How Long Is The Marvels & Why Is The Runtime So Surprising?

Superhero movies have become a dominant form of entertainment over the last decade. As such, any time a new one comes out, it's always a big event that's typically associated with a lengthy runtime, with projects like "Avengers: Endgame" and "The Batman" clocking in at around three hours. That makes the runtime for the upcoming "The Marvels" pretty strange.

AMC Theatres lists the length of the movie as 1 hour and 45 minutes, which, if accurate, would make it the shortest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. Before "The Marvels," that distinction was held by "The Incredible Hulk" and "Thor: The Dark World," which are both 1 hour and 52 minutes. Those two also came out a decade or more ago when the franchise was still finding its footing. However, it's not just older entries that come in at under two hours – "Ant-Man," "Doctor Strange," "Ant-Man and the Wasp," and "Thor: Love and Thunder" all fit the bill as well.

Ultimately, the runtime doesn't matter a great deal as long as it tells a great story — based on its first trailer, "The Marvels" is a fun-filled adventure where Carol (Brie Larson), Kamala (Iman Vellani), and Monica (Teyonah Parris) have to team up to save the day. It's just surprising since many superhero films try to be epic in scale with long runtimes. Still, if "The Marvels" is well-received, maybe it'll show there's an appetite for ones that are fun and won't destroy your bladder trying to hold it in for three hours.

Plenty of Marvel movies lately have really pushed the envelope when it comes to runtime. "Spider-Man: No Way Home," with its Multiverse-sprawling story, clocks in at 2 hours and 28 minutes, while "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" wraps up its trilogy at 2 hours and 29 minutes. "The Marvels" has also had a lot leading up to it. In addition to being a sequel to 2019's "Captain Marvel," the film has also been set up by "WandaVision," "Ms. Marvel," and "Secret Invasion." Perhaps with all of those shows having established important plot points, "The Marvels" can get right into the action without wasting time.

Rumors of the short runtime of "The Marvels" have been circulating for a few months now. In August, Cryptic HD QUALITY, an account that scrupulously follows and tracks movie runtimes, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the film would run for 1 hour and 38 minutes, with the credits beginning at 1 hour and 33 minutes. The finished product is a bit longer than that, but the sentiment remains the same: "The Marvels" will likely be a fun, action-packed adventure with plenty of jokes to keep people entertained, and then they can go about their days with plenty of time to spare.

One hundred five minutes isn't a ton of time to tell a compelling story, set up future projects, and insert plenty of Marvel Easter eggs, including a potential major "Avengers" cameo from Thor and Valkyrie, but if anyone's up for the challenge, it's director Nia DaCosta. Fans can come along for the ride when "The Marvels" drops in theaters on November 10.