Iman Vellani is making her highly anticipated MCU debut soon. The breakout star is set to play the titular heroine of Kamala Khan in Marvel Studios' next live-action Disney Plus series. Now,Ms. Marveldirectors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys for Life) have recently compared what their experience was like working on the Marvel Cinematic Universe series to the DC Extended Universes' upcomingBatgirlmovie.
When fans first meet Kamala, she sees herself inexplicably as an outsider. As a 16-year-old Pakistani American teenager, she often finds her own identity straddling both of her cultures, making her somewhat foreign to acceptance, community and inclusivity. Due to Kamala feeling as though she doesn’t quite fit in this world, she often escapes through the world of Marvel Comics and superheroes at large. She has aparticular affection for Captain Marvel, who she looks up to endlessly. However, as theMs. Marvelseries goes on, Kamala begins to gain powers of her own, granting her a sense of inner power and strength she didn’t even know she possessed.
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Sana Amanat and Steve Wacker’sMs. Marvelcomic unveils Kamala’s shape-shifting abilities. However, Bisha K. Ali’sMs. Marvelalters the source material a bit, adorning the young heroine with cosmically powered bangles that produce light, quite similar to DC’s iconic Green Lantern. El Arbi and Fallahdirected episodes 1 and 6 ofMs. Marvelbefore beginning work on Warner Bros. and DC Films’Batgirl, which officially wrapped filming back in April. Now, in a brand-new interview withScreen Rant, El Arbi and Fallah shared what the process was like introducing both Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel as well as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl. However, when the pair were questioned as to what it was like working with Leslie Grace and Michael Keaton, they both admitted it slightly beat out their experience onMs. Marvel, just for the simple fact that two are massive fans of both stars.
“It’s a big, big honor, It’s a big privilege. It’s obviously both ends of the spectrum whereMs. Marvelis very bright and colorful, we have that animation style in it, whileBatgirlis darker. It’s DC, it’s Gotham. It’s just amazing to haveLeslie Grace bringing that character to life," Adil El Arbi stated. “We fell in love with that character when we saw theBatmananimated series when we were kids, so we hope that this is sort of a model of that style and Tim Burton movies. Obviously, having Keaton as Batman as our first superhero? It’s just a dream.” Bilall Fallah added, “It was a goosebump moment.”
Set right beforeThe Marvels, the series introduces Kamala to fans for the very first time. The same is true for Grace’s Batgirl in the DCEU. It’s clear that El Arbi and Fallah have gotten something different and special from getting to play in both Universes.
Ms. Marvelis set to premiere on Disney Plus on June 8th, 2022, while HBO Max’sBatgirlhas yet to reveal the release date.
