Marvel's First Ever Muslim Superhero Describes Moment She Landed Role

The star of the upcoming Ms. Marvel has described how she came to be MCU’s latest newcomer, essentially living out every fan’s fantasy. 

In 2014. the Ms. Marvel comic series made history by introducing the first ever Muslim hero to headline a Marvel comic. And the TV show is set to do the same by bringing Kamala Khan to life on the small screen. 

Taking on the incredible role of the titular superhero herself is 19-year-old Pakistan-born Canadian actress Iman Vellani who, like her character, is a superfan of the fictional universe. You can watch the trailer here:

UNILAD were able to sit down with the star ahead of the show’s release on Disney+ to hear all about her journey to becoming Ms. Marvel.

Speaking about the casting process, Iman said: “I got sent the casting call through a WhatsApp forward so that was a great start. I sent a self tape and then a day or two later I get a call and they’re like, ‘Do you have a lawyer? We want to fly you to LA’.”

Understandably excited about the prospect, Iman agreed and within a week she was on a flight with her dad to try out for the role. 

“I did my screen test in person with Sarah Finn and Louis D'Esposito and it was just the most insane thing ever being in a room with all those Marvel employees with Marvel Studios on their jackets and their hats. 

“I just wanted to take full advantage of being in that room because I didn’t know if it was going to happen again. It was the most fun day of my life.”

But then the pandemic hit and so the next screen test was over Zoom, which was understandably ‘weird’ for Iman. 

However, it was all worth it in the end and she landed the part, with the star adding: “I got cast on the last day of high school which was the perfect graduation present.”

Iman then laughed as she said, “I was in shock, I don’t think I’ve processed it until maybe now. It was so much for my tiny little brain to handle.”

It’s no surprise that going from school to being on set was a seismic shift for the teen, who not only stars in the show, but also the Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels, which recently finished filming. 

When asked about the most challenging aspect of taking on the role, Iman replied: “I think just the learning curve of being on set because I had never done that before.

“It’s very overwhelming, there’s so many moving parts and moving people and moving worlds – it’s constantly spinning around you. 

“And working with VFX is a whole other challenge because you want to keep the same heavy emotions of a scene but you’re also using so much of your imagination and hopefully both of those things match when they put it in the computer later. 

“Having a lot of conversations with the VFX supervisors was super important, just figuring out what do these powers look like? How hard is it to manifest them?’ All those questions, because we were building this thing from scratch.”

Thankfully there’s not long to wait until the series drops, and it’s safe to say Iman can’t wait to share it with the fans. 

She concluded by saying: “Just the sheer amount of love that I’ve received from my own community and my family is overwhelming in the most incredible way. 

“We’re so close to sharing this with the world and I can’t wait for the fan reactions because ultimately the show is for them.”

Ms. Marvel will be available to stream on Disney+ from June 8.

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