Iman Vellani is an unqualified star.
With charisma and likeability to spare, Vellani is the perfect Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan, who triumphantly shines more than ever in The Marvels. It is thanks to Vellani that the interplay between the three lead actresses in Nia DaCosta’s latest film is as fluid and fun as it is. She consistently steals the show, and she deserves more praise and recognition than she's already gotten. She's a glowing bright spot in a franchise going through its lowest point, and no matter how Marvel retools the MCU moving forward, she needs to be a definitive part of its future.
The Marvels had a disappointing opening weekend, making $47 million nationwide against a $220 million budget. As the lowest movie opening in MCU franchise history, it reflects a common sentiment—audiences are as exhausted by the quantity of Marvel content as by its declining consistency. That's the double-edged sword of intertwined media. One one hand, so long as the larger brand's reputation is stellar, even the weaker projects can slide by on good will. But if the brand's reputation suffers, then every project also takes a hit—even the better ones, like The Marvels, that don't deserve the brunt of the blowback.
No doubt, there's a reckoning on the way, and plenty of blame to go around. The only MCU movie slated for 2024 is Deadpool 3—Marvel postponed every other film project to 2025 or beyond. And Marvel is retooling its TV shows too. Critics and fans gave the recent Secret Invasion negative reviews, and the company announced in October that Daredevil: Born Again would be reshot and rewritten to bring it up to quality.
It's also important, in the midst of this restructuring, to keep and hold onto what worked—to not throw out the baby with the proverbial bathwater. And Vellani, utilized properly, is the future of the MCU brand. She hasn't gotten the big moment she deserves yet, but the right vehicle, with the right script and stakes, can make this girl a star.
Back in the 2010s, the Kamala Khan character was part of a larger effort to diversify Marvel’s comic book roster—not by pandering, but by creating new, fully realized, three-dimensional characters. To wit: Marvel does not fulfill a diversity quota by reimagining Peter Parker as a Black man. Instead, the company frames "Spider-Man" as a mantle that multiple people can take on. Enter Miles Morales: a separate Spider-Man who exists alongside Peter Parker, and has emerged as one of Marvel's most beloved superheroes. That's true diversity—to create characters with individual motivations and histories—rather than treating race and ethnic background as a surface-level, aesthetic choice.
Kamala was born from the same creative approach. She is a Pakistani-American Muslim girl, but that is one aspect of a larger, complex identity. Her most defining characteristic is that she is a fangirl of Marvel superheroes—specifically her idol, Captain Marvel. She projects an earnest enthusiasm—of someone who is thrilled to be a part of things, and is not handling things in a way that anyone would perceive as "cool." It is more endearing than cringeworthy, surprisingly—mostly because she embodies the sort of old-school, unpretentious nobility that comes with the title of "superhero."
Vellani acts like a teenage girl rather than an adult doing an impression of a teenage girl—a crucial distinction that makes her such an effective performer. And she portrays Kamala not as someone worldly, but as someone who's been sheltered by traditional upbringing, and by immigrant parents who would rather their only daughter focus on her grades than have her head in the clouds. It's instantly relatable, and it's a dynamic that the MCU has explored very little of thus far. Other young characters in the MCU, like Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), are fiercely independent. But this sort of family-centered story is closer to reality for the vast majority of viewers.
Kamala knows that right is right and wrong is wrong. It's this naivete—this sincere enthusiasm and starry-eyed wonder—that Vellani portrays so well, both in the Disney+ show Ms. Marvel (which deserves a second season) and The Marvels, where Kamala's joyful lack of restraint is a wonderful counterpoint to Carol Danvers' (Brie Larson) world weariness and Monica Rambeau's (Teyonah Parris) wounded defensiveness. Danvers in particular comes to appreciate her protégé and the youthful, do-good energy that she brings to the table. Carol is at her best when she tries to live up to the ideals that Kamala has of her.
Kamala's relatability—her optimistic need to do the right thing—makes her the perfect hero to kickstart the New Avengers. In the final scene right before the end credits, Kamala shows up at Kate Bishop's to recruit her to a superhero team. She also mentions Cassie Lang, who also fits into the teens/early 20s age range. And Yelena or America Chavez (or maybe Miles Morales? He and Kamala are friends in the comics) can't be far behind. A group needs a charismatic idealist for everyone to rally around. For the Avengers, it was Captain America. For the New Avengers, it should be Kamala Khan.
“Iman totally steals the show," says The Marvels director Nia DaCosta in an exclusive statement to Complex. "Her portrayal of Kamala Khan is nuanced, hilarious, warm, and pitch-perfect. She’s the future of the MCU—I’m just lucky I got to be a part of her journey inside of it.”
It's a frustrating shame that the circumstances with the SAG-AFTRA strike meant that Iman Vellani could not do a full press tour in support of the film. Based on her performance, this should have been her breakout year. But since she's not getting the global buzz she should, for a movie that many people will not see, we wanted to celebrate her performance and give Vellani her flowers. And we're hoping that future MCU films and TV shows lift her up, salvaging the best from what has been an inarguably bad situation.
