While fans of Ms. Marvel have been buzzing about the new series on Disney+, at Unionville High School in Markham, Ontario, students are particularly excited to see the show and its lead actor Iman Vellani.
“She was in our school, she’s one of us and a big star in Marvel. That’s very cool,” said Grade 9 student Jahnavi Macharla.
“She just really makes me proud.”
Vellani, who was born in Pakistan and moved to Canada with her parents when she was one, plays the title character, also known as Kamala Khan.
The show features Marvel’s first Muslim superhero and is based on the comic book series that was launched in 2014. It’s also Vellani’s first TV series, and she says she still can’t quite believe she got the part.
“It’s all so surreal ... it’s the only way to describe it,” she recently said in an interview with CTV’s Etalk.
At Vellani’s high school, current students of South Asian descent told CTV News it’s particularly meaningful to see themselves reflected in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“Since I was growing up, I would always see non-South Asian characters and never see someone I could relate to or look up to,” said Grade 10 student Ishleen Thakur.
But Vellani’s casting, students said, makes them feel more represented on screen.
“It shows who we are and that we’re capable of being part of the Hollywood industry and to be able to do so much other things than people expected of us,” said Devanshi Seth, who is in Grade 9. “I’m really happy she’s representing our culture, who we are and the school.”
While in high school, Vellani used to haunt a comic book store across the street called Heroes World.
She said she was big fan of the ‘Iron Man’ series and one day came across Ms. Marvel. She was amazed there was a Pakistani Muslim character with a similar background to her own.
“I didn’t have many female superheroes that I looked up to, and the fact that this comic book was holding up a mirror in front of me was just absolutely nuts,” said Vellani. “She’s was Pakistani, she was Muslim and a superhero fanatic. I was a Pakistani Muslim superhero fanatic.”
Andre Greenidge, who runs Heroes World, says with pride that he sold Vellani her first Ms. Marvel comic book.
“It feels like I’m on this rollercoaster ride with her, because I’m so happy for her. She totally deserves it,” Greenidge told CTV News.
“I never met anyone who so totally embodies the character that they’re portraying, so it’s really fantastic.”
Greenidge has a large collection of Ms. Marvel comics on display at the store and watched the first episode in the new series hours after it was released. He said he thinks the show is really well done.
“All of a sudden, people will know her. She’s going to be a household name – Ms. Marvel – just like people say Captain Marvel and Iron Man, they’re also going to mention Ms. Marvel,” he said. “That’s how good the character is, and that’s how good the show is.”
Ms. Marvel: Canadian actor stars in new Disney series - CTV News
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