'Ms. Marvel' Casts Newcomer Iman Vellani as Superhero Kamala Khan

Ms. Marvel
Toronto International Film Festival / Marvel Comics

Kumail Nanjiani reacts to the Disney Plus series casting its titular role.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has found its Kamala Khan.

Newcomer Iman Vellani has been cast in the titular role of Disney+'s upcoming Ms. Marvel series and will make history as Marvel's first Muslim superhero, according to multiple reports.

The series, which is set to be helmed by directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys for Life), Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Meera Menon, centers on a Pakistani-American teenager and superhero polymorph living in Jersey City.

Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige announced the series at D23 Expo last summer, adding of Kamala, "You will meet her in her Disney+ series and then you will see her in our films. (Which means we will see Vellani's Kamala opposite Brie Larson's Captain Marvel on the big screen sooner rather than later.)

Though Disney has yet to officially confirm the cast, Ms. Marvel head writer Bisha K. Ali took to Twitter with a single emoji to show she was feeling the love, while comic writer and Kamala Khan creator G. Willow Wilson, tweeted, "I guess this news is out. Congrats, Iman! She is the real deal."

Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani, meanwhile, took to social to welcome Vellani to the MCU family. "I just saw they cast Ms. Marvel and legit got teary eyed," he tweeted. "Congratulations Iman Vellani! Your work is going to mean so much to so many people, myself included. I can’t wait."

The Ms. Marvel casting comes after Tatiana Maslany landed the lead role in She-Hulk earlier this month. As far as Disney+ series go, that still leaves Moon-Knight and Hawkeye's Kate Bishop to be cast. (Though Hailee Steinfeld has long been rumored for the latter.)

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