Get ready to meet the MCU’s newest heroine. Following Moon Knight‘s conclusion earlier this May, the next Marvel Studios TV series is right around the corner in the form of Ms. Marvel, which introduces us to Kamala Khan, as played by industry newcomer Iman Vellani. Getting your big acting break by being cast as a Marvel superhero is an enormous achievement, and this new featurette makes clear why Vellani was the only person who could’ve brought Kamala to life.
As shared by USA TODAY, this new promo sees the 19-year-old actress summarize her character as a “passionate, creative high school kid” who is going through all of the usual issues that teens do, including “family drama, boy trouble, [and] school problems.” But something that Marvel really wants to emphasize is that she’s also a fangirl. Specifically, she’s Captain Marvel’s number one supporter. Catch the featurette via the following tweet:
One controversial change Marvel’s made to the character from the comics is the nature of her powers, with her size-shifting switched out for some energy-based abilities. In this promo, Vellani teases a little bit more about how they work, describing her as being able to “manifest light.” However, as we all know, with great power comes great responsibility, and showrunner Biska K. Ali previews that Kamala’s “biggest conflict is with herself” as the series will see Kamala grappling with her own identity and newfound status as a superhero.
In many ways, then, Ms. Marvel will revisit some classic themes from the genre, particularly crossing over with concepts from Spider-Man stories. So it’s kind of perfect that Vellani is obsessed with Marvel in real life, as Kevin Feige has revealed how she carried a “Unabomber” notebook around with her on set and would often pitch her own ideas to him. Now that sounds like Kamala Khan.
Ms. Marvel kicks off on Disney Plus this June 8.