Ms. Marvel Disney Plus series casts its lead role

(Image credit: © 2020 MARVEL)

Disney Plus' Ms. Marvel series has cast newcomer Iman Vellani as its titular character, reports Deadline

Vellani secured the role after a long and arduous search to find the right actor to play Kamala Khan, the Pakistani-American teenager from New Jersey who has polymorphic powers that allow her to shrink or grow parts of her body. Ms. Marvel is inspired by Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel, and uses her powers to protect her Jersey City hometown before eventually becoming an Avenger herself. 

Ms. Marvel will be the first Muslim superhero in the MCU to be portrayed on-screen. According to Deadline, Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige has previously said Kamala Khan will be introduced in the upcoming Marvel movies, so it's great to see a newcomer like Vellani secure such a crucial role. 

The Ms. Marvel Disney Plus series will be written by Bisha K. Ali, with episodes directed by Meera Menon, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and the duo behind Bad Boys for Life, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. 

Ms. Marvel is a fantastic character full of pathos and pluck, so it's incredibly exciting to see her Disney Plus series begin to move forward. As we previously reported in our Marvel's Avengers game review, Ms. Marvel was its emotional centerpiece, one that only made us more excited to see her portrayed in other forms of media. 

No word yet on when the Ms. Marvel series will arrive on Disney Plus, but we do know that the WandaVision release date will fall sometime later this year. Plus, in other new Marvel TV shows news, Tatiana Maslany has been cast as She-Hulk in new Disney Plus series. The Young Avengers are really coming together...

Alyssa Mercante

Alyssa Mercante is an editor and features writer at GamesRadar based out of Brooklyn, NY. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.