Iman Vellani Cast As Ms. Marvel in MCU

Marvel

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has found its latest superhero in Iman Vellani who, Deadline reports, will be playing Kamala Khan aka ‘Ms. Marvel.’ Vellani hails from Markham, Ontario Canada, and is a relative newcomer to acting. The Disney+ series will be both Vellani’s and the character Kamala Khan’s onscreen debut. ‘Ms. Marvel,’ along with ‘She-Hulk’ and ‘Moon Knight’ were announced by Kevin Feige back in December of 2019 at Brazil’s CCXP.

‘Ms. Marvel’ is being penned by showrunner Bisha K. Ali who’s credits include staff writer for ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral.’ Several directors have been announced as well including Meera Menon, Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

Kamala Khan was first introduced into Marvel Comics via Captain Marvel #17 in 2013 and in 2014 became the first Muslim character to headline her own title. She was created by Sana Amanat, G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona.

Kamala Khan is a Pakistani-American and the fourth character to take up the mantle of Ms. Marvel after Carol Danvers (In the MCU Danvers goes under the moniker Captain Marvel). Then, in comics continuity, Sharon Ventura and Karla Sofen don the name, Ms. Marvel. Kamala Khan’s powers differ than her predecessors in that she is capable of shape-shifting and bio-luminescence. She also has super speed, super strength and super healing.

Khan gained her powers from The Inhumans releasing a Terrigen Mist into Earth’s atmosphere, activating Khan’s latent abilities. This storyline was likely going to be used before Marvel’s ‘The Inhumans’ movie was shuffled to television where it bombed with critics and audiences alike. To continue the speculation, it seems ‘The Eternals’ might fill that story gap in the MCU and now instead of ‘The Inhumans’ creating superpowered humans by way of Terrigen Mist modifying genetics, ‘The Eternals’ could portray genetic mixing the old fashioned way as aliens and humans romantically entangle.

Not only is Khan the first Muslim-American hero for Marvel but she also one of the youngest. The recent ‘Avengers’ game put her at the center of its story and many reviewers praised her character as one of the more fun to play as. This could be paving the way for a Young Avengers movie down the road.

The series is currently slated for a 2021 release on the Disney+ streaming service.