After a lengthy search, Marvel has finally cast one of its most-anticipated upcoming roles: Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel. Deadline broke the news that the studio has chosen newcomer Iman Vellani to star in its Ms. Marvel series, with the character already confirmed to be crossing over into the movies at some point.
Marvel recently confirmed Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Meera Menon as directors for the series. Bisha K. Ali is the head writer on the project.
According to reports, the search for the right actress for the role was because Marvel was adamant about finding someone who would remain true to the character and embody the spirit of Kamala, even if it meant casting an unknown. We can guess that means a wider net was cast, necessitating more time to meet with and audition actors. If Vellani is Marvel’s choice, it’s clearly for a reason and the studio saw something in her that no one else had.
Created by editors Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker, writer G. Willow Wilson, and artists Adrian Alphona and Jamie McKelvie, Kamala Khan was Marvel’s first Pakistani-American superhero and first Muslim character to headline her own series. She’s also quite new as a character, debuting in Captain Marvel #14 in 2013 before getting her own series in 2014. Thanks to her relatable nature, like being a giant comic book nerd, Kamala quickly became one of the comic book publisher’s fan favorites.
Growing up as a teenager in Jersey City, Kamala gained her powers during the “Inhumanity” storyline when Terrigen Mists were unleashed across the world and they unlocked Kamala’s dormant Inhuman DNA. She then took the codename of “Ms. Marvel” after her idol, Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel and the first superhero to go by the Ms. Marvel moniker. Kamala’s powers are that of a polymorph, able to stretch and expand or compress her body to multiple sizes and shapes as well as change her appearance to mimic others. Thanks to her Inhuman coding, she also has superhumanly fast healing.
Kamala Khan is an interesting character, particularly when you compare her to the rest of the MCU characters; the closest in age and disposition would be the plucky, earnest Peter Parker. It’s a welcome youth injection into the older and more cynical Avengers dynamic, most of whom have grown understandably increasingly jaded over the years. As with Spider-Man, her energy will play well against the older superheroes’ cynicism. She’s exuberant and enthusiastic, a fangirl who writes slashfic and is a huge gamer, but also struggles with being a Muslim girl in America and all it entails. It will be fascinating to see how she fits in with the rest of the Avengers once she makes the transition to the movies, and if we can expect to see other already-established Marvel characters appear in her Disney+ series.
Ms. Marvel is expected to debut sometime in 2021 on Disney+.
