Ms. Marvel
seems to be one of few Disney+ series’ that Marvel Studios is placing priority on, with new details about the series continuing to come out.
Several directors have been announced
to join the series,
including
Bad Boys for Life
directors
Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ms. Marvel
has also received
a few casting rumors as of late, such as Jasjit Williams and Saagar Shaikh joining in supporting roles. Other supporting roles are
being looked for through casting calls
from Marvel Studios, such as comic book characters Zoe Zimmer and Tyesha Hillman.
Ms. Marvel
seems to feature a major focus on family and Kamala Khan’s local community,
judging from a casting call
looking for four new characters for the series.
This culminated in the news that
Iman Vellani has been cast
as the MCU’s Ms. Marvel
,
joining the Disney+ series in the lead role.
Iman Vellani is a relatively unknown actress, with
Ms. Marvel
being her first mainstream blockbuster production that she will be a part of. There is some information on Vellani though that provides a bit of insight into what fans can expect from the MCU newcomer…
ADVERTISEMENT
UP-AND-COMER
Marvel
The MCU’s
Ms. Marvel
Iman Vellani is Canadian and between 18-19 years old.
According to
The Hollywood Reporter
writer Borys Kit, Marvel Studios has been testing actresses this summer and came to the decision of going with Vellani between late August and early September.
Last year, Iman Vellani was announced to be one of twelve members on the Next Wave Committee for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The Next Wave Committee is a group of students comprised of young film enthusiasts who go on to make selections for films that are a part of the festival.
As part of this,
Vellani spoke with CBC
about her pick for best film at TIFF, choosing the film
Hala
. The film follows Muslim teenager Hala as she straddles between two cultures. Hala has to walk the line between her Muslim faith and Western values that live outside of this culture, which sounds eerily similar to themes tackled in the
Ms. Marvel
comics. On
Hala
, Vellani mentioned that she
“was really able to relate”
to the film:
ADVERTISEMENT
“I think the one that actually just spoke to me the most was this little film called
Hala
, and it was just beautiful the way that Minhal Baig, the director, projected her entire life story into this charming character of Hala who is this Pakistani-American-Muslim teenager with immigrant parents, actually just like myself, so I was really able to relate a lot to this film.”
Vellani summarized some of the struggles that Hala undergoes in the film, which could influence how the actress will portray Kamala:
“It basically just follows Hala just trying to live her life separate from her school life and her home life because they’re so different with her parents just enforcing rules on her and trying to make her live life with their values and their beliefs that were mainly just present from their country, and now that she’s in this Westernized society it’s so hard for her to try to obey her parents while also keeping friendships and relationships.”
Iman Vellani has a clear love for film, particularly toward those that are pertinent to social issues that affect audiences today:
“I think [it]’s a really important film to see when you want to take a good look at a young member of society who’s just trying to fit in to the best of both worlds.”
Vellani spoke to TIFF
themselves as a part of her profile for the Next Wave Committee and provided some interesting answers. Vellani described herself in three words as
“curious, adventurous, meticulous,”
all being adjectives befitting of Kamala Khan. In response to being asked who Vellani would want to play her in a movie, she responded by saying
"
Iron Man… duh."
ADVERTISEMENT
Vellani clearly has a lot of love for the MCU, even calling out Kevin Feige by name in
dedicating a stop-motion pandemic-inspired animation
to the Marvel producer. Could this short film, which was shared 6 months ago, have helped her secure the role of the MCU’s Ms. Marvel?
The footage was made well before her casting, and almost echoes a similar situation where Simu Liu seemingly
willed his Shang-Chi casting into existence
.
TIFF also took the time to congratulate to Vellani for landing the role:
ADVERTISEMENT
Introducing Ms. Marvel 💥
Sending ❤️ and congratulations to #TIFFNextWave alum Iman Vellani, who will star as Kamala Khan and the titular superhero. pic.twitter.com/zgOggnZGN2
BIG THINGS AHEAD
While it is difficult to say for certain, Iman Vellani’s appreciation for films like
Hala
that follow coming-of-age stories for minority groups could have some influence into her performance as Kamala Khan. The similarities between
Hala
and
Ms. Marvel
are staggering, so it will be interesting to see how far these connections go as more details about the series surface. Vellani considered stories of young people straddling different cultures as being important, and she will now be able to communicate this message by portraying these themes to a much larger, mainstream audience.
Marvel
Iman Vellani’s connection to the MCU is interesting given her newfound role as
Ms. Marvel
. Kamala Khan as a character is intended to be a massive fan of superheroes in-universe, so it is likely that Vellani will be able to use her own love of the characters in her performance. Given Vellani has some background knowledge of the MCU too, this will surely help her fit into the role nicely.
ADVERTISEMENT
While it has yet to be confirmed, it is likely that Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers will be featured in some capacity in the series due to her connection to Ms. Marvel. Vellani will likely get a kick out of being able to act opposite an MCU star that she has been fan of, should this happen in the series.
Fans will be able to see Iman Vellani in
Ms. Marvel
when the series premieres on Disney+ in 2022.
Ms. Marvel
seems to be one of few Disney+ series’ that Marvel Studios is placing priority on, with new details about the series continuing to come out.
Several directors have been announced
to join the series,
including
Bad Boys for Life
directors
Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ms. Marvel
has also received
a few casting rumors as of late, such as Jasjit Williams and Saagar Shaikh joining in supporting roles. Other supporting roles are
being looked for through casting calls
from Marvel Studios, such as comic book characters Zoe Zimmer and Tyesha Hillman.
Ms. Marvel
seems to feature a major focus on family and Kamala Khan’s local community,
judging from a casting call
looking for four new characters for the series.
This culminated in the news that
Iman Vellani has been cast
as the MCU’s Ms. Marvel
,
joining the Disney+ series in the lead role.
Iman Vellani is a relatively unknown actress, with
Ms. Marvel
being her first mainstream blockbuster production that she will be a part of. There is some information on Vellani though that provides a bit of insight into what fans can expect from the MCU newcomer…
UP-AND-COMER
The MCU’s
Ms. Marvel
Iman Vellani is Canadian and between 18-19 years old.
According to
The Hollywood Reporter
writer Borys Kit, Marvel Studios has been testing actresses this summer and came to the decision of going with Vellani between late August and early September.
Last year, Iman Vellani was announced to be one of twelve members on the Next Wave Committee for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The Next Wave Committee is a group of students comprised of young film enthusiasts who go on to make selections for films that are a part of the festival.
As part of this,
Vellani spoke with CBC
about her pick for best film at TIFF, choosing the film
Hala
. The film follows Muslim teenager Hala as she straddles between two cultures. Hala has to walk the line between her Muslim faith and Western values that live outside of this culture, which sounds eerily similar to themes tackled in the
Ms. Marvel
comics. On
Hala
, Vellani mentioned that she
“was really able to relate”
to the film:
Vellani summarized some of the struggles that Hala undergoes in the film, which could influence how the actress will portray Kamala:
“I think the one that actually just spoke to me the most was this little film called
Hala
, and it was just beautiful the way that Minhal Baig, the director, projected her entire life story into this charming character of Hala who is this Pakistani-American-Muslim teenager with immigrant parents, actually just like myself, so I was really able to relate a lot to this film.”
Iman Vellani has a clear love for film, particularly toward those that are pertinent to social issues that affect audiences today:
“It basically just follows Hala just trying to live her life separate from her school life and her home life because they’re so different with her parents just enforcing rules on her and trying to make her live life with their values and their beliefs that were mainly just present from their country, and now that she’s in this Westernized society it’s so hard for her to try to obey her parents while also keeping friendships and relationships.”
Vellani spoke to TIFF
themselves as a part of her profile for the Next Wave Committee and provided some interesting answers. Vellani described herself in three words as
“curious, adventurous, meticulous,”
all being adjectives befitting of Kamala Khan. In response to being asked who Vellani would want to play her in a movie, she responded by saying
"
Iron Man… duh."
“I think [it]’s a really important film to see when you want to take a good look at a young member of society who’s just trying to fit in to the best of both worlds.”
Vellani clearly has a lot of love for the MCU, even calling out Kevin Feige by name in
dedicating a stop-motion pandemic-inspired animation
to the Marvel producer. Could this short film, which was shared 6 months ago, have helped her secure the role of the MCU’s Ms. Marvel?
The footage was made well before her casting, and almost echoes a similar situation where Simu Liu seemingly
willed his Shang-Chi casting into existence
.
TIFF also took the time to congratulate to Vellani for landing the role:
Introducing Ms. Marvel 💥
Sending ❤️ and congratulations to #TIFFNextWave alum Iman Vellani, who will star as Kamala Khan and the titular superhero. pic.twitter.com/zgOggnZGN2
BIG THINGS AHEAD
While it is difficult to say for certain, Iman Vellani’s appreciation for films like
Hala
that follow coming-of-age stories for minority groups could have some influence into her performance as Kamala Khan. The similarities between
Hala
and
Ms. Marvel
are staggering, so it will be interesting to see how far these connections go as more details about the series surface. Vellani considered stories of young people straddling different cultures as being important, and she will now be able to communicate this message by portraying these themes to a much larger, mainstream audience.
Iman Vellani’s connection to the MCU is interesting given her newfound role as
Ms. Marvel
. Kamala Khan as a character is intended to be a massive fan of superheroes in-universe, so it is likely that Vellani will be able to use her own love of the characters in her performance. Given Vellani has some background knowledge of the MCU too, this will surely help her fit into the role nicely.
While it has yet to be confirmed, it is likely that Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers will be featured in some capacity in the series due to her connection to Ms. Marvel. Vellani will likely get a kick out of being able to act opposite an MCU star that she has been fan of, should this happen in the series.
Fans will be able to see Iman Vellani in
Ms. Marvel
when the series premieres on Disney+ in 2022.