Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani made a video tribute to fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe hero Iron Man during her time in quarantine. The sixth Disney+ series for the Marvel Cinematic Universe will introduce Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old Pakistani-American from Jersey City who writes superhero fan fiction, primarily for Captain Marvel, before ultimately gaining shape-shifting powers. Vellani leads the cast as the titular heroine alongside Saagar Shaikh, Aramis Knight, Matt Lintz, Zenobia Shroff and Mohan Kapur.
Development on a Ms. Marvel project were reportedly in the works as early as 2016, though Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige would later confirm in 2018 that an MCU-set project focused on Khan was officially in the works for after the release of Captain Marvel. Bisha K. Ali, an alum from fellow Disney+ MCU series Loki, serves as creator and head writer for the series while Bad Boys for Life duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah direct two episodes, Meera Menon is directing one and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is directing three. Currently being described as a miniseries, Ms. Marvel is set to not only introduce Khan into the MCU but also set up the events of the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels, with Vellani set to star in the film alongside Brie Larson and WandaVision‘s Teyonah Parris.
A few months after it first debuted, an Iron Man tribute video from Vellani on Vimeo has surfaced. The video, entitled “I don’t wanna be alone 🙁,” is set to the Billy Joel tune and sees Vellani roaming around her apartment doing work on her laptop with an Iron Man decal, reading Avengers comics for research and eating a snack before transitioning into a black-and-white stop motion video with figures of Ms. Marvel and Iron Man. Check out the fun video below:
https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/100764923/type/dlg/sid/UUsrUeUpU307365/https://vimeo.com/553028181
Click here to watch the video
Though last year brought the exciting news for the public that Vellani had been cast as Ms. Marvel, the up-and-coming performer also had other exciting things in the works prior. The star was chosen to be a member of the TIFF Next Wave Committee for the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and debuted two other short films she directed, one entitled “Requiem for a Pandemic” being entirely in claymation and featuring a dedication to Feige. Additionally, Vellani shared a funny nod to the Robert Downey Jr. hero as part of her TIFF Next Wave profile, answering the question of who she would play in a movie with “Iron Man…duh.“
Since her casting, it’s become clear that Vellani is not only the best choice to lead Ms. Marvel from a representation perspective but also from one of dedication to the source material. The young star has frequently displayed a love for both the MCU as a whole and the large history of comics the franchise continues to draw from, making her impending arrival all the more exciting for fans. No premiere date is currently set for Vellani’s MCU debut, with Hawkeye‘s November arrival pointing towards Ms. Marvel likely not bowing until early 2022.
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