Ms. Marvel gets ready to mask up in exclusive new image
Exclusive: Ms. Marvel co-creator Sana Amanat tells Total Film all about Iman Vellani's casting
Ms. Marvel is unlike any superhero you've met before.
A teenage Pakistani American, Kamala Khan is an Avengers fangirl – with a particular obsession with Captain Marvel – and is navigating school and family life. Of course, this being Marvel, she develops "some fun superpowers" along the way. Playing Kamala is newcomer Iman Vellani, in her first screen role (she’ll also appear in upcoming Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels).
"She just had this energy, and this innocence, and this quirkiness to her,” Sana Amanat, who co-created the character, says of casting Vellani while talking with Total Film in the new issue of the magazine, which features Obi-Wan Kenobi on the cover.
"In one of her auditions, she really went from being very nerdy and quirky, to emotional and almost like she had this understanding of a world that someone beyond her years should have."
For anyone unfamiliar with the comics, Amanat likens Kamala – who can be seen in an exclusive new image above – to Peter Parker or Miles Morales. "She’s this young character who is very much a fan of the bigwigs of the Marvel Universe like the Avengers, and she doesn’t feel necessarily like she can stand toe to toe with them. But I think, ultimately, she can, and she does."
You can read more from the team behind Ms. Marvel in the new issue of Total Film magazine, which features our exclusive coverage of the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
Ms. Marvel will be on Disney Plus from June 8. For much more on the new show, check out the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves on Thursday, April 28.
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
If you’re a fan of Total Film, why not subscribe so you never miss an issue? Sign up via MagazinesDirect and you’ll save money on the cover price, as well as getting exclusive subscriber covers like the one you can see above. And with our current subs offer, you can also get a free pair of headphones.
I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.
- Jack ShepherdFreelance Journalist