"Bad Boys For Life" Filmmakers to direct "Ms. Marvel" Series for Disney+

Even though COVID-19 has delayed the start of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the studio continues to press forward in regards to future projects, especially on the streaming side of things.

The Hollywood Reporter has indicated that Marvel has hired Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the directors of Bad Boys for Life, to helm episodes of Ms. Marvel, one of many series that the comic giant has planned for Disney+. Alongside the duo, Sharmeen Obaid and Meera Menon will also direct episodes as well. Bisha K. Ali will serve as head writer.

Ms. Marvel is based on the comic series that debuted in 2014. It is centered on Kamala Khan, a Pakistani American teen living in New Jersey trying to balance her religious upbringing with finding her own way in life. The character broke ground by being Marvel’s first Muslim lead character and will also claim that title for her screen adaptation.

This is another huge victory for Marvel and the entertainment industry in general as the demand for more diverse stories has never been greater. The company broke down barriers on the big screen with Black Panther and future cinematic adventures such as The Eternals and Shang-Chi will continue to showcase underserved groups in front of and behind the camera. The hiring of a mostly non-white crew in important roles and the search for a young actress to play Kamala only furthers that push on the small screen.

The Ms. Marvel news comes on the heels of other major stories regarding Disney+’s MCU future. The streaming service just released a first trailer for WandaVision, the first of the Phase Four series and production has restarted on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier following the pandemic shutdown. Last week, Marvel also announced the casting of Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk so there is plenty of movement being made on the MCU’s future as far as television goes. It will certainly be interesting to watch how Marvel continues to grow its library of characters and explore the many cultures associated with them.

A timeframe hasn’t been set for when filming can begin as a cast still needs to be assembled but a good bet is for Ms. Marvel to start shooting sometime next year and premiere on Disney+ in either 2022 or 2023