by Conan Simmons – September 30, 2020 – 10:16 pm
It was announced today that the role of Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, has been cast for the upcoming series on Disney+. Canadian newcomer Iman Vellani will take on the role of a Pakistani-American teenager from Jersey City, New Jersey who has the power to change shape and size. The series is set to premiere in 2022.
The character of Ms. Marvel originally appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 in March 1968. This first iteration of the character was Carol Danvers who would premiere the title in Ms. Marvel #1 in January 1977. Carol Danvers would use multiple aliases over the decades until finally becoming Captain Marvel in July 2012. Brie Larson played Carol Danvers in 2019’s ‘Captain Marvel’ film.
The second Ms. Marvel was Sharon Ventura whose first appearance was in The Thing #27 in September 1985. She was a member of a group named the Thunderiders. Interestingly, for the ‘Captain Marvel’ movie Brie Larson trained with the famed Thunderbirds. Sharon Ventura would hold the title briefly before becoming She-Thing in Fantastic Four #310 in January 1988.
The character of Kamala Khan was created by Sana Amanat, G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona. After an anonymous one panel cameo in Captain Marvel #14 in August 2013, the character made another brief cameo detailing more of her story in Captain Marvel #17 in November 2013. That cameo displayed Kamala’s powers and her idolization of Carol Danvers’ Captain Marvel. Kamala Khan would fully become Ms. Marvel in Ms. Marvel #1, February 2014. Kamala Khan is the first Muslim character to headline a title for Marvel Comics. The series won a Hugo Award in 2015 for Best Graphic Story.
There are rumors of Iman Vellani reprising the role in upcoming MCU movies, most likely ‘Captain Marvel 2’. With the mostly comic accurate adaptations of the MCU so far, it should add a lot of fun to future installments of the ever popular film series.