Riz Ahmed wants to work with Mindy Kaling on the screenplay for Ms. Marvel, which would be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first film starring a Muslim American superhero.
Ahmed tweeted that he thinks himself, Kaling, and Kumail Nanjiani would make a good team for the script. “So when do @MarvelStudios want me @mindykaling @kumailn to get started on the Ms. Marvel screenplay?” he wrote.
While Kaling seemed up to the task, replying to Ahmed that she’s “obsessed with this comic book,” other Twitter users weren’t so sure that it’d be fitting.
“Neither of them are acquainted in the slightest with a Pakistani Muslim American girl's experience, the latter isn't even respectful to the main character's tradition anyway considering he trashed it in the big sick. You really think that's a good idea?” user @zawarjafri wrote.
However, Ahmed immediately responded that if they did end up working on the screenplay, he’d hand it over to comic book writer G. Willow Wilson and Marvel Comics editor Sana Amanat.
Marvel Studios' CEO Kevin Feige spoke about the possibility of the Muslim superhero coming to the big screen earlier this month with BBC.
“Captain Marvel's shooting right now with Brie Larson,” he said. “Ms. Marvel, which is another character in the comic books, the Muslim hero who is inspired by Captain Marvel, is definitely sort of in the works. We have plans for that once we introduce Captain Marvel.”
Ms. Marvel, or Kamala Khan, is pretty new to the MCU. We first saw her in 2013's Captain Marvel #14 as a fan of Captain Marvel, a.k.a. Carol Danvers. Ms. Marvel later debuted in her own comic book, titled Ms. Marvel #1. Unlike her superhero idol who has the powers of flight, energy, and super-strength, Ms. Marvel has the power of elasticity.
Ahmed will appear in the movie Venom, which hits theaters on Oct. 5—prior to that, he was in Disney’s Rogue One. Kaling has also starred in Disney movies herself, like Wrinkle in Time and Inside Out.
