Quick Links
Iman Vellani is playing the role of her dreams. With this year’s premiere of the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, the 19-year-old Pakistani-Canadian actress Iman Vellani a.k.a Kamala Khan joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition to being Vellani's movie debut, the character is the first Muslim superhero in the MCU.
The story is set in New Jersey and depicts the transformation of a high school student into a superhero. Vellani is set to feature in The Marvels opposite Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Zawe Ashton next year, so this is only the beginning for her. As Vellani prepares to seize control of the MCU, let’s see how Iman Vellani became a fan-favorite Ms. Marvel.
A Huge Fan Of Ms. Marvel Before Getting The Role
Vellani was an avid Ms. Marvel fan before landing the part. In fact, she once dressed like her for Halloween. She tells People, "I only auditioned [for Ms. Marvel] because I am obsessed with Ms. Marvel and the comics. I have so much love for this character and for the Marvel universe, and that's really what drove me. It was my first audition, and I really only wanted to just meet people at Marvel. I think they just saw how much I love this world and gave me the opportunity and the trust to bring Kamala to life."
Vellani has previously appeared in a few short films, but Ms. Marvel is her first starring television role. In 2023, she will make her feature film debut with The Marvels. Despite enrolling in a theater program, Vellani initially had no intention of becoming an actress. People quoted her as saying, "I literally told everyone I wasn't going to be an actor because I went to high school for theater, and it was an art school. No one really went into the arts after high school, so I wanted to do more tech-related stuff and work with different mediums to make art." She continues, "Now here I am, and I'm absorbing everything like a sponge and learning so much from so many people."
How Iman Vellani Landed The Role Of Ms. Marvel
During her interview on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Vellani disclosed some interesting things. Jimmy stated during the interview that Ms. Marvel was Iman's first acting role out of high school. Iman stated that her aunt sent her a WhatsApp message informing her of the casting call for the desired part. Iman laughed, "Super sketchy! I don't know what casting calls look like, but I'm obsessed with Marvel, obsessed with Ms. Marvel, read all the comics in high school, [I even] dressed up as her on Halloween!" Jimmy displayed a photograph of Iman in her Ms. Marvel Halloween costume, eliciting a collective "Awww" from the audience.
Iman emailed her resume for the audition, joking about how she exaggerated her thirty hours of community service. She remarked sarcastically, "Because that's how you get roles!" Obviously, Iman's community service was not the main consideration in her casting for Ms. Marvel. Her real charisma and delight in portraying the protagonist permeate off-screen, proving that she was born to play Ms. Marvel. Iman informed Jimmy that she submitted her self-recording at 3 a.m. The next day, she was excited to receive a call from Marvel representatives asking if she had a lawyer.
They informed her that they desired to transport her to Los Angeles via airplane. And to think that Iman was concerned about failing her arithmetic exam! Iman had in fact been training for the Ms. Marvel role her entire life. She stated that she would create her own Avengers-themed nail art when the films were released and that she was "Very active on the Reddit forums - still am!" Jimmy remarked that Iman informed him she would pause the frames in Marvel movie trailers to determine what was happening. In other words, Iman is virtually identical to us!
Ms. Marvel's Character Helps People Feel Seen
Vellani hopes that with the debut of Ms. Marvel, people will feel represented on-screen. She tells People, "I really do think that we've represented the group of people we want to represent quite well," "I only wanted to bring everything that I love from the comics, and we achieved that." "I think [Kamala's] going to hit home for a lot of people, a lot of young people who never saw themselves represented in a positive light before," she adds.
Vellani only signed up for Instagram not too long ago, and it appears that she does not have any other active social networking sites. Vellani's favorite superhero is the one who established the Marvel Cinematic Universe, despite the fact that her avatar looks up to Captain Marvel as a role model. She stated in an interview with People that if she went to an AvengerCon in real life like her character does on the show, she would dress like Iron Man.
Sources: EW, People, Distractify
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEq6CcoJWowW%2BvzqZmq6GTnXqxu9aeqZ%2BtnGTBqbGMsqauppdirrexzaCcq2WYmr%2Bmv4yhprBlmaKur3nVnqOlmZ6eeqOxwpqknmWknbJussCnZJ%2BZpqS%2FqsDEZqSsZZ2Wv7exy2g%3D