MS.
MARVEL

FROM THE COMICS TO DISNEY+

HOW MS. MARVEL REACHED THE SCREEN

The series was announced at the D23 conference in August 2019 with Bisha K. Ali as head writer, and Iman Vellani was cast in the lead in September 2020 after an in-person screen test in February 2020 and a Zoom test in June. Adil & Bilall directed episodes 1 and 6, and Meera Menon and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy directed two episodes each.

Ali has said the project was personal “as a fan, as a South Asian person, as a Pakistani woman.” Kevin Feige explained that the powers in the comics did not match the MCU timeline, so they were adjusted to relate to Kamala’s Pakistani heritage.

ATLANTA, NEW JERSEY AND BANGKOK

HOW THE SERIES WAS MADE

Filming began in early November 2020 at Trilith Studios in Atlanta under the working title Jersey, with additional shooting in Hudson County, New Jersey, and principal photography concluded in Thailand in early May 2021. Thailand stood in for Pakistan because the production could not shoot there, though some pickup shots were filmed in Karachi, and reshoots took place at the end of January 2022. Laura Karpman composed the score, and the two soundtrack volumes came out on 22 June and 13 July 2022.

A PAKISTANI-AMERICAN STORY

HOW THE SERIES TREATED CULTURE AND HISTORY

The partition of India is a major part of the series and was included from the start of development. Priya Satia, a Stanford historian of the British Empire, consulted on it, with cultural advisors checking scripts and footage for authenticity. Destiny Jackson of Empire praised “an authentic take on Pakistani-American culture.”

The series’ use of the term Djinn also prompted debate. Some Muslim fans pointed out that the Quran prohibits worship of Djinn, and Obaid-Chinoy responded that the word was being used to represent “anyone who is different, or anyone who has powers.” Disney+ was not available in Pakistan, so the series was released there in cinemas in three parts through HKC Entertainment.

A TEENAGE HERO AND HER FAMILY

WHO IS IN THE CAST

Iman Vellani plays Kamala Khan, with Matt Lintz as Bruno Carrelli, Yasmeen Fletcher as Nakia Bahadir, Zenobia Shroff as Muneeba Khan, Mohan Kapur as Yusuf Khan, Saagar Shaikh as Aamir Khan, Rish Shah as Kamran and Aramis Knight as Kareem, also known as Red Dagger. Fawad Khan, Mehwish Hayat and Farhan Akhtar appear in supporting roles.

THE REWATCH

A 98% CRITICS SCORE AND A DIVIDED AUDIENCE

The six episodes ran from “Generation Why” on 8 June 2022 to “No Normal” on 13 July 2022, with runtimes from 41 to 52 minutes. Rotten Tomatoes lists a 98% critics’ score from 311 reviews and an 80% audience score, and its consensus calls the series “a genuinely fresh addition to the MCU.” Metacritic gives it 78 from 23 critics and a user score of 4.6. The series was review bombed on IMDb after its first episode.

The series won a Harvey Award for best adaptation from a comic book or graphic novel, Vellani won a Saturn Award for best performance by a younger actor in a streaming series, and the series also won a Creative Arts Emmy for outstanding motion design. Parrot Analytics measured demand at 46.2 times the average series in its first month. The final episode’s mid-credits scene is also depicted in The Marvels.

In the Marvel Marathon it sits in the MCU release order guide between Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder. It sits between Moon Knight and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law in the MCU series order and Marvel TV shows in order guides. In the MCU timeline guide it comes between She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Thor: Love and Thunder.