Kevin Feige Wants Ms. Marvel Movie To Be Comics Accurate

Speaking at the Production Guild’s 10th annual Produced By conference, Marvel visionary Kevin Feige has revealed he wants the MCU’s version of Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, to be comic book accurate.

Created in 2013, Kamala Khan has proved to be one of Marvel’s foremost “Legacy Heroes.” When writer G. Willow Wilson launched the Ms. Marvel series in February 2014, she never expected the character to prove so popular; in fact, Wilson had actually prepared a three-issue exit strategy, for if preorder sales were low. Four years later, the Ms. Marvel series is still ongoing. What’s more, Kevin Feige recently revealed that Marvel Studios has plans for Ms. Marvel.

Related: Ms. Marvel Should Debut in a Captain Marvel Movie

Now those plans have become a little bit clearer. Speaking at the Produced By conference, Feige explained why Marvel had held back on Kamala Khan. “We wanted to get Captain Marvel out there first,” he revealed, “so that there is something for a young Muslim girl to get inspired by.“

Kevin Feige Wants Ms. Marvel Movie To Be Comics Accurate

It may only have been a brief comment, but it gives a sense of just how comic book accurate Marvel Studios intend to make Ms. Marvel. That statement from Feige contains two ideas that are absolutely central to Kamala’s comic book identity.

Firstly, you have the entertaining dynamic between Kamala Khan and Carol Danvers. In the comics, Kamala is essentially a Captain Marvel fangirl who gains super-powers after undergoing Terrigenesis. She takes up the identity of “Ms. Marvel” in honor of her hero. It seems Marvel Studios intend to follow a similar arc, although it’s important to note that this may mean it will be a while before we get to see Kamala Khan on the big-screen. Although Captain Marvel will be set in the ’90s, the fact the MCU hasn’t mentioned her before now suggests she won’t be a public hero in the style of Iron Man. Instead, it’s likely Carol Danvers will only become a celebrated hero in the aftermath of next year’s Avengers 4, when she presumably returns to Earth in response to Nick Fury’s summons. That means we probably shouldn’t expect to see Kamala Khan for a few more years, given Kamala will need time to develop her fan obsession.

Secondly, and crucially, Feige acknowledges that Kamala Khan will still be “a young Muslim girl.” As writer G. Willow Wilson explained in a blog post, “A h-u-g-e reason Ms Marvel has struck the chord it has is because it deals with the role of traditionalist faith in the context of social justice, and there was–apparently–an untapped audience of people from a wide variety of faith backgrounds who were eager for a story like this.” Kevin Feige clearly intends to honor that concept, and tell the same kind of story readers of the Ms. Marvel comic have been picking up. That definitely fits well with Feige’s other comments at the Produced By conference, which recognized diversity as key to Marvel’s future.

No doubt there will be changes, of course. In the comics, Kamala gained her powers because she possesses the Inhuman gene, and was unwittingly exposed to Terrigen. But Marvel Studios seem to have little interest in the Inhumans, canceling the planned Phase 3 movie and passing the property on to Marvel Television. The Inhumans TV series was one of Marvel Television’s most notable failures to date, and it’s very unlikely Marvel Studios will choose to bring the Inhuman concept to the big screen anytime soon. So, as comic book accurate as Feige may intend the MCU’s Kamala Khan to be, we should expect a revised origin story.