Friday, 6 Jun 2025
America Age
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Font ResizerAa
America AgeAmerica Age
Search
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
America Age > Blog > Entertainment > How ‘Ms. Marvel,’ starring superfan-turned-MCU superhero Iman Vellani, fights back against Muslim hate
Entertainment

How ‘Ms. Marvel,’ starring superfan-turned-MCU superhero Iman Vellani, fights back against Muslim hate

Enspirers | Editorial Board
Share
How ‘Ms. Marvel,’ starring superfan-turned-MCU superhero Iman Vellani, fights back against Muslim hate
SHARE

The new Disney+ series Ms. Marvel is drawing plenty of attention for the fact that it introduces Kamala Khan, Marvel’s first Muslim superhero, into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It also introduces arguably the biggest Marvel superfan ever cast in a major role in the MCU in 19-year-old Iman Vellani. (Fitting considering the character of Khan herself is also a hardcore Avengers fangirl — most partial to Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel — while growing up in a strict Pakistani-American family in Jersey City, N.J. before the arrival of her great-grandmother’s bangles unlock the teenager’s superhuman abilities.)

Vellani, who was still attending high school in Toronto when she tried out for the role, impressed Marvel chief Kevin Feige and company so much that she was plucked out of obscurity for the part despite having no previous acting credits. None. Zilch. Nada.

15 year old Iman Vellani made a Ms. Marvel suit for Halloween and all her friends thought she was The Flash????. Years later now she IS Ms. Marvel in the MCU. Like woww pic.twitter.com/PbRPdbnj7E

— carlos✧ (@CINEPAPI) June 1, 2022

Maybe it was fated. Vellani, who rates on her Marvel fandom at 11 on a scale of 1-to-10, had dressed up as Ms. Marvel when she was 16.

Sana Amanat, who co-created the character of Kamala Khan for Marvel Comics in 2013 and produces the series, witnessed Vellani’s super-fandom while looking at the first-time actress’s bedroom during a pre-screen test Zoom call. “I just saw Avengers, Avengers, Iron Man, Iron Man, Iron Man, Captain America, just a bunch of stuff,” Amanat recalls. “Then she showed me around her entire room. She showed me her Iron Man cologne, which is very weird. And then another door opens [to] her closet, and there’s even more paraphernalia… She’s got notebooks of theories and ideas, and just has opinions on the Marvel Universe that honestly rivals Kamala and even Kevin [Feige].”

Marvel superfan-turned-#MsMarvel herself, Iman Vellani, is living the life. She’s met a nice long list of MCU colleagues already and told Tom Hiddleston he talks a lot (but in a nice way). Robert Downey Jr. is still her dream, but she’s afraid it would make her implode. pic.twitter.com/LXWbSIFqfd

— Kevin Polowy (@djkevlar) June 7, 2022

Like the Tom Holland-starring Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Ms. Marvel is a coming-of-age comedy that draws inspiration from 1980s John Hughes movies. But its creators also count more recent, more-female centric coming of agers like The Edge of Seventeen (2016), Lady Bird (2017) and Booksmart (2019) as influences. The animated hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, too, informed the show’s sometimes-hyper-stylized comic book aesthetic.

And then of course there’s its cultural significance, which Vellani acknowledges is deeply important even if she doesn’t want Kamala’s ethnicity or religion to define her.

“Film and TV really do shape how we see people in this world,” she says. “And so often Muslims and South Asians haven’t really been shown in a positive light, or they’ve been stereotyped and misrepresented. And so it’s just so wonderful that a company as big and accessible as Marvel is providing space for characters like Kamala to exist… Because this show is not about a Muslim-Pakistani teenager. It’s about a fanfic-writing, Avengers-obsessed nerd who just so happens to be Pakistani and Muslim. And that’s how it was for me growing up. Being Muslim and being Pakistani wasn’t the entirety of my identity. It’s just one part of it. And this is how we wanted to showcase that in the show.”

(clockwise from left) Mohan Kapur, Iman Vellani, Saagar Shaikh and Zenobia Shroff in 'Ms. Marvel' (Disney+)(clockwise from left) Mohan Kapur, Iman Vellani, Saagar Shaikh and Zenobia Shroff in 'Ms. Marvel' (Disney+)

(clockwise from left) Mohan Kapur, Iman Vellani, Saagar Shaikh and Zenobia Shroff in Ms. Marvel. (Photo: Disney+)

Still, Vellani’s castmates say Ms. Marvel can help combat the prejudice many Muslim-Americans have faced, particularly since the events of 9/11.

“While it’s not a show about a Muslim family, we happen to be Muslim,” says Zenobi Shroff, who plays Kamala’s mother Muneeba.

“And I hope that that helps shift the needle a little bit because there is a very deeply ingrained hate for Muslims in this country. I hope that the bias shifts just a little bit [and] they just see us as a normal, joyful middle-class family.”

Watch our full interview with the show’s cast and creators above.

Ms. Marvel is now streaming on Disney+.

— Video produced by Anne Lilburn and edited by John Santo

Watch the trailer:

Share This Article
Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Previous Article Off-grid living beckons more than just hardy pioneer types Off-grid living beckons more than just hardy pioneer types
Next Article ‘Live PD’ Revived at Reelz As Producer Dan Abrams Says “Environment Has Changed” Since 2020 Cancellation ‘Live PD’ Revived at Reelz As Producer Dan Abrams Says “Environment Has Changed” Since 2020 Cancellation

Your Trusted Source for Accurate and Timely Updates!

Our commitment to accuracy, impartiality, and delivering breaking news as it happens has earned us the trust of a vast audience. Stay ahead with real-time updates on the latest events, trends.
FacebookLike
TwitterFollow
InstagramFollow
LinkedInFollow
MediumFollow
QuoraFollow
- Advertisement -
Ad image

Popular Posts

Shaquille O’Neal Denies He is In Viral PDA Photograph With Lady

Social media detectives can calm down ... Shaquille O'Neal says he's NOT the person within…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Emily’s List Threatens to Pull Support From Sinema Over Filibuster Stance

WASHINGTON — One of the largest contributors to Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s political rise announced on…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Russians inspired by example of Chechnya, want to create fighter training centres across country

Yury Trutnev, Russian Deputy Prime Minister, and Sergey Kiriyenko, the First Deputy Head of the…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Hungarians hold national vote in the shadow of Ukraine’s war

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarians flocked to polling places on Sunday as voters in the…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

You Might Also Like

Pictures Bryana Bongolan Despatched Cassie That Seem to Present Medication Entered Into Proof
Entertainment

Pictures Bryana Bongolan Despatched Cassie That Seem to Present Medication Entered Into Proof

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Joe Rogan Says Somebody Ought to Take Elon’s Telephone Away Amid Trump Feud
Entertainment

Joe Rogan Says Somebody Ought to Take Elon’s Telephone Away Amid Trump Feud

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
‘Jane’ Says She Used Ecstasy for Sexual Vitality Earlier than Freak-Offs
Entertainment

‘Jane’ Says She Used Ecstasy for Sexual Vitality Earlier than Freak-Offs

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Brit Eady Sues Bravo for Defamation, Sexual Harassment
Entertainment

Brit Eady Sues Bravo for Defamation, Sexual Harassment

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
America Age
Facebook Twitter Youtube

About US


America Age: Your instant connection to breaking stories and live updates. Stay informed with our real-time coverage across politics, tech, entertainment, and more. Your reliable source for 24/7 news.

Company
  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Standards
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Careers
  • Media & Community Relations
  • WP Creative Group
  • Accessibility Statement
Contact Us
  • Contact Us
  • Contact Customer Care
  • Advertise
  • Licensing & Syndication
  • Request a Correction
  • Contact the Newsroom
  • Send a News Tip
  • Report a Vulnerability
Terms of Use
  • Digital Products Terms of Sale
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?