Ms. Marvel is one of the most charming projects to come out of the recent Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that’s owed in large part to its lead actor. Iman Vellani brought breakout Marvel Comics superhero Kamala Khan to the small and big screen with megawatt charm.
So when Polygon sat down with Vellani in advance of this Saturday’s 2024 Anime Awards, we had to know: Have the folks behind the MCU assured her that Ms. Marvel has a place in its future?
“I have been assured,” she replied, and continued, with good humor, “So that feels good, but there was no more assurance than that. [laugh] They give me breadcrumbs, and I try and make a meal out of it.”
Vellani’s last MCU project was The Marvels, which concluded with a big tease for a teenage superhero team featuring Vellani’s Ms. Marvel, Hailee Steinfeld’s Hawkeye, and other teenage superheroes in Nick Fury’s database, like Kathryn Newton’s Stinger. The scene is the closest Marvel Studios has come to confirming a production featuring the Young Avengers team, though many characters traditionally associated with the comic book version of the team have already appeared in the MCU at least once.
Alternatively, now that Ms. Marvel is a known mutant character, Vellani might also be tapped for whatever Marvel Studios plans to do with the X-Men franchise. But with the company’s output being significantly retooled in the wake of high profile firings and a string of poorly received projects, it’s also unclear when anything that incorporates the X-Men into the MCU would swim into focus.
For now, at least, Vellani remains assured.