Ms. Marvel, the new Disney Plus series about an Avengers fangirl who becomes a superhero in her own right, is finally coming to Disney Plus on June 8! To promote it, Disney Plus has released a featurette called “A Fan’s Guide to Ms. Marvel,” which includes some behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew. There’s one detail that has melted the entire Internet’s heart: Iman Vellani, who plays Kamala Khan, made her own Ms. Marvel Halloween costume when she was 15 years old.
In the short, Vellani explains:
“Yeah, that whole year when I fell in love with Ms. Marvel, I dressed up as her. I went to the thrift store, I got a blue dress. I did the whole thing, I went to school the next day, and people were like, ‘Are you the Flash?'”
Vellani also talks about why Ms. Marvel in particular was so important to her growing up:
One day, I picked up a Ms. Marvel comic, because it was just, like, I’d never seen a brown person on the cover of one, and I read it, fell in love with her. … She was just so captivating and fun, and she had problems like I had … and growing up with little to no representation, I needed that.
There’s just so much to love about Vellani getting to take on the role of one of her favorite comic book characters. First, there’s the pure, wholesome goodness of it. We can already tell from the trailer that Vellani has poured everything into this role—that she IS Kamala Khan. Kamala has been one of Marvel’s funniest and most relatable heroes ever since her debut in 2013, and all of us Kamala fans are counting down the days until we finally get to see her come to our screens. These pictures are reminiscent of Tom Holland sporting a Spider-Man costume when he was a wee one (swipe to see):
Plus, in Vellani’s case, her love for the character demonstrates, yet again, how important representation is. If you grew up surrounded by fictional characters who looked like you, you just don’t get how exciting it is when you finally see yourself mirrored in the media you love.
There’s less than a week until we all get to see Ms. Marvel, and in the meantime, you can check out the short on Disney Plus. Congrats on getting to live your dream, Iman! We’re all rooting for you!
(image: Marvel)
