Ms. Marvel is an upcoming American television miniseries created by Bisha K. Ali for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics. It is scheduled to premiere on June 8, 2022, and will consist of six episodes. The series stars Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, a Pakistani American teenager from New Jersey who idolizes Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel.
Vellani is joined by Saagar Shaikh as her older brother, Aamir; Mohan Kapur (the Disney Plus Hotstar series “Crime Next Door”) and Zenobia Shroff (“The Big Sick”) as her parents, Muneeba and Yusuf; Matt Lintz (“The Walking Dead”) as her best friend, Bruno; and Aramis Knight (“Into the Badlands”) as the vigilante known as Red Dagger.
The series is intended to be the seventh television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. Ali serves as head writer with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah leading the directing team.
Sana Amanat, the co-creator of Ms. Marvel, brought the character Kamala Khan from the comics to screen.
Ms. Marvel explores the character Kamala Khan, a Pakistani American teen who became Ms. Marvel, Slash Film reports.
Amanat, also the producer of the series, told Entertainment Weekly that she is happy to introduce Kamala’s story to a larger audience.
“The great part of it for me is the collaboration,” Amanat said to Entertainment Weekly. “I love that so many people now are in Kamala’s life. What’s really wonderful is that she’s truly going into the next stage of growth because of all these amazing people who are bringing their own perspectives.”
Amanat talked about why Kalama’s powers look different from the comics, a topic that caused some controversy from the fans after the teaser was released.
In the comics, Kamala’s power is activated by the Terrigen Mist and allows her to body-morph, according to Epic Stream. However, the trailer for the series shows the powers and origins are from ancient bands, possibly Nega-bands.
Amanat said she was aware of the controversy, but said that it was the “right move.”
“Obviously, so much of the show is an adaptation, and we thought it was important to make sure that her powers are linking to larger stories in the Marvel universe,” she said to Entertainment Weekly. “We wanted to make sure there is a little bit more story to tell after this series.”
Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, also spoke about this change that caused some stir between fans.
“We adapt the comics; it’s not an exact translation. Kamala came about in a very specific time within the comic-book continuity,” Feige said according to Epic Stream. “She is now coming into a very specific time within the MCU continuity. And those two things didn’t match.”
In the interview with Entertainment Weekly, Amanat also spoke about how representation through the character of Kamala excited her the most about bringing this series to live-action.
“I know how incredibly important it is for people to have this out there, especially for young Muslims and young Pakistanis and Indians and people of color and young women,” she said. “It just affects so many different communities, and that’s what was really exciting for me, just knowing how important this show is and hoping that we get it right.”
To pay tribute to the Pakistani origins of the superhero Iman Vellani and as a gift to Pakistani fans, Ms. Marvel will be available exclusively in cinemas in Pakistan. This is because the streaming channel, Disney+, is not yet available in the country. The first two episodes will premiere on June 16, while the third and fourth episodes will come out on June 30. The last two episodes will debut on July 14.