Mindy Kaling says Marvel's 'interested' in developing Pakistani-American superhero, Ms. Marvel
With the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s slate becoming increasingly more diverse, there’s always room for another groundbreaking character. Mindy Kaling has been one of the most vocal supporters of bringing Ms. Marvel, Marvel’s first Pakistani-American, Muslim superhero, to the big screen.
In a recent interview, the Late Night star said she has met with the Marvel team to talk about a Ms. Marvel project, and that they are “interested” in the character. “I think the people I’ve spoken to at Marvel about it are so excited about the character and I think that they’re trying to figure out what to do with it, and I told them I would help in any way because I truly love her,” Kaling told MTV News. “They really seemed interested, and I think they will probably do something. Now that there’s like this streaming platform with them, it might be something like that, but I think they understand how much excitement there is.”
The Indian-American actress and writer took to Twitter on Monday to clarify her involvement with any possible Ms. Marvel projects. While she loves the character, Kaling wrote that she has “no information about any tv or film adaptation.”
Hi everyone, I love Ms. Marvel (aka Kamala Khan) and the geniuses behind her @GWillowWilson @MiniB622 @Marvel, but I have no information about any tv or film adaptation! Wish I did though, when that hits the screen it’s gonna be huge??
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) June 10, 2019
Kaling said if an adaptation was made, she thinks “an unknown” actor would be the best choice to play the teenage Khan. In 2018, actor Riz Ahmed tagged Kaling and Pakistani-American actor and comedian Kumail Nanjiani in a tweet to write the Ms. Marvel screenplay. “Riz! I am obsessed with this comic book, I’ve read them all. I love Kamala Khan,” Kaling responded.
Ms. Marvel, or Kamala Khan, was created by G. Willow Wilson, artist Adrian Alphona, and editors Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker in 2014. Amanat told EW that even though Khan comes from a specific cultural and religious background, her story is “representative of this larger struggle we all have, trying to figure out what spaces we fit in.”
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige hasn’t confirmed if a Ms. Marvel project is going forward, but his past comments are bound to make fans hopeful. “Ms. Marvel, which is another character in the comic books, the Muslim hero who is inspired by Captain Marvel, is definitely sort of in the works,” Feige said last year. “We have plans for that once we’ve introduced Captain Marvel to the world.”
With the Captain Marvel movie a reality, and a slew of forthcoming Marvel projects to hit the big screen and the Disney+ platform, time will tell if a Ms. Marvel adaptation is next.
Representatives for Marvel and Kaling did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.
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