Ms. Marvel Star Iman Vellani has shared his own thoughts on Marvel Studios/Marvel CCO President Kevin Feige’s assertion that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Earth-616, which is traditionally the name of the main Marvel Universe in comic books.
Speak with Deadline at Ms. Marvel Special launch event, Vellani discussed his take on which universe is which. “I would like to say, [the main comic universe’s] 616,” Vellani said. “I don’t believe the MCU is 616, as much as Kevin Feige can make us think it’s 616. It’s [Earth-199999].” The MCU being dubbed Earth-616 was first hinted at in Spider-Man: No Coming Home and was recently mentioned in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessalthough the name was referenced earlier in Thor: The Dark World.
Despite Vellani’s dissent, Feige has previously praised her dedication to the role of Ms. Marvel while working on the Disney+ series. “[On set, Iman] carries this Unabomber notebook everywhere with her, with scribbles and ideas,” Feige recalls. “And why wouldn’t we want to hear them? Not just because she’s playing the lead role, but because if she wasn’t playing the lead role, she’d be commenting on the show online. So best to comment before the show ends and try to incorporate the best of those ideas.”
It was Vellani’s status as a Marvel fan that landed him the role of Kamala Khan/Ms. Look forward to the upcoming series, as noted by the character’s co-creator, Sana Amanat. Amanat remembers in April: “She showed me every corner of her room [while she was auditioning on Zoom], and he was covered in Avengers. Then she said, “Oh wait, I’m not done,” opened her closet, and there was more Marvel everywhere.”
As for the titular superheroine herself, Amanat said earlier this year that Kamala Khan is on par with the MCU’s better-known heroes, explaining that while Kamala “doesn’t necessarily feel like she can measure up to them,” Amanat thinks she can do that. Amanat also defended the series altering Kamala’s powers, saying, “I know people are like, ‘How dare you alter powers! I know people are upset about this, but as someone who’s probably been one of the closest people to this character from the start, and having spoken to [Kamala Khan co-creator G. Willow Wilson] about that as well, I think Willow and I always thought that made sense. It was the right decision because there are bigger stories to tell.”
Ms. Marvel premieres June 8 on Disney+.
Source: Deadline, via Twitter