User:Trailblazer101/sandbox/2

MPower is an American television docuseries created for the streaming service Disney+. Produced by Herzog & Co., Cinestar Pictures, Just Entertainment, and Marvel Studios, each episode showcases the female creatives and fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The series was first announced in June 2021 when Marvel Studios began the casting process, and the title was announced in February 2023. MPower premiered in its entirety on Disney+ on March 8, 2023.

Premise
The series showcases "Marvel's strong women" who create the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in front of and behind the camera and female fans of them.

Background
In June 2021, Marvel Studios released a casting call for fans of "Marvel's strong women" to be a part of an upcoming unscripted Disney+ documentary series referred to as Super Women of the MCU showcasing the women who create the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in front of and behind the camera, including actors and creatives, and the fans who applied to participate in the series. The series was titled MPower by February 2023 and was announced to premiere in its entirety on March 8, 2023, to coincide with International Women's Day.

Executive producer Justin W. Hochberg conceived MPower out of his love for his teenage daughter to provide role models and icons for her to look up to and learn from. The series, which uses archival footage and animation, consists of four episodes directed by Quinn Wilson, that are respectively centered on the female characters including Okoye (played by Danai Gurira), Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), Ayo (Florence Kasumba), and Shuri (Letitia Wright) from the Black Panther films; Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris); Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings); and Gamora (Zoë Saldaña), with the actresses discussing their characters and what makes them compelling to audiences. Saldaña served as an executive producer through Cinestar Pictures with her sisters Mariel and Cisely Saldaña, alongside Marvel Studios' Victoria Alonso. Zoë Saldaña said the series was a tribute to the representation and empowerment of women with the intent it would "ignite meaningful conversations and drive real change towards a more equal and inclusive world." Other creatives who were interviewed for episodes include Marvel Studios executive Trinh Tran, Black Panther costume designer Ruth E. Carter, production designer Hannah Beachler, and editor Debbie Berman. Philip Watson at CGMagazine said that while the series seemed focused on "add[ing] depth" to the backstories of the females behind Marvel, a secondary focus was to honor the title and empower women, quoting Kasumba: "You could watch it and think 'people that look like me, we can be Super Heroes too.

Reception
Aaron Perine at ComicBook.com believed that the series would have "something for all fans to enjoy" with each character's entry because of fan appreciation, while BJ Conagelo of /Film stated it was "fantastic to see a thoughtful and in-depth spotlight" of the work by diverse groups of women in the MCU, and found it was "equally as impressive" how much the series analyzed their impact as a "sincere assessment" of the importance of the stories beyond gender representation. Kai Young of Screen Rant felt that the series' exclusion of an episode focused on Scarlett Johansson's MCU character Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow was another "insult against" the character as she was "pivotal to the MCU", and had wanted such an episode to focus on developing Romanoff as an individual beyond her relationships with male characters and alongside her family.

Release
MPower premiered on Disney+ on March 8, 2023. The documentary series was originally scheduled to be removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023, as part of Disney's efforts to reduce content costs, but ultimately was decided to remain on the service at that time.