Ms. Marvel Cast Talks Bringing More Representation Into the MCU

(Slight spoilers for the first episode of Ms. Marvel on Disney+ ahead.)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s newest hero is making history.

Ms. Marvel has officially made her onscreen debut on Disney+ as the franchise’s first-ever Muslim-Pakistani superhero. Bringing New Jersey teen Kamala Khan to life in an authentic way was very important to star Iman Vellani, who told E! News’ While You Were Streaming that filming sometimes “felt like a typical family gathering.”

“A lot of the scenes that we shot that were more religious or cultural just felt like very familiar to me,” she said on the June 8 episode of the E! digital series. “I think the work is gonna speak for itself, and I think we’ve done a really good job in organically incorporating diversity with Kamala’s actual story.”

Cast member Rish Shah—who plays Kamran—said the series’ representation can be seen in many ways, from something as small as a line of dialogue to something as big as a Bollywood dance number, as teased by actress Zenobia Shroff, who plays Kamala’s mother, Muneeba.