MCU super fan Vellani suits up as teenage hero in ‘Ms. Marvel’
Iman Vellani, who stars as Kamala Khan in the new Disney+ series “Ms. Marvel,” has a conundrum. Now that she’s a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, does she remove the Marvel posters from the walls of her childhood bedroom or leave them up?
“Brie (Larson) is on my wall, and she’s in my phone book. So, like, that’s weird,” said Vellani, 19.
“Ms. Marvel,” which recently debuted, is Vellani’s first professional acting job. Already an avid reader of the comics, Vellani learned of the open audition from her aunt.
The first month on set was spent in prep, rehearsing and stunt training. She had to give up her high school diet of McDonald’s and Oreos and build stamina, but Vellani wasn’t interested in changing her shape too much. “I was 17. Kamala was 16. I wanted her to look like a normal high school kid,” she said.
“My first proper day of filming — that was intense,” said Vellani. “It was all of the stunts that I had to do in the real Captain Marvel suit. The one that Brie gets to wear. … There’s so many pieces, and it’s just really uncomfortable, and the scenes were pretty intense. So I came home with all these bruises and everything.
My mom was like, ‘Oh my God, what happened?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m a superhero. That’s what happened.’ ”
Vellani may be the first Marvel actor who is also a massive fan. She especially loves Robert Downey Jr. and has proudly rewatched “Iron Man” “more than the average person.”
Sana Amanat, co-creator of “Ms. Marvel,” jokes that having an actor who is a stan (or really big fan) has its challenges.
“Sometimes she would just pull up in the producer’s chair next to me and just give lots of thoughts and opinions on, you know, either the show or the rest of the MCU. And I’d be like, ‘That’s cool, but I need you to just act right now,’ ” she laughed, adding, “Iman brought so much life and love to the character, and it just made the entire process so much easier.”
Vellani was browsing at a comic book store when she discovered the “Ms. Marvel” comics and immediately felt represented in a way that is not common in mainstream media.
“I saw a girl who looked like me. She was Muslim and Pakistani and a superhero fanatic, and I was Muslim, Pakistani and a superhero fanatic, so it worked out quite well.
And I think my favorite part about the comic books was that it wasn’t about her religion or her culture or her ethnicity, it was about a fanficwriting nerd, who just so happened to be Pakistani and just so happened to be Muslim. Those parts of her life motivated her and drove her as a character … She never neglected her culture. It was something that kind of uplifted her journey.”
One thing about South Asian culture that Vellani says “Ms. Marvel” gets right, is the importance of family. Kamala’s parents and brother feature prominently in the series.
“Showing those close, tight-knit family relationships, showing parents that are alive in the MCU, how rare is that,” said Vellani. “We wanted to hopefully get the ball rolling on Muslim representation in the media because there’s 2 billion Muslims and South Asians in the world, and we cannot represent every single one of them. But I do hope that people find some sort of comfort in Kamala’s character or through her brother or her parents or anyone in her community.”
Vellani is not only thrilled to represent in the MCU but also to be entrusted with its secrets. “It’s an honor to keep these secrets. For some people, power is money. For Marvel fans, it’s knowledge and secrets and all the inside scoop on all the movies that haven’t been released yet. … I have that power, and I love it.”