How did Pakistani born Iman Vellani become Ms. Marvel's first Muslim superhero?

With the new Disney+ television show Ms Marvel creating a furore online, fans have been speculating about how the lead actress Iman Vellani bagged the role.

Iman,19, is a Pakistani-Canadian actor who has lived the dream of being a Marvel fangirl and then essaying a superhero herself.

Vellani plays Marvel Comics' Kamala Khan who is a 16-year-old high school student and superhero fangirl who discovers she has superpowers.

"It's so infectious. Her fascination and excitement about the Avengers are so shared with real life Marvel fans and speaking as one, I just felt like I could slip into Kamala's shoes very easily. That's really all we were channelling throughout the filming of the show, just how I would react in real life,” Vellani told Reuters.

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As well as playing Khan in the television show, Vellani is set to team up with Brie Larson, who plays Captain Marvel, in the 2023 film The Marvels.

Ms. Marvel is seen as the biggest breakout star in Marvel Comics in the last decade and is also the first Muslim character to have her own comic book series. "I really do hope that the show kind of inspires more Muslim and South Asian creatives to tell their stories because this is just one story about one girl," Iman exclaimed.

The cast of the series includes Iman Vellani, Aramis Knight, Lintz, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Mohan Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Bucha, Zenobia Shroff, Yasmeen Fletcher, Travina Springer, Laurel Marsden, Laith Nakli, Khan and Azhra Usman.

Disney and Marvel will be especially creating a cinema format version of the six episode series for Pakistan, split into three parts as follow;

Episode 1 and 2 will debut on 16th June

Episodes 3 and 4 will debut on 30th June

Episodes 5 and 6 will debut on 14th July.

First episode of Muslim superhero ‘Ms. Marvel’ releases today — Here’s when and where to watch!