Ms. Marvel Actress Iman Vellani Doesn’t Care About Changes To Character’s Powers: “She Could Shoot Sausages Out Her Fingers”
John F. Trent
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Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani made it abundantly clear that she does not care about the changes being made to Kamala Khan’s powers in the upcoming Disney+ show.
Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in Marvel Studios’ MS. MARVEL, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
For those unfamiliar with Kamala Khan, in her original comics origin she is revealed to be an Inhuman who gains the ability to manipulate her body numerous ways including being able to shrink herself down, make certain parts of her body bigger like her hands, or even take on the identity of different characters such as Carol Danvers.
Source: Ms. Marvel #1
However, her Inhuman origin is getting changed for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and so are her powers albeit it’s unclear what her origin will be and what her new powers exactly are.
The trailers for the show have highlighted a bracelet and appear to show her using Green Lantern-like construct abilities.
(L-R): Rish Shah as Kamran and Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in Marvel Studios’ MS. MARVEL, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
Kevin Feige recently spoke with Empire explaining they were tossing the majority of her comic book origin to the wayside, “We adapt the comics; it’s not an exact translation.”
He elaborated, “[Kamala] came about in a very specific time within the comic-book continuity. She is now coming into a very specific time within the MCU continuity. And those two things didn’t match.”
Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in Marvel Studios’ MS. MARVEL. Photo by Daniel McFadden. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
He then said, “What we will learn about where those powers come from, and how they come about, is specific to the MCU.”
While Khan’s powers will be different, Feige does note that her giant hands will be making an appearance, “You will see great comic splash panels in some of our action sequences. If you want big, giant hands and arms, well they’re here in spirit, if not in stretchy, plastic-type ways.”
(L-R): Rish Shah as Kamran and Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in Marvel Studios’ MS. MARVEL, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
He further teased her origin and powers saying, “It taps into the future of her story as it connects to her other friends that she will meet in the upcoming film The Marvels.”
He then hinted, “She’s interested in knowing, ‘Great, does that mean I’m an Asgardian? Did I get hit with gamma rays?’ No, it’s seemingly none of those things. It goes to her own past and her heritage and lineage.”
(L-R) Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan and Matt Lintz as Bruno in Marvel Studios’ MS. MARVEL, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
Vellani addressed the change to her powers speaking with SFX Magazine saying, “I think we stay true to what the comics brought The themes have always been about identity and about marrying the 50 million things that make Kamala.”
She added, “For all I care she could shoot sausages out of her fingers, as long as she still goes on that self-discovery journey.”
Source: MsMarvelUK Twitter
It begs the question as to why they are calling the character Kamala Khan and Ms. Marvel. If her origin and her powers have completely changed and seemingly the actress, Feige, and the studio could care less about the comic book version of the character why didn’t they just introduce a new character with this new power set and origin story?
Why even use Kamala Khan and Ms. Marvel especially when it appears the comic book character and this new MCU version using the same names are indeed two different characters.
Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in Marvel Studios’ MS. MARVEL. Photo by Daniel McFadden. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
The official description for Ms. Marvel reads, “Marvel Studios’ “Ms. Marvel” is a new, original series that introduces Kamala Khan, a Muslim American teenager growing up in Jersey City. An avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, Kamala is a Super Hero megafan with an oversized imagination—particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel.”
The description concludes, “Yet Kamala feels like she doesn’t fit in at school and sometimes even at home—that is, until she gets superpowers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life gets better with superpowers, right?”
Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in Marvel Studios’ MS. MARVEL. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
The series arrives on Disney+ on June 8th.
What do you make of Vellani’s comments about Kamala Khan, her origin, and her powers?
NEXT: Disney And Marvel Bank On Identity Politics In First Teaser For Ms. Marvel Disney Plus Series
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