The Big Picture

Welcome to a new episode of Collider Ladies Night with The Marvels star, Iman Vellani! As described by Vellani, Kamala is not only a passionate Avengers fan but also a mature and emotionally intelligent leader, able to navigate the tensions between Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau due to her strong relationships and connections to humanity. Vellani spoke with Perri Nemiroff about scoring her dream role, discovering that Kamala is a strong leader, what she hopes the future holds for Ms. Marvel in the MCU, and more!

There’s one department the Marvel Cinematic Universe is especially consistent in — casting. And that’s in large part due to the brilliant eye of longtime franchise casting director Sarah Finn. She’s been with the series since 2008’s Iron Man and has been sending careers soaring ever since. One of her latest A+ finds? The effervescent star of Ms. Marvel and now The Marvels, Iman Vellani.

There is no better fit for the role of Kamala Khan than Vellani. As an extremely passionate Marvel fan herself, she has effortlessly infused Kamala with an infectious enthusiasm for everything Avengers. Yes, she did experience quite the evolution in Ms. Marvel after discovering she’s a superpowered individual herself, but she still has a lot of growing to do while facing her biggest test yet in Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels where Kamala is challenged to hold her own alongside two wildly powerful MCU forces, Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau and Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel.

With The Marvels now in theaters nationwide and with SAG-AFTRA reaching a tentative deal with the AMPTP, Vellani was able to join us for an episode of Collider Ladies Night to revisit her journey scoring the role of her dreams and how Kamala’s evolved since.

Given Ms. Marvel is Vellani’s very first professional credit, she’s a true find for Finn — and also a dream first casting director for Vellani to work with. During our chat, Vellani explained why she was so grateful that Finn was the casting director in the room for her very first high-pressure audition:

“We just hit it off on the first day before my screen test even. She called me to her office and I’m thinking, ‘I don’t know if she’s gonna make me read scenes with her or what’s gonna happen.’ She sits me down and she’s like, ‘So, tell me about yourself. What’s your favorite subject in school?’ And she just started to get to know me on a very personal level from our first interaction. She was asking me questions [about] everything but Marvel. I love that she was taking interest in me and just making me talk about things that I was passionate about, because that’s so much of Kamala’s character is just being a nerd and sharing her passion and her love with other people, and her enthusiasm.”

The pairing of Vellani’s real-world love of the franchise with Kamala’s in-world love of the Avengers proved to be the ideal match. Vellani oozes authenticity when playing Kamala as a big ol’ nerd and not only does it work exceptionally well for the character and her journey, but it often also serves as a powerful and joyful reminder to viewers of why so many out there are hardcore MCU fans.

When the time came to begin filming Ms. Marvel, Vellani was especially eager to bring Kamala to screen as a fangirl. Vellani explained, “I also lived in such a fantasy of my own life. I would always say, ‘I watch my life like a movie while it’s happening.’ I’m very outside of myself sometimes, especially in really crazy situations like auditioning for Marvel.” She continued by explaining how we can see that same effect happening to Kamala on screen:

“We brought a lot of that fantastical reality into depicting her world and the way she lives in it. I think a 16-year-old kid who’s trying to find some simplicity in her life through the Avengers, every fangirl/boy/anyone can relate to that. So that was really important for me to be true to that because, at the end of the day, the fans are what keeps this industry going. We’re nothing without them. All the theory videos, the breakdowns, the podcasts, they are the driving force, and it’s a lot for Kamala to represent that entire group, and I love the way that we did it. I love the way the comics did it, and I’m so glad that they let me bring all of my nerdiness into it.”

Image via Disney+

While Vellani was well aware of Kamala’s hugely charming “nerdiness,” there were some high-appeal qualities of the character that emerged along the way, like her ability to lead. Here’s how she put it:

“I think the quality I wasn’t expecting was how much of a leader she is. She’s, I think, the most emotionally intelligent, the most mature out of the Marvels, I would say. Even though she is much younger, she’s very much the glue of the group. She’s standing between the tension of two grown women, adult women, and they have years of history and experience under their belts, yet she doesn’t shy away from giving her opinion. She doesn’t shy away from making the tough call, making choices under pressure, and I think that’s something I really love about Kamala.”

This isn’t something that sets Kamala apart from just Carol and Monica. Vellani insists that due to her friends, family and community, Kamala has a better understanding of what it means to be human than most other MCU heroes. She explained:

“She’s one of the few characters who truly understands what it’s like to be a human and the value of a human life, and I think that’s because of her relationships – her friends, her family, her religious community. She has so many people that she cares about, and they kind of make her who she is. And then you compare it to Carol who’s a lonely cat lady in space with amnesia. She’s not doing anyone any favors. I don’t think she’s a very good leader, and I think she has a lot to learn from someone like Kamala, for example, who’s a natural-born leader.”

Eager to hear more from Vellani about her whirlwind journey with the MCU and what she hopes to see Kamala achieve in the franchise going forward? Watch her episode of Collider Ladies Night in the video at the top of this article, or you can listen to the conversation in podcast form below:

The Marvels Carol Danvers gets her powers entangled with those of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau, forcing them to work together to save the universe. Release Date November 10, 2023 Director Nia DaCosta Cast Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Zawe Ashton, Iman Vellani Rating PG-13 Runtime 105 minutes
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