Skip to main content

Ms. Marvel’s Disney+ series will introduce the MCU’s first Muslim hero

It’s finally happening. Rumors that Kamala Kahn, the first Muslim superhero to headline a Marvel comic, will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been circulating for years. Now, The Hollywood Reporter reports that Disney is developing a show centered on the teenager, who goes by the codename Ms. Marvel, for its new streaming service Disney+.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ms. Marvel will be written and run by Bisha K. Ali, a screenwriter and comedian who recently worked on Hulu original series Four Weddings and a Funeral. No release date, episode count, or casting information was provided, although more information might arrive at D23’s Disney+ showcase later this afternoon.

Recommended Videos

In the comics, Kamala is a high school student and superhero fan who is exposed to a substance known as the Terrigen Mist, which unlocks her latent Inhuman powers. Armed with the ability to “embiggen”, i.e. change her shape and size as she sees fit, Kamala adopts the name of her idol, Ms. Marvel, and protects her New Jersey neighborhood from a never-ending cascade of villains.

Kamala Kahn isn’t the first superheroine to go by the name Ms. Marvel. In the comics, the name was used by Carol Danvers, who MCU fans know better as Captain Marvel, for decades. Carol switched from Ms. to Captain in 2012.

Kamala Kahn was co-created by Marvel editors Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker, writer G. Willow Wilson, and artists Adrian Alphona and Jamie McKelvie, and quickly became a fan-favorite following her 2014 debut. Ms. Marvel’s original comic series has been nominated for a number of Eisner Awards (the comic industry’s equivalent of the Oscars), scored a Hugo for Best Graphic Story, and has received praise from critics for its frank, nuanced depiction of life as a young Muslim in modern America.

Like Spider-Man, Kamala’s superheroic adventures often take a backseat to real-life concerns, including her dating life and struggles in school, while her geeky, fangirl-esque tendencies resonate with a large number of readers. If Tom Holland’s Spider-Man really is saying goodbye to the MCU, Kamala Kahn could provide Marvel’s shared cinematic universe with a similar perspective.

Ms. Marvel is just one of many MCU tie-ins planned for Disney+, although it’s the first that hasn’t stemmed from an existing big-screen property. Other MCU Disney+ series include Loki, Falcon and Winter Soldier, and WandaVision, which stars the Vision and the Scarlet Witch.

Chris Gates
Former Digital Trends Contributor
<a href="https://kecsukorejo.kendalkab.go.id/asset/-/situs-slot-resmi/">situs slot resmi</a>
Agatha All Along: Here’s a first look at Marvel’s new hit series
A woman sits in a director's chair and turns back to the camera.

Agatha Harkness is stirring up some trouble in the first image of Agatha All Along, the upcoming Disney+ series from Marvel.

When we last saw Kathryn Hahn's Agatha in WandaVision, she was wreaking havoc for Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) in Westview, New Jersey. In a surprising reveal, Agatha was disrupting Wanda's life all along. The cunning witch nearly stole Wanda's chaos magic but failed after being overpowered by Scarlett Witch, who traps Agatha's mind in Agness from Westview.

Read more
X-Men ’97 shows that Marvel and the MCU are moving in the right direction
The X-Men pose in "X-Men '97."

This spring, there have been three streaming series that have broken through the pop culture clutter and become "water cooler shows" -- shows that are discussed obsessively across social media platforms like X and TikTok and, yes, even the last remaining water coolers left in offices across the world. The first two -- Shōgun and Baby Reindeer -- were mild surprises; after all, how many historical epics set in feudal Japan and shows about male sexual trauma have topped the Nielsen viewing charts?

But the third popular water cooler show of spring 2024 is perhaps the most surprising: X-Men '97, a revival of a beloved 1990s animated series that had mixed-to-negative press before its premiere on March 20. What could the show be but yet another easy attempt to cash in on Gen-X nostalgia? The recently canceled reboot of Willow, plus the endless stream of increasingly mediocre live-action remakes of modern Disney animated classics like Aladdin and The Little Mermaid, set the bar pretty low, and with it, viewers' expectations.

Read more
Disney+ reveals the first trailer for Star Wars: Tales of the Empire
Barriss Offee in Star Wars: Tales of the Empire.

In 2022, Disney+ and Lucasfilm unveiled Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, a six-part series of animated shorts. A second season was announced soon after, and it's now just a month away. However, the show has undergone a name change to Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, and it's about to dive into even darker territory. Disney+ has dropped the first trailer for Tales of the Empire, and it chronicles the story of two women who embrace the Dark Side of the Force.

Tales of the Empire | Official Trailer | Disney+

Read more