The time has come. It’s in the bag. Ms. Marvel has concluded filming. The series wrapped up production in Thailand, where at least three episodes were shot. Ms. Marvel had been filming since last November, so it’s likely the six episode series will have lengthy episodes like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The series is set to debut Ms. Marvel (played by newcomer Iman Vellani) into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the young hero learns how to use her strange abilities. Ms. Marvel, aka Kamala Khan, is a Muslim teenager living in the United States who has loved superheroes all her life. Similar to Peter Parker, Khan will need to learn how to balance her high school life with her crime fighting.
In the comics, Kamala Khan has the ability to extend her limbs (like Mr. Fantastic), alter her appearance (like Mystique), and shift shape into all kinds of manners. She first gained her powers through the Terrigenesis cocoon, meaning she is directly related to the Inhumans. It is not known if the Ms. Marvel series will adopt the comic’s origin story as the Inhumans have a sketchy history within the MCU.
Although the Inhumans show that bombed on ABC several years ago was technically considered canon at the time, the show has long since been retconned and/or ignored by the films. The same goes for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which heavily featured the Inhumans and Terrigenesis throughout its seven-season run. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been rumored to have been completely removed from MCU canon, so it’s possible that Ms. Marvel re-introduces the Inhumans.
Ms. Marvel will directly lead into the upcoming film The Marvels, which will feature Carol Danvers (played by Brie Larson) and Monica Rambeau (played by Tayonah Parris) in addition to Kamala Khan. All three characters have carried the title of “Marvel” in the comics, so the title makes a lot of sense. The film will probably follow Danvers and Rambeau as they train/mentor Khan into being a superhero. It’s been rumored that Danvers or Rambeau could make an appearance on Ms. Marvel, but nothing has been confirmed.
Kamala Khan is an extremely important character within the Marvel Universe as she was the first Muslim superhero for the publisher. Sana Amanat, who created the character of Kamala Khan for Marvel Comics said in an interview with Inquirer, “She’s grown so much in the last four years and the diversity of our fanbase alone is so impressive. They all love Ms. Marvel. It goes to show we have a really great story with great creators. I think it’s incredibly important that we tell young women and young girls that they have this incredible power within themselves, and that they have heroes out there [who] … they can look up to, especially in these times.” Representation has been a major focus for Marvel Studios in recent years with films like Black Panther and Captain Marvel crushing the box office.
Ms. Marvel will star Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, Laurel Marsden as Zoe Zimmer, Rish Shah as Kamran, Matt Lintz as Bruno Carrelli, and Mohan Kapur as Yusuf Khan. Although no premiere date has been announced yet, Ms. Marvel will likely begin releasing episodes on Disney+ this Fall.