Total Film magazine shows exclusive look at The Marvels...without any of the stars

How do you do a cover story on a big movie when the stars and writers can't participate? Total Film is answering that question as their upcoming September issue offers an exclusive look at The Marvels that takes a different approach to reporting movies. 

Normally, The Marvels would be getting a big promotional push by now. The upcoming MCU film is not only a sequel to 2019's Captain Marvel but also the WandaVision and Ms. Marvel series. It teams up Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, Tyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, aka Photon, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, on a wild galactic adventure. 

However, Hollywood is currently in the midst of a public relations nightmare as the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild are both on strike. A condition of that is that writers and actors cannot promote any upcoming works, which is naturally a concern for studios. 

Larson, Parris, and Vellani had done a special three-way interview for Entertainment Weekly before the strike began. While interviews made before strike authorization can be used, fresher ones are banned. Which is a challenge for writers trying to do stories on these projects.

Thus, the new issue of Britain's long-running Total Film magazine is doing something different for their cover story on The Marvels. The first notable change is that rather than a photo of the cast, the cover instead uses an illustration of the stars (with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury). As usual, Total Film has a special cover for subscribers featuring the cat-like Flerken aliens, led by Carol's pet Goose. 

Thankfully, directors aren't on strike, and thus, Total Film is able to talk to the movie's director, Nia DaCosta, alongside composer Laura Karpman, executive producer Mary Livanos, and cat wrangler Jo Vaughan.

Total Film's description of the issue reads that "Livanos goes into more detail about the role each hero plays: she calls Carol the brawler, Monica the brains, and Kamala the wide-eyed ingénue "caught up in Captain Marvel-sized epic adventures, the likes of which she has never seen before."

The film is still set to premiere in theaters on November 10 despite worries that, should the strike continue into September, several high-profile films, such as The Marvels, could be delayed. As it stands, fans can check out this unique look at the new MCU entry when the issue goes on sale in stores and online on August 17. 

If nothing else, it's an intriguing look at how a movie magazine handles Hollywood at a standstill with hopes the next issue can get back to business as usual. 

The Marvels releases in theaters on November 10.