally important to its story and carry equal weight. Read DaCosta’s full comment below:

“I really pushed for it to be called The Marvels because I really wanted them to be on equal footing. I think it was important for all of us that it felt like they were really sharing center stage. So The Marvels for me was a really important title for them and it’s a team, so it was nice to be able to name a team and create this new dynamic in the MCU.”

Why The MCU Made The Best Choice With The Marvels’ Title

The MCU ultimately made the right choice by allowing DaCosta to name her movie The Marvels, as it more accurately reflects the purpose of the movie. Though previous movies in the Multiverse Saga have had crossover elements, namely Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, they were still ultimately focused on the main heroes of their stories. This meant that a disproportionate amount of time was spent on their character arcs. The Marvels will be the Multiverse Saga’s first true crossover movie, featuring the kind of hero team-up that the MCU hasn’t done since its last Avengers project.

The Marvels feels like a spiritual successor to the original Avengers movies as it features heroes initially resistant to teaming up and coming together with the help of Nick Fury. Considering neither Phase 4 nor Phase 5 have included Avengers movies in their lineups, giving The Marvels its reminiscent title categorizes it as another major crossover. It further feels Avengers-like in the sense that The Marvels acts as a follow-up to several other projects: Captain Marvel, WandaVision, Ms. Marvel, and Secret Invasion.

The title also reminds audiences that the movie will focus just as much on Kamala and Monica’s characters as it will on Captain Marvel, which is important since The Marvels marks their first major roles in an MCU movie. Because Captain Marvel is not only an Avenger but one of the most powerful heroes in the MCU, it would be easy for her to overshadow her partners. The Marvels‘ emphasizes this and sets the tone for the rest of the movie.