KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — Marvel Studios’ much-anticipated new streaming show Ms. Marvel premiered yesterday, bringing fan-favourite Muslim superhero, Kamala Khan to the small screen.
The limited series tells the story of an American Muslim high schooler, Kamala Khan, a superhero megafan who is suddenly bestowed superpowers.
In a virtual press conference, the cast, crew, and creators talked about portraying an authentic Muslim superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Ms. Marvel’s comic origins
Many MCU fans are aware of the superhero Captain Marvel or Carol Danvers played by Brie Larson, but Ms. Marvel is a completely different superhero.
The comic book inspiration for Ms. Marvel came from creator and writer Sana Amanat’s real-life experiences being an American Pakistani who loved Marvel comics.
“When we had the opportunity to create a young South Asian female superhero character who is Muslim, it felt new and fresh, but still aligned with the core principles of what Marvel characters have always stood for,” Amanat said.
Despite doubts about the series not being popular with fans, Ms. Marvel became its top-selling issues and is now in its seventh run.
“What’s interesting about Ms. Marvel is that she is so different and unique from all the other heroes,”
“She doesn’t have fancy tech or armour. She’s just a teenager from Jersey City trying to figure the world out when she’s suddenly imbued with powers. And while her identity puts a different lens on this Marvel story, she is still so relatable.”
Amanat was thrilled when executive producer, Kevin Feige wanted to adapt her character into live-action.
“For years, people have been asking ‘when are we going to see Ms. Marvel in the MCU?’” Feige said.
“We have always wanted to bring her into the MCU, but one of the biggest characteristics of Kamala Khan is that she is a super fan of all of these Marvel superheroes.”
“We first needed to establish more of those heroes in the MCU, specifically Captain Marvel, so that she could have a hero that she wanted to embody before she learns to become her own hero.”
Feige was proud to finally be able to bring a beloved fan-favourite character like Kamala Khan into the MCU.
Bringing Kamala Khan to the MCU
With series head writer Bisha K. Ali attached, the search began for finding the right actress to fill Ms. Marvel’s shoes.
After an extensive casting call, Marvel chose Canadian-Pakistani actress, Iman Vellani, who got the part in ‘the brownest way possible’.
“February 2020. I get the WhatsApp forward. I thought it was a scam,” Vellani said.
“So, it turned out to be real...I was like making excuses for myself out of fear of failure. And at, like, 3:00am the night it was due, I sent in my self-tape.
“I was like, my 10-year-old self is gonna hate me if I don’t even try. And two days later I get a call.”
After a call-back audition in LA where she met casting director Sarah Finn and executive producer Louis D’Esposito, another self-tape and a Zoom session, Vellani was cast.
“I literally got cast on the last day of high school,” Vellani laughed.
“I was hanging out with my friends, and I got a text from the casting director to come on a video conference call.
“So I come on the call, and it’s Kevin Feige and all the producers and directors... Kevin said ‘it’s unanimous, we want you to be Ms. Marvel, and I just went into complete shock.”
Playing Ms. Marvel was a personal achievement for the actress, herself being an avid fan of Marvel comics and the MCU.
“Kamala Khan is this passionate, creative high-school kid who just wants to find simplicity in her life through the fantastical world of the Avengers because that’s easy,” said Vellani.
“Kamala represents everything about nerd culture that there is. When she gets powers for the first time, you root for her because you can see that excitement and that fascination in her eyes.
“That’s what makes the character so universal and relatable. So it is not all about a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager, but this Avengers-loving kid who just happens to be a Pakistani-American teenager.”
Portraying Muslim culture
Continuing its streak of representation, the MCU now showcases Muslim culture, a core part of Kamala Khan’s identity.
Kamala’s relationship with her conservative mother, her kind father and her older brother were an important part of portraying the Muslim American experience.
Actor Mohan Kapur who plays Kamala’s father Yusuf, spoke on authentic representation in the series.
“I don’t think this series is shouting from the rooftops saying, “Watch me”. We’re talking about representation,” Kapur said.
“It’s a wonderful story of a community that’s so ethnically diverse and culturally rich.”
“The process of entering a mosque, the festivals, the wedding ceremonies they’re just so beautiful. I know this for a fact from whatever little social media that I’m into, that side of the world, they just can’t wait to see this happen. This is us. This is us.”
Episode four and five director, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy shared the relatability of Asian culture to the family experiences of many.
“Our food, our music, the way the parents’ relationship with the kids are. I wanted to make it cool so that anybody watching it would be like, that was my argument with my mom when I wanted to go out and she’s like, “There are going to be boys there. Stay home.”
She hopes that Muslim and South Asian immigrant audiences will be able to see themselves reflected on screen.
“Telling this story is going to change so much for so many people, because I know I have two young girls that when they see Kamala Khan, they too will know that they can also be a superhero,” the Pakistani filmmaker said.
Changes from the comics
Ms. Marvel in the MCU has had some changes compared to her comic book counterpart, notably the exclusion of her signature elastic body.
Head writer Bisha K. Ali assured fans that the change in powers was made under co-creator Amanat’s approval and was a conscious ‘group decision’.
“Every single person involved in this project loves those comics deeply, personally, from their hearts,” Ali said
“And that was really a group decision talking through how she’s gonna exist in the MCU. How’s she’s gonna fit into this web of storytelling that Marvel Studios has done in live-action for the last decade...”
“That just means if people are mad at us, they can blame me then,” co-Creator Amanat added.
Ms. Marvel is now available to stream on Disney+.
