Ms. Marvel: Newcomer Iman Vellani to play Kamala Khan

After a long and hard search, turns out Marvel has finally found its Ms. Marvel. The studio is tapping newcomer Iman Vellani to star in its Disney+ series based on the comic-book character, according to Deadline.

Marvel and the streamer recently named Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Meera Menon as directors on the project.

Hailing from writer Bisha K. Ali, Ms. Marvel revolves around the story of Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American teen based in New Jersey. Ms. Marvel first appeared in 2014 as Marvel’s first Muslim character to star in her own title, and she will become Marvel Studios' first onscreen Muslim hero.

Marvel Chief Kevin Feige has said that in addition to appearing on the small screen, Khan will be included in future Marvel films too. The plan, according to him, was always to stay true to the character, whether it meant finding the right actor to play the role, or offering a person that was not well known to the public.

Following the announcement, Pakistani-American comedian, actor and screenwriter Kumail Nanjiani took to Twitter and congratulated Vellani for nailing the role. “I just saw they cast Ms. Marvel and legit got teary eyed. Congratulations Iman Vellani! Your work is going to mean so much to so many people, myself included. I can’t wait,” he wrote.

Television actor Ushna Shah also shared Nanjiani’s tweet saying, “What he said! I recall being 5 and told in Canada that there wouldn’t be major roles for girls who looked like me (ethnic). I was shattered. This has made me so happy for the next generation of girls who look like me. Thank you @Marvel!”

Marvel and Disney+ have been hard at work setting up their development slate in recent weeks by not only setting Tatiana Maslany to lead its She-Hulk but also giving Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury character his own series.

The studio also announced that WandaVision would be the first show to premiere on the streamer later this year.

Nevertheless, although Ms. Marvel marks Vellani’s first major Hollywood production, she has already made attempts to help diversify the industry.

At the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, Vellani was part of the Next Wave Committee, which was tasked with adding a special tag to films — already programmed into other categories — which they believed would resonate with their peers.

In an interview with the CBC, Vellani referred to herself as a Pakistani-American-Muslim teenager with immigrant parents. According to the outlet, Vellani dreams of becoming a cinematographer. A Vimeo account listed for Vellani includes a short film titled, Push, which she directed.

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