Iman Vellani Didn't Expect Kamala to Be a "Main Character" in The Marvels

By Charlie Ridgely

Brie Larson is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2023 for The Marvels, a sequel to the hit 2019 film Captain Marvel. This time around, however, she'll have some super-powered allies fighting alongside her. Teyonah Parris' Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan are set to lead The Marvels with Larson's Carol Danvers. Vellani, whose solo Ms. Marvel series just began on Disney+, didn't realize she was going to have such a big role in the upcoming Marvel movie.

During a recent interview with Variety, Vellani opened up about getting the call for The Marvels while shooting Ms. Marvel. She assumed it would just be a cameo type of thing for her character, but later found out that she was actually playing one of the film's three main characters.

"It was a night shoot when they were announcing everything at Disney Investor Day," Vellani explained. "Right before they announced The Marvels cast, I get a text from Disney PR, I get a text from Brie Larson and I get a text from our producers all at the same time saying I'm in the movie and then they announced it on the screen. I was like, 'Thank you.' I had a hunch I was going to be in it, but more of a cameo role, not an actual main character, so it was cool."

Ms. Marvel is acting as an origin story for Kamala Khan as a hero in the MCU. We already saw Carol's heroic origin in the first Captain Marvel film, while Monica got her powers during the events of WandaVision. They'll all come together for The Marvels, with Candyman director Nia DaCosta leading the charge behind the camera.

"Nia DaCosta is my favorite human ever," Vellani said of the director. "I think she's so talented and so caring and considerate. She's very much an actor's director. Like, after she gets a take she wants, she's like 'This is yours. Do whatever you want. Anything we haven't tried, just do it.' She would always give positive reinforcement, even if she didn't have any notes. She'd be like 'That little thing you did with your hand, I really liked that.' And I'm like, 'Oh, wow. She noticed!' She really cares and checks up on you."

New episodes of Ms. Marvel are released on Disney+ every Wednesday. The Marvels is set to hit theaters on July 28, 2023.

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