Ms. Marvel is gearing up to bring more, well, suitably named superheroes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Like Captain Marvel before her, Ms. Marvel’s heroic pseudonym isn’t one of the most imaginative out there, but you shouldn’t discount her because of this not-so-creative superhero alias.
But we digress. Ms. Marvel is one of three confirmed MCU TV shows – Moon Knight and She-Hulk being the other two – that’ll launch on Disney Plus in 2022. So you’ll want to swot up on Ms. Marvel and everything about her TV series before it’s released.
Below, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about Ms. Marvel – aka Kamala Khan – before she makes her live-action debut. That includes the Marvel Phase 4 project’s release window, confirmed cast members, possible plot points, how it’ll tie into Captain Marvel’s second MCU movie, and more. Spoilers follow for Ms. Marvel’s comic book adventures and the TV show’s plot and unannounced characters.
Ms. Marvel release date
Ms. Marvel release date: summer 2022
Ms. Marvel doesn’t have an official release date yet, but we know it’s coming in summer 2022. This release window was confirmed as part of Disney’s end-of-year investors’ call in November 2021.
The TV show had initially been scheduled to arrive in late 2021, but its release date was pushed back owing to “minimal reshoots”, according to Marvel leaker Atlanta Filming. Those additional pick-ups are still being filmed, with recent on-set images showing that production is ongoing.
During its 2021 earnings call, Disney revealed that Ms. Marvel will release in Q4 2022. Ordinarily, that would mean the series would launch between October and December. However, Disney’s fiscal year starts and ends in September, which places its fourth-quarter between July and September – hence Ms. Marvel’s upcoming summer release.
So when will it officially arrive? Not before Moon Knight and Doctor Strange 2, which will launch on March 30 and May 6 respectively. Additionally, Thor: Love and Thunder will be released on July 8, so Marvel won’t want Kamala Khan’s adventure to compete with the God of Thunder’s next movie.
Our guess? Ms. Marvel will land on Disney Plus in August 2022. The only other MCU project coming post-summer is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which doesn’t launch until November. Meanwhile, we’d expect She-Hulk to arrive in June, bridging the theatrical gap between Doctor Strange 2 and Thor 4. Hopefully, Marvel will deliver an official release date for Ms. Marvel soon.
Ms. Marvel plot
Ms. Marvel plot: what's the story about?
Here’s the official synopsis, courtesy of Marvel Studios: “The original series centers on fan-favorite Kamala Khan – a 16-year-old Pakistani-American growing up in Jersey City. A great student, avid gamer, and voracious fan-fic scribe, Kamala has a special affinity for superheroes, particularly Captain Marvel. However, Kamala struggles to fit in at home and at school – that is, until she gets superpowers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life is easier with superpowers, right?”
That doesn’t give much away, but it’s a Marvel production, so we’d expect the studio to be very careful about what it reveals ahead of time.
Still, there are plenty of rumors circulating online that give us a clearer idea about the show’s plot. We’re diving into potential spoiler territory from this point. If you’d prefer not to know anything about the series pre-release, turn back now or jump ahead to the next section.
The first rumor relates to how Kamala Khan gets her powers. In the comics, Khan is subjected to a mutagenic substance known as Terrigen Mist. Released by the Inhuman known as Black Bolt, Terrigen Mist alters the biological makeup of humans with latent Inhuman genes – that is, it mutates their DNA and grants them superpowers.
Khan is one of those individuals. After her DNA is changed, she has the ability to ‘embiggen’ – a shapeshifting power that allows her to alter her physical size and appearance. She can grow taller or smaller, make her fists bigger to hit enemies harder, stretch her body using its elastic properties, and more. She also possesses accelerated healing factor, superhuman strength and durability, and bioluminescence.
Interestingly, Khan’s powers are also based around time travel. As The Direct explains, Ms. Marvel essentially shares her mass (at a cellular level) with other versions of herself through space and time. This allows her to grow or shrink in size. Coincidentally, IndieWire has reported that theoretical physicist Clifford Johnson acted as a consultant on Ms. Marvel. Johnson was also an advisor on MCU movies such as Avengers: Endgame, whose plot was centered on time travel. So it’s likely that Ms. Marvel’s live-action incarnation will retain these time-traveling abilities, which is briefly hinted at in the show’s 30-second teaser (you can watch this further down the page).
So we can expect to see Ms. Marvel has her embiggening powers in the MCU, right? Yes. Prominent Marvel leaker DanielRPK has claimed that the MCU’s incarnation will retain her shape-shifting powers. But they’ll have more in common with DCEU hero Green Lantern’s abilities than, say, another Marvel shapeshifter in Mr. Fantastic.
There is contrasting speculation as to how she’ll gain her abilities, though. According to DanielRPK and The Cosmic Circus’ editor-in-chief Lizzie Hill, Khan will be an Inhuman in the MCU and her powers will be energy-based.
According to leaker KC Walsh, however, Marvel has tweaked her superhero origins. This comes after other rumors suggested that Ms. Marvel would get her powers from a genie known as a djinn, and that her abilities would be magical instead of kinetic.
It appears that this magic/genie origin story alteration is based on the series’ rumored villains. According to multiple sources, including The Cosmic Circus, Moviescope, and Marvel leaker MyTimeToShineHello, a supervillain group called the ClanDestine will be the series’ antagonists.
In the comics, the ClanDestine are a centuries-old family of superpowered half-djinn individuals. They’re the descendants of Adam Destine, an ordinary man who becomes immortal after he falls in love with a djinn named Elyath. Adam freed Elyath from the gem that imprisoned her eons ago, and the pair eventually married before having a whole brood of superhuman offspring including Kay Cera/Cuckoo and Walter Destine/Wallop.
It’s unclear why they’d pursue Ms. Marvel in the MCU. But, and this is us speculating, maybe Khan is a half-djinn, too. That could be why there’s been confusion surrounding rumors of Khan/Ms. Marvel having magic-based powers.
The Cosmic Circus and Cosmic Marvel have also suggested that another organization known as N.I.C.E will be a secondary antagonist. N.I.C.E are said to capture and imprison superpowered beings who it considers to be dangerous (per MyTimeToShineHello), with Alysia Reiner (Orange is the New Black) believed to be playing the group’s leader, Deaver. As far as we know, there isn’t a N.I.C.E organization in the comics, though, so we can’t dig into its backstory.
Finally, according to The GWW and Main Middle Man (thanks to Reddit for compiling the information), The Inventor/Birdman – a clone of Thomas Edison – will also feature as a villain. Although, there’s no word on who will portray this character, or if they’ll be a primary or secondary antagonist.
Ms. Marvel cast
Ms. Marvel cast: who is playing who?
Here’s the confirmed cast for the six-episode series:
In her first major acting role, Vellani will portray the teenage Pakistani-American superhero. Vellani will be joined in the superhero/vigilante department by Knight (Into the Badlands) as Red Dagger, an unpowered crimefighter who is also said to be Ms. Marvel’s love interest (per The Illuminerdi) in the show.
Meanwhile, Shah (To All the Boys: Always and Forever) has been cast as Kamran, another Inhuman, as well as being a friend and potential love interest of Khan’s. In Marvel’s source material, Kamran is another teenager who gets exposed to Terrigen Mist, which activates his biokinetic energy powers and turns him into an Inhuman. It’s unclear, though, if the MCU’s incarnation of Kamran will get abilities like Khan does, or if he'll be good or bad.
Lintz (The Walking Dead) will portray Bruno, Khan’s high school friend. In the comics, he’s the only one who knows that she has superhuman abilities. Shroff (The Big Sick), Kapur (Kittie Party), and Shaikh (Just Giggle It) have been cast as Khan’s mother, father and older brother.
Marsden (Survive) will play Zoe Zimmer, a popular high schooler who looks down on Khan and Carrelli. In the comics, Zimmer is the first person that Khan saves after she gains her powers. So it’s possible that Zimmer will become friends with Khan if this plot point carries over into the TV series.
According to MCU leaker Charles Murphy, Laith Nakli (Ramy, The Blacklist) has been cast as Sheikh Abdullah, the Iman of Khan’s local mosque, while Yasmeen Fletcher (Let Us In) will play Nakia Bahadir, another of Khan’s friends. And, as we mentioned earlier, Alysia Reiner (Orange is the New Black) has been photographed as N.I.C.E leader Deaver, though Marvel hasn’t officially confirmed this.
Other actors, including Azhar Usman (Ramy), Travina Springer (The Mule) and Nimra Bucha (Churails) will also appear in undisclosed roles (per Marvel.com). The Express Tribune, meanwhile, has claimed that Fawad Khan (Khoobsurat) and Mehwish Hayat (Enaaya) have also been brought on board. It’s unclear if any of these individuals will be part of the ClanDestine or if they’ll play another character.
Ms. Marvel trailer
Ms. Marvel trailer: is there one?
Sort of. A sizzle reel-style teaser was released in December 2020, which offered an insight into why Ms. Marvel was being brought to the small screen. The video also showed off the show’s first official footage:
Since then, though, it’s been very quiet on the trailer front. That’ll be down to the reshoots that are currently taking place, as well as the show’s release date being pushed back. However, as part of the Disney Plus Day celebrations in November 2021, Marvel did show off around 30 seconds of new material as part of a larger ‘what to expect in 2022’ Marvel TV show montage, which you can view here.
The new footage shows Khan using her powers, a sinister shot of what may be the ClanDestine, and Khan’s homemade Ms. Marvel costume. Sure, it doesn’t give much away, but it’s exciting to get new footage nonetheless. Fingers crossed that it won’t be much longer before an official trailer lands online.
Ms. Marvel MCU future
Ms. Marvel MCU future: when will she appear next?
That’s an easy question to answer. Vellani’s Ms. Marvel will co-star alongside Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau/Photon.
Unsurprisingly, plot details are being kept firmly under wraps, but we know that The Marvels is considered to be the sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel solo flick. It’ll also tie into the events of Ms. Marvel, given that Vellani is involved. And, with Shaikh, Shroff and Kapur reprising their roles from the superhero’s TV show, it’s likely that Ms. Marvel will be a key component of the film’s narrative.
Nia DaCosta (Candyman, Celeste) will direct The Marvels from a screenplay penned by Megan McDonnell (WandaVision). The 31st MCU movie is currently set to be released in theaters on February 17, 2023 – its launch being pushed back twice due to the ongoing pandemic.
