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| From left, director Bilall Fallah, actress Iman Vellani, and director Adil El Arbi pose during an online press conference for Disney+'s new series "Ms. Marvel," Friday. Courtesy of Disney+ |
Disney+'s new series features first Muslim superhero in MCU
By Lee Gyu-lee
Marvel Studios is set to present a new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with its first Muslim superhero, Kamala Khan, through Disney+'s new series "Ms. Marvel."
The co-directors and executive producers of the series, Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi, who co-led the 2020 action film "Bad Boys for Life," expressed that the superhero character in the upcoming series will offer an inspiring story to MCU fans around the world.
"This character of Kamala is a bit of an homage to the fandom, to people who are fans of all the Avengers and heroes in the MCU. And it is one of the first times that we really delve deep into what it means to be a fan and what it means to aspire to become part of that kind of character, but not really believing that one day you'll be a part of that," Arbi said during an online press conference with local news outlets here, Friday.
"It's a very inspiring story for all the fans of MCU everywhere in the world, telling that they all can be heroes."
The six-part series, scheduled to release on June 8, follows a 16-year-old Pakistani-American girl, Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), who is an avid Captain Marvel fan. She struggles to fit in both at school and at her home, dealing with confusion in cultural identity. And the only place she can resort to is her imagination and her favorite superhero character. One day, her life turns upside down when she gets superpowers like the heroes she's always admired.
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| A scene from the series "Ms. Marvel" / Courtesy of Disney+ |
The director duo, who are Moroccan Belgian, shared that leading the series was even more meaningful as it follows the story of a Muslim girl.
"Just as Muslims, it's just extremely beautiful to see this first Muslim superhero in MCU, and to be part of that to tell that story is just a big honor," Fallah said."
Arbi added that they were able to relate to the story and the character as it reminded them of their own background.
"That journey of a 16-year-old Pakistani-American girl, searching for identity and the world and culture that she needs to follow, reminded of us as Moroccan Belgians, not knowing what our place in the world is. And we hope that it had a nice contribution to MCU," he said.
This is the first acting role for actress Vellani, who is a real-life fan of the Ms. Marvel character from the comics. She expressed that she saw much resemblance between the character and her real life and was able to immerse herself into her character easily.
"I was 17, the character (was) 16, but we really weren't that far off. And I felt like I lived Kamala's life when I read the comics. I felt like the comics were written about me. I really felt like I knew the character like the back of my hand," she said.
Arbi noted that the coming-of-age story of Kamala Kahn will resonate with people around the world, offering messages on what it means to take responsibility.
"As a teenage girl, she's already searching for her identity in the Pakistani-American culture. But all of a sudden, with the powers, she needs to search for identity as a normal human to as a superhero, and to try to find out who she needs to be and who she wants to be," he said.
"And, that is something that everybody else in the whole world can relate. It's a universal story of what happens when you need to grow up and when you need to take your responsibilities and chose to help out other people."
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