Kamala Khan is 16 years old, she is the daughter of a Muslim couple who left Pakistan to settle in America so that “everything is possible” for her children, she is a fan of Captain Marvel. And one day, while attending AvengersCon in Jersey City, she discovers superpowers. Ms. Marvel, the first Muslim superheroine in the Marvel universe, that’s her. Superpowers excepted (though…), it is also Iman Vellani, a young Ontarian from the suburbs of Toronto who, in this first experience in front of the cameras, bursts the screen by her natural way of embodying the title character of the new series. of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Ms.Marvelthe first of six episodes of which will drop on June 8 on Disney+.
A series she describes — quite rightly, we can confirm after watching two episodes — as “a coming-of-age story at the lady bird [de Greta Gerwig] which intersects with a story of superheroes Scott Pilgrim [d’Edgar Wright] “, she summed up in an interview with the To have to. These are also, in an interview, the words of Sana Amanat, co-creator of the character who appeared in the issue of Captain Marvel from August 2013 and immediately became very popular, getting its own series in February 2014.
Among his early fans, Iman Vellani. “I thought it was so cool that Marvel had a character who looked so much like me, a young Muslim girl of Pakistani origin! It was as if these comics had, literally, been written for me. “If she first believed in a scam when she heard that an actress was being sought to play Kamala, she could not run the risk of not trying her luck. Among other things, because she is “very protective” of the character.
A position she carried around with her during the audition process, in 2020, which clung to her when she got the role, “on the last day of my high school.” And who only swelled during the filming. The big boss of the MCU, Kevin Feige, also pointed out at a press conference that the teenager knew exactly what comic book the audition scene was shot!
Both new and familiar
“I feel like we are on the same journey, Kamala and I: she discovers powers that reveal herself to herself and me, I got this incredible role through which I learned a lot about by myself. I reconnected with my roots, something that, honestly, I did not expect, because I left my Pakistani and Muslim side growing up. But Kamala embraces her culture which serves as her moral code and makes her a better heroine. »
Once again, her words are in line with those of Sana Amanat, also the series’ executive producer who, she believes, “will introduce many people to something both new and familiar”. And they will find out very quickly because Ms.Marvel indeed stands out from other elements of the MCU. It’s visually vibrant and bubbly (among other things through the use of animation that overlays live action here and there to convey Kamala’s imagination), its characters are lively and funny, its cast of avant-plan is made up of actors from the Muslim community and Southeast Asia (like its directors and screenwriters, by the way).
And if the result is playful, Ms.Marvel is more than that. The importance of traditions, the weight of the family tree on young shoulders, the ups and downs of student life and, of course, religion: all of this is explored with sincerity and without pressing messages — which only makes them more effective.
Some will criticize this television iteration of the character for not having powers identical to those of the comics. “Her powers had to be able to attach to what’s coming for her in the MCU. [Kamala sera l’an prochain du film Les Marvel], explains Sana Amanat. In addition, as we built a story that speaks of identity, it was relevant that his powers are linked to his lineage. In addition, this change has the approval of Iman Vellani. If she hadn’t agreed, we would have known.