SNAPSHOT
Ms. Marvel, launching on Disney+ in [U.S.] Summer 2022, is a new series that introduces Kamala Khan—a 16-year-old Pakistani-American growing up in Jersey City. A great student, an avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, she has a special affinity for superheroes, particularly Captain Marvel. But Kamala struggles to fit in at home and at school—that is, until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life is easier with super powers, right? Ms. Marvel sees Iman Vellani starring alongside Aramis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Laith Naki, Azher Usman, Travina Springer, Nimra Bucha, Laurel Marsden, Anjali Bhimani, Farhan Akhtar and Arian Moayed. (synopsis courtesy Flickering Myth)
In a year filled to the brim with brilliant new series to watch, and alas, not enough time to watch them all, the imminent release of the first episode of Ms. Marvel is an exciting addition to the line-up.
Reflecting, notes CBR, “the unique style from the original comics that the series will emulate”, the newly-released character posters introduce to the cast who will no doubt make quite the impression over the six-episode series which is intended as a lead-in for next year’s The Marvels movie and which is an official part of the MCU’s Phase Four.
The riot of colours suggests a buoyantly fun but emotionally weighty series, something very much conveyed by the trailer, and according to the series creator Sana Amanat, is a deliberate homage to the show’s comic book origins.
“‘The comic was very much a guiding light for us’, she said. ‘We needed to make sure that it worked in the MCU, of course, but we wanted to make sure that we had that quirkiness and the stylistic distinction that the comics did so well. We wanted to find our own MCU version of it.’ (CBR.com)
Bringing together live action and animation, Ms Marvel is all about taking into Kamala’s headspace, notes co-director Adil El Arbi, with the mix of the two styles showing us “that her head is in the clouds and she’s always fantasizing.” (CBR.com)
As Marvel’s first series to start a Muslim character, count on Ms. Marvel to shine a light on all kinds of things, not least the world of a very ordinary girl who suddenly discovers she may be more extraordinary than she realises.
Ms. Marvel begins streaming its six-episode season on 8 June, ending 13 July.
