Iman Vellani is remarkably at ease for a 19-year-old nobody making their debut in a popular Marvel TV series. The performer, who was born in Karachi and reared in Ontario, laughs as she looks into her phone’s camera for a Zoom interview. “I did not take the audition seriously,” she says. “I only went to the audition because I’m a fan of Ms. Marvel and Marvel books. I fired my shot, and now we are here!
The Disney+ original series Ms. Marvel, about Kamala Khan, a teenage Avengers fanatic who learns she has superpowers, launched last month. On Thursday, the season finale will premiere, and Kamala will need to use everything she has learned up to this point to take on the mysterious organization Damage Control and rescue her friends’ lives. Then, in 2023, she will team up with Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) for the highly-anticipated Captain Marvel sequel.
Vellani is just now becoming familiar with what it means to be the face of a monster franchise; the show actually wrapped up filming two years ago, at the height of COVID-19. We’re talking about the interference from the press, the relentless online barrage from fans, and the total transformation of her life. She also had to contend with being the first Muslim lead in a show that was predominately white; this made her an instant role model for millions of people and a target for hatred from others.
Yes, even though Ms. Marvel received high praise from critics, her diverse main character infuriated a vocal minority. Given that Vellani and Kamala are similar, the hatred seems more personal to Vellani. Vellani is a Marvel fanatic like Khan. She was thrust into the spotlight just like Khan. She has been given a lot of responsibility, much like Khan.
Fortunately, and probably unexpectedly considering her young age, Vellani was completely ready. She says, “I feel like I’ve aged 20 in the previous two years.” “I got my cast on my last day of school and started meeting and talking to grownups right away. And the majority of my closest friends are now in their 30s.
“Even though I’m only 19, I feel like I’ve experienced [a entire life],” Life hasn’t actually been lived by me yet. It’s wonderful that I now have their contact information and can chat to the folks who appeared on the posters that hung on my bedroom wall and that I used to look at every morning.
Vellani is just now becoming familiar with what it means to be the face of a monster franchise; the show actually wrapped up filming two years ago, at the height of COVID-19. We’re talking about the interference from the press, the relentless online barrage from fans, and the total transformation of her life. She also had to contend with being the first Muslim lead in a show that was predominately white; this made her an instant role model for millions of people and a target for hatred from others.
Yes, even though Ms. Marvel received high praise from critics, her diverse main character infuriated a vocal minority. Given that Vellani and Kamala are similar, the hatred seems more personal to Vellani. Vellani is a Marvel fanatic like Khan. She was thrust into the spotlight just like Khan. She has been given a lot of responsibility, much like Khan.
Fortunately, and probably unexpectedly considering her young age, Vellani was completely ready. She says, “I feel like I’ve aged 20 in the previous two years.” “I got my cast on my last day of school and started meeting and talking to grownups right away. And the majority of my closest friends are now in their 30s.
“Even though I’m only 19, I feel like I’ve experienced [a entire life],” Life hasn’t actually been lived by me yet. It’s wonderful that I now have their contact information and can chat to the folks who appeared on the posters that hung on my bedroom wall and that I used to look at every morning.
Hey Iman, how’s your first press tour going?
“It’s honestly so cathartic to finally talk about the show. For a long time, it felt like this little indie movie that we were making. It makes me really happy that this character is getting the light she deserves.”
How are you coping with the attention?
“It’s trippy and weird because people are very possessive over celebrities. People can access them whenever they want through a Google search or Disney+. That’s scary – and, you know, that’s not me. I think I’ve kept my real self quite private. I am still processing the fact that the show is even out and that people know my name.“
Do you feel any responsibility in being the first Muslim lead in a Marvel series?
“Here’s the thing, it felt very close to home for me. I have a very similar family dynamic to Kamala’s. A lot of the words and phrases that are being thrown in the show are being used in my day-to-day. I don’t feel the pressure.”
How important was Kamala’s heritage to you?
“For some reason, every time we see Muslims and South Asians [on screen], especially teenagers, they’re never proud of their culture. It’s always something that’s dragging them down. That’s so not true. Kamala’s story has always been about using her cultural identity as something that motivates her and guides her. That was really important to us [when making Ms. Marvel].”
Sharing so much with your character is going to make it harder for people to separate you…
“I know! I feel like I’m cosplaying on a bigger scale! It’s a very vulnerable place to be in because my genuine happy place is Marvel and the MCU. When I’m sad I’ll rewatch Iron Man. But it’s not like I’m the one person in the world who is allowed to watch Iron Man. It just shows how personal these movies and these characters are and the impact they have.”
How do you deal with the negative reactions?
“I know they’re there. It’s something we knew was going to happen going into this. It happened when the comic books came out in 2014. I’m all for constructive criticism as long as people have a legitimate concern or suggestion or something real. Then I care. But all the hatred I’ve seen has no basis, no merit, it’s just purely for the sake of hating – and that’s fine. You’re not gonna impress everyone. We hit our target audience and we hit an entirely new audience that didn’t know they were gonna fall in love with this character – people who have never seen themselves represented in a positive light before.”
Have you heard about the review-bombing?
“I’m not on social media. I hear things that my mother tells me though. It’s honestly quite laughable and I think change is scary for a lot of people. And having a show that surrounds a 16-year-old girl who’s Pakistani and Muslim and a superhero is scary for a lot of people. I think this is just gonna rip the Band Aid off and hopefully people will fall in love with her.”
Even the haters?
“This show is for Marvel fans. If you’re a real Marvel fan, if any of those review bombers consider themselves a Marvel fan, then this show’s for them too. We wanted Ms. Marvel to be a love letter to Marvel fans. So yeah, I don’t care about them!”
What can you tell us about the season finale?
“It’s directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah who directed episode one, so a lot of that fun animation and quick Edgar Wright-style editing is coming back. Visually, it’s quite fun to look at…“
What does Kamala get up to?
“We see Kamala become her own version of what a superhero is. She stops trying to be this watered-down version of [her heroes]. In episode one and two she was copying Black Widow poses and continuing to wear that Captain Marvel costume because that made her feel more comfortable. Now she has her super-suit and goes into full fighter mode. She’s a fully-fledged superhero – and it’s really empowering and badass. I think people are gonna have a lot of fun watching [the finale] and their jaws are gonna drop.”
It must have been fun to do that Black Widow pose in front of a camera, right?
“It was awesome! With those Black Widow poses, a lot of the montage in episode two wasn’t choreographed, it was just me having fun! Any idea that we had, we’d just do it. The crew was more than welcome to be like, ‘what if you did this?’ and I’d be like, ‘okay, let’s film it!’ We got all this footage of me trying different things. It felt like a fun collaboration.”
It’s surprising to hear you had so much freedom on the set of a Marvel show…
“I know, it’s crazy that they trust me to change my lines on the spot. I felt comfortable doing it which is what was so strange!“
Have you got any plans for your career post-Ms. Marvel?
“Nope! I didn’t even know I could do this. Ms. Marvel came out of nowhere and so I decided I’m not going to plan my future. I’m just going to see where life takes me. If it’s an indie thing then great, if it’s Fast and Furious 29 then great. I don’t know! I’m going with the flow here.”