Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy reportedly roped in to helm Marvel project

The Oscar winner is apparently in talks to co-direct series on the first Pakistani-American superhero, Ms Marvel

In a first, Oscar-winning film-maker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has been roped in to co-direct much-anticipated Ms Marvel, reported The Hollywood Reporter. According to the publication, the Emmy-winning director will be sharing the seat with the Disney+ series, which centers on teenage hero Kamala Khan. The character, a Pakistani American, is Marvel's first Muslim superhero.

The Marvel venture will also see Bad Boys for Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah on the helming roster as Obaid-Chinoy.
Also directing is Meera Menon, whose credits include episodes of The Walking Dead, The Punisher and Titans.

Earlier, Marvel announced Kamala Khan's game as well. The character of Kamala Khan is the brainchild of Marvel editor and director Sana Amanat, who is a Muslim-American herself. Khan was co-created by Amanat in 2014. Her inspiration stemmed from a desire to create a character that young girls of similar background could identify with.

“I think it's absolutely insane that Kamala Khan is in one of the biggest Marvel games that we've done. The fact that she's the entry point character in this game makes so much sense. People from all backgrounds can relate to her,” Amanat has earlier said.

The teenage Pakistani American superhero first debuted in a Captain Marvel comic book series in 2013 and is later given her own series in 2014. She is introduced as the first Muslim character to have her own series about her embracing her “Inhuman” shapeshifting abilities for the greater good. Perhaps the most important part of this release is that out of all of the familiar and popular characters in the series, the spotlight is handed to a Muslim woman of colour.

However, even with her debut comic book series, Ms Marvel, she has remained one of the lesser-known characters in the massive world of Marvel Comics and was not given too much attention. She became more of a notable character with the children’s cartoon series Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors in 2018, the announcement of her own Disney Plus series that is connected with the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.