Spoiler alert for comic book fans: Ms. Marvel isn’t dead. Er, at least she won’t be much longer.
Kamala Khan sacrificed her life to save the universe earlier this year in Amazing Spider-Man #26.
But fear not: Khan’s revival will be co-written by 20-year-old Pakistani Canadian actor Iman Vellani, who plays Khan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, according to Marvel.
Vellani — who first appeared in last year’s Ms. Marvel series on Disney+, and will also appear on the big screen with The Marvels later this year — will co-write the upcoming comic series with Ms. Marvel TV writer Sabir Pirzada.
“This was way scarier than joining the MCU for me,” Vellani said during an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“Those projects feel like they live in their own dimension, so I guess I can separate myself easier. But you can hold a comic book! I’ve never written anything before in my entire life, but I have read many comics, so I just wrote what I would want to read. I was given a very professional tool to write what is essentially my own fan fiction.”
Vellani was unavailable to speak with CBC News before publication of this story.
What is the series about?
The four-part comic series is titled Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant, according to Marvel.
After being resurrected using special technology, Khan discovers she’s now a mutant and partakes in a secret mission on behalf of the X-Men.
The comic book series will also feature the debut of Ms. Marvel’s new X-Men costume design, created by artist Jamie McKelvie, who designed Carol Danvers’s Captain Marvel suit and Kamala Khan’s original Ms. Marvel look in the comics, according to Marvel.
The importance of representation
In an interview with CBC News last year, Vellani said she’s always been an avid fan of the Avengers and comics — so making the move from Markham, Ont., to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to portray its first Muslim superhero was an achievement she found almost indescribable.
Released in June 2022, the Ms. Marvel series on Disney+ focuses on Khan, a Muslim-American teen and superhero mega-fan growing up in Jersey City. She deals with the pressures familiar to many teens: struggling to fit in at school and finding support at home. Then she finds out she has superpowers of her own.
Vellani described the importance of representing her community and showcasing South Asian culture through the role.
WATCH | Iman Vellani on the importance of South Asian representation:
The Canadian star of the upcoming Ms. Marvel series, Iman Vellani, makes her acting debut as Kamala Khan and explains how it feels to portray the MCU’s first Muslim superhero.
“Film and TV literally shape how we see people in this world. And so, you know, when you’re only representing Muslims in a certain type of light, it gets very one-note,” the Pakistani-born Canadian actor said.
“I’m so glad that Marvel’s providing space for a character like Kamala to exist and to just take up space and tell a very specific story about a very specific girl.”
The first comic in the Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant series will be released on Aug. 30.