When we got the first trailer for Ms. Marvel, it looked like the series was fully embracing its high school aesthetic. Teenagers facing their usual challenges but with the added bonus of Iman Vellani‘s Kamala Khan becoming a superhero and being a Pakistani-American. In a new interview with Zavvi, the young actress highlights their approach and teases a “more lighthearted” Marvel Studios series.
It is John Hughes-esque mixed with Lady Bird and Scott Pilgrim. It’s a lot more lighthearted than the other shows. We showcase that being a teenager is awkward, corny, and weird.
Iman Vellani
She goes on to highlight that the series is going to be quite self-aware of the fact that it explores the challenges of “growing up” and when the smallest issues feel like the world is falling apart around you.
We are self-aware of how cheesy the show gets sometimes, but when you are growing up everything is so heightened – your emotions, crushes, friendships – it all feels so new. Minor inconveniences also feel like the end of the world.
Iman Vellani
The Ms. Marvel creative team also wanted to ensure that they are as authentic as possible. To accomplish that very task, they’ve enlisted the help of the cast who are fresh out of high school to bring in their lived experiences of what it’s like being a modern teenager.
The creators and directors have done a great job in working with the cast, asking us to share our experiences and bring ourselves to the characters. It was very collaborative. We are pretty young and just come out of high school, so that made the show as authentic as possible.
Iman Vellani
It definitely sounds like we’ll fully embrace the high school storytelling in this series, something we’ve gotten a glimpse of in Spider-Man: Homecoming as well. It’ll be interesting to see the difference between these projects as they showcase the different lived experiences of teenagers.
Source: Zavvi
