Markham, Ontario’s Iman Vellani has officially been cast as the titular role for the forthcoming Disney+ series Ms. Marvel.
Newcomer Iman Vellani To Play Title Role In Marvel’s ‘Ms. Marvel’ Series For Disney Plus https://t.co/ZOfdPK4qV5
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) September 30, 2020
The upcoming series, which is set to be directed by Adil El Arbi, Bill Fallah, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Meera Menon, comes from writer Bisha K. Ali. Ms. Marvel revolves around Pakistani-American teen Kamala Khan, who is based in New Jersey.
Ms. Marvel was first introduced in 2014 as Marvel Studios’ first Muslim character to star in her own title, and now she will become Marvel Studio’s first-ever onscreen Muslim superhero.
I just saw they cast Ms. Marvel and legit got teary eyed.
Congratulations Iman Vellani! Your work is going to mean so much to so many people, myself included. I can’t wait.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) September 30, 2020
In addition to appearing in the series, Kamala Khan will also be featured in future Marvel films, according to Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige.
While this marks Vellani’s first major Hollywood production, she was part of the Next Wave Committee at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival.