A recent interview with The Marvels director Nia DaCosta appears to set the record straight on what exactly happened at the end of Ms. Marvel: Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) switched places.

A feature published in Total Film Magazine reads as follows: "The Marvels promises top-grade MCU group larks. While Carol and Monica [Rambeau] play catch-up, Kamala will navigate a body-swap scenario with her idol." According to DaCosta herself, the Captain Marvel sequel delves deep into what exactly makes Carol, Kamala and Monica (Teyonah Parris) tick. "My biggest thing going into it was making sure I approached these characters as human beings and not necessarily as superheroes," she said.

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What Happened at the End of Ms. Marvel?

Marvel Studios' Disney+ original series Ms. Marvel -- which aired its six episodes earlier this year as part of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- tells the origin story of Kamala Khan, a teenager and Captain Marvel superfan who becomes a superhero in her own right. The finale's mid-credit scene finds Kamala in her bedroom, only to be whisked away by some unknown force, with a confused-looking Carol Danvers emerging in her place.

At first, Marvel fans couldn't seem to agree on what exactly this scene was implying. The most prominent and likely theory was that Kamala and Carol had switched places, with Carol ending up in Kamala's room and Kamala ending up wherever Carol had just been. However, some also theorized that the two heroes had actually switched bodies in a Freaky Friday-esque scenario. Others seemed convinced that Kamala had somehow morphed into Carol.

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All that being said, Total Film's article appears to confirm once and for all that what Kamala and Carol underwent was indeed a "body swap" -- but, crucially, not the Freaky Friday kind. Rather, Kamala and Carol's story appears to be hearkening back to the dynamic shared by Rick Jones and the original Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell, in the comics. For the uninitiated, Rick was linked to Mar-Vell through the Nega-Bands. At any given time, one of the two characters resided in the Negative Zone. When the person not in the Negative Zone would strike the Nega-Bands together -- or after a certain amount of time passed -- the two would swap places.

In this case, it seems as though the simplest answer was the correct one after all, which isn't exactly surprising. Despite some of the counter-theories, there was really nothing in Ms. Marvel's mid-credit scene to suggest that Kamala's consciousness had somehow entered Carol's body. If anything, Carol just seemed confused and concerned as to why she was suddenly in a random person's bedroom with posters of herself all over the walls. Furthermore, Carol being back on Earth thanks to switching places with Kamala could very well be the catalyst for the reunion with Monica that Total Film mentions in its synopsis.

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Interestingly, Ms. Marvel showrunner Bisha K. Ali seemed to but the kibosh on any Freaky Friday business being afoot back when the finale initially debuted in July. "That is Carol Danvers in Kamala's bedroom," Ali told Deadline. "What you're seeing is exactly what you think you're seeing. That's her, there’s no magic there. All I can say beyond that is to enjoy the movie [The Marvels] in one year's time."

The Marvels Flies Into Theaters in 2023

The Marvels is currently slated to hit theaters on July 28, 2023 as part of Phase Five of the MCU. In fact, it will be the third feature film released as part of Phase Five, following February's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and May's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The DaCosta-helmed superhero film acts as both a sequel to 2019's Captain Marvel and a follow-up to the aforementioned Ms. Marvel.

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Captain Marvel marked the MCU debut of Carol Danvers, Marvel Comics' current Captain Marvel and one-time Ms. Marvel, with Larson stepping into the role. She subsequently returned in Avengers: Endgame and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. 2019's Captain Marvel also marked the MCU debut of a young Monica Rambeau, who was also once Captain Marvel in the comics, with Parris taking over as a grown-up version of the character in the Disney+ series WandaVision. Vellani then led the charge as Kamala in Ms. Marvel, setting up her impending team-up with Carol and Monica.

Marvel Studios' The Marvels releases in theaters on July 28, 2023.

Source: Total Film