Ms. Marvel Star Iman Vellani Refuses to Believe MCU Is Marvel’s 616 Universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to get a new hero later this month, when the live-action Ms. Marvel series makes its debut on Disney+. The show will be centered around Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), a teenage superhero who is also a passionate superfan of her fellow crimefighters. Interviews in the lead-up to the show have also revealed Vellani’s personal excitement about Marvel canon — and a new video of her at the series’ red carpet premiere recently showcased that in an epic way. In a now-deleted interview with Deadline, Vellani took umbrage with the fact that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness recently canonized the “main” MCU universe as Earth-616, something that contradicts what had previously been hinted at within the larger Marvel multiverse.

“I like to say [the comic book universe] is 616,” Vellani explained. “I don’t think the MCU is 616. As much as Kevin Feige would have us believe it’s 616, it’s 199999.”

Feige himself recently praised Vellani’s commitment to larger Marvel lore, revealing that the actress carried a notebook with her filled with ideas and comments 

“Much like Tom Holland and Peter Parker, Iman is a much bigger Marvel fan than we realized,” Feige told Empire Magazine. “[On set] she carries this Unabomber notebook with her everywhere, with her scribbles and ideas. And why wouldn’t we want to hear them? Not just because she’s playing the lead, she’d be commenting on the show online. So, better comment before the show’s done, and try to incorporate some of those ideas.”

Ms. Marvel introduces Kamala Khan-a 16-year-old Pakistani American from Jersey City. An aspiring artist, an avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, she is a huge fan of the Avengers-and one in particular, Captain Marvel. But Kamala has always struggled to find her place in the world-that is, until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to.

Alongside Vellani in the eponymous role, Aramis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Matt Lintz, Zenobia Shroff, and Mohan Kapur have been cast in various roles in the show. Written by a room led by Bisha K. Ali, directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah helmed the first and sixth episodes of the show’s first season. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy directed three others while Meera Menon directed one episode.

Are you excited for Disney+’s Ms. Marvel series? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Ms. Marvel is set to premiere on Disney+ on June 8th. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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