01x11 - The Making of Ms. Marvel

[bunniefuu]

In times of uncertainty.

- Fear.

- Darkness.

The world needs a little light.

- Some heroes are born.

- And others are emboldened.

This is the story of

Ms. Marvel.

- And Bruno.

- Wait, what?

- Huh?

- Ms. Marvel and Bruno?

Yeah. I mean,

who helped design the suit?

Who cheered me on

in that training montage?

Who crafted that epic booby-trap

in the finale?

- Bruno.

- That's right.

Bruno.

Now, don't you think it's time

the sidekicks get a little love?

- Okay, but then, what about Nakia?

- Sure.

Assembled: The Making of

Ms. Marvel and Bruno and Nakia.

- What about Aamir?

- Yeah, yeah, Aamir too.

- And Zoe.

- Muneeba.

- Yusuf.

- What about Auntie Ruby?

The gyro guy.

- You know I can't say no to a gyro.

- Kamran?

- Ugh, not Kamran.

What, you're fine

with the gyro guy, but not Kamran?

All right, all right.

So, it's Assembled:

The Making of Ms. Marvel and Bruno

and Nakia and Aamir and Zoe

and Muneeba and Yusuf

and the Gyro Guy

and Auntie Ruby and Kamran.

Should we throw in Sana

and the directors

and producers and writers and

Let's just start the show.

Ms. Marvel's

one of the newer characters

that had been brought

into Marvel Publishing.

Marvel's been around for 80-plus years

and most of the heroes we know

have been around for 50-plus years.

So when there are new characters

that come in, it's pretty momentous.

The idea of Kamala Khan

came around 2012-2013.

And I developed that

with G. Willow Wilson.

The entire point of it was

to be able to create a character

that not even just like looked like me

but really was for a fan like me.

You know, I connected to comics

'cause of the X-Men

and the X-Men were very diverse

and, um, it wasn't about brown skin

and white skin.

It was about blue skin,

you know.

It was a different kind of story

but it still told the minority story.

And so, when we had this opportunity

to create a story about a young

Muslim girl, or young South Asian girl,

it was really new and then it wasn't.

Because it was the principles of

what Marvel had always stood for,

which was, creating a character that,

yes, was powerful and fantastic,

but really just like you and me.

I was a fan of the comic books

since the day they came out years ago.

I remember going out

and buying every single variant cover.

It was a watershed moment,

when I could finally see myself

represented in comic books.

That's why I was so drawn to Kamala.

Beyond being a nerd,

beyond being a young girl of color,

she's a teenager and she's going through

all those awkward, ugh, dreadful,

cringeworthy moments.

So, she's just such a relatable character

to anybody reading it.

We always said that

the show needed to be able to exist

without Kamala having superpowers.

We're really focused on building

the stakes of Kamala's personal life.

The stakes of her friendships,

of her family,

and the things that she wants

before she ever gets powers.

Yo, all these spices.

Bilall and Adil are our

episode one and six directors.

Ms. Marvel!

For life!

They're kicking it off

and they really have brought

an interesting visual style

that is very distinct from the other shows

that also really complements

what the comics are all about.

The stylization is slightly heightened,

the colors are slightly heightened.

As Iman actually said one day on set,

she's like, "I'm living in a comic book."

This was so fun.

When we talked to our agents, we said,

"Hey, yo, is there any You know,

we're gonna do a Muslim superhero.

For Marvel maybe, yo." And they said,

"Hey, actually, they're doing it."

And that Right away, we thought

- Holy

- Holy bleep.

That we gotta

We gotta be part of this.

It was not only that

the comic book was so good,

it just felt so personal to us.

Uh, just relating to the character

of Kamala being between those two worlds,

between the Western world

and the traditional world.

We grew up like that.

And her being a big fan

of all the superheroes,

it reminded of us looking at Hollywood

and looking at the big directors like,

"One day we will be a part of that."

We're living the dream, man.

- Lot of emotion.

- Lot of emotion.

Movie history right there.

In front of our eyes.

I think you're just like, you know,

still kinda whirling from that excitement.

Meera and Sharmeen,

our other two directors

- That was fun. That was fun.

- Who do you want me to follow then?

really are fans of the comics as well

and understand what it needs to be,

but also are coming

from their own experience

of being South Asian women

and from two different perspectives.

Sharmeen's Pakistani

and Meera is Indian-American

and she grew up in Jersey.

What came before this was meeting Kamran

and what comes after this

is hanging out with him.

- So you can't dip too low, you know?

- Yeah.

It's just how you feel about things

even though you feel overwhelmed.

It's still all very exciting.

I had been a fan of the comics

since they came out,

namely 'cause a friend of mine

had gifted it to me and she was like,

this girl is like you.

I mean, I grew up in Jersey,

I'm a kid of South Asian immigrants

and I was kinda blown away.

I hadn't really read any piece

of pop culture

that so completely reflected

my childhood experiences.

You are the new, big,

great superhero called

Called what?

Still thinking about it.

Ms. Marvel matters

because she is a superhero

for so many people

beyond the Marvel fandom.

She represents something

that we've never seen on screen before.

A brown Muslim female superhero.

And when young girls

around the world watch her,

they will see a reflection of themselves

on screen that they've never seen before.

We may not know who this girl is,

or understand her motivations,

but we owe it to her as much as anyone,

to let her show us in her own time.

And so,

as a Pakistani filmmaker,

it is a dream to be able

to bring Ms. Marvel to life.

The way it happened is,

I was like,

it was on the last day of school,

so I literally got cast

on the last day of high school,

and, um,

I'm hanging out with my friends

and casting director called.

She's like,

"We need you on a call right"

I'm like, "I can't, I'm busy."

And then, she's like,

"I just sent you the link. Get on."

And, I download the app,

I get on it, I open my phone,

it's Kevin Feige's face. All the producers

and the directors on the call.

My friends are watching me from the car,

they don't know anything.

I'm roaming around her driveway

and then Kevin's like, saying,

"It was unanimous," like,

"We want you to be Ms. Marvel."

And I was like, "'Kay."

- Yeah.

- Hey, Iman, how do you feel?

- Really cool. I'm a superhero.

- Yeah? Yeah. That's supercool.

Iman is Kamala Khan.

She was absolutely meant to play her.

And we saw that a year and a half ago,

the first time we brought her

to LA for that screen test.

I mean, it was just so clear she knew

who this character was to her core

and she embodied that completely.

Look at us, just a couple of superheroes

teaming up. Solving puzzles.

You know, we kinda forget where

the character in the comic ends

and Iman starts, at this point.

Yeah.

You know, the parallels between me

and Kamala are like, like this now.

We're like We are so much alike,

and I have so much love

for the character,

which is why I auditioned for it.

Like, I didn't wanna be an actor,

but, because it was Ms. Marvel

and I loved her comics for years,

it was like, I had no choice.

I would like

I know my ten-year-old self

would hate me if I didn't audition.

It's so cool.

Powers.

- You're gonna get activated.

- Her powers just got introduced.

And Bruno doesn't know what's going on.

Neither does Kamala.

So we just dance.

Three, two, one, go.

My first day was

in full Captain Marvel costume.

Like, the original one.

The one that

Brie Larson's stunt double wore.

You know, the first thing you film

in a superhero costume,

that's pretty insane.

Iman, what do you think so far?

- It's the greatest day of my life.

- This is so cool.

I don't know. I'm very happy.

And in a bit we're gonna be

in the full helmet of my costume

and then I won't be able to smile

so I'm getting it out right now.

Kamala Khan is this passionate,

creative, high school kid

who just wants to find simplicity

in her life through, you know,

this fantastical world of the Avengers.

She represents everything about

nerd culture that there is, you know.

When she gets powers for the first time

or when she meets Avengers,

it's like, you root for her

because you see that excitement

and that fascination in her eyes

and it's

It just makes you so happy

and you wanna follow her story.

She is a fan just like us.

I got this, right?

Totally.

We're at Circle Q. It's my humble abode.

It's where I work.

And tonight we're sh**ting

a bunch of stuff

with Rish and Iman and all of them

coming back from the party.

- I'll be driving the Porsche from now on.

- No.

I did it. That was great.

Iman and I have been through

over a month and a half of rehearsals

prior to filming.

- I'm Bruce Banner.

- Hulk smash.

Hulk smash, Hulk smash.

I knew it was gonna be great, because

right from the start,

we had such a great bond

and chemistry and just getting to know her

and become really good friends with her

has been amazing.

Kamala and Bruno's relationship

is a classic

friendship since you were a kid.

When I think about that friendship,

it's the kind of friendship that most

people aspire to have in their lifetimes.

Ms. Marvel.

Ms. Marvel.

No, I have the mask though.

But I am her.

We're all so similar to our characters

that it feels like the dynamic that Nakia,

Bruno and Kamala have.

I don't think I'm as stiff as Matt.

- You know, this is how he moves.

- I'm loose now. I'm loose.

I had a day of practice, you know?

Yeah. Come on, man.

You might be just as stiff.

See?

And you're gonna be carried in.

Don't get a big head.

Matt and I are poking

at each other all the time.

And Iman and I are really close.

I'm like, "Bruno.

It's really, really fun."

Nakia. I'm so excited to introduce

to the screen as well.

She's a hijabi.

She's also Muslim-American like Kamala is

and they have different relationships

to their families, to their friends,

to their communities.

And yet, the core of who they are

is what bonds them together.

She breaks a lot of

the stereotypes for hijabi girls,

which, I loved immediately

about the character.

- We are campaigning.

- Loving it. Campaigning.

- For Nakia. Vote for Nakia.

- Please, y'all.

Vote me into the mosque.

I think that what's so amazing

about this series

is that everybody will be able

to see themselves in somebody in the show.

Everybody is going to be able to connect

to every character.

That's so incredible.

We're actually getting our own

spin-off show.

Yeah, we are.

It's called Brun-Aamir.

We have built this, like This family.

Hey, fun.

Nice picture, nice picture.

Yeah. We're all love.

- That was such an aggressive

- Yeah! Yeah, we all.

Yeah!

You know, I'm the millennial of the group,

and they're all Gen Z.

Fifty cents a bag? That's a deal.

Only in Jersey. Only in Jersey.

They make jokes

that I don't understand,

that I need them to brief me on,

or send me that TikTok,

so that I'm in on the joke or whatever.

I kinda feel like sometimes

I'm forcing myself to

be as young or cool as them.

So, I'm just like,

let me take a couple of steps back

and let them enjoy their time.

And then I'll come back in

when they miss me.

What the heck?

She just said I was 40 years old.

That's rude.

Is it the beard?

Yeah.

It sounds cheesy.

A lot of people will be like,

"Yeah, these people are my family,"

but I have never meant that more.

With COVID and having to be in a bubble,

it really was such a bonding experience.

Fun fact. We basically all live

in the same apartment building.

It's like a college dorm.

And we describe it like a college dorm

'cause we're all so close

and we hang out every weekend.

Right down the hallway,

I've got Saagar who plays my brother.

Right underneath me is Laurel,

who plays Zoe

I cannot be more thankful

that we all came together

on such an amazing project.

Initially, I was very nervous,

and even now, you know,

I keep wanting that confirmation

and the reassurance from my director,

from the cameraman,

from my co-stars, you know.

And I keep saying, "Was that all right?

So they keep asking,

"Why do you keep asking?"

And I say, "Because I come

from a different part of the world,

"and even though

I've been acting for 30 years,

"and over there,

this is the first time I'm doing it here."

You are brave, my son.

Because you have chosen family. Mashallah.

And the man who chooses family

is never alone.

It's fantastic, because I get to be

a part of something

that unwinds on a scale hitherto something

that I have never been a part of.

Wait, wait.

The best is yet to come. Ta-da!

Yusuf, Muneeba have this lovely dynamic.

And he's always softer with Kamala.

Muneeba is harder with Kamala.

But I think it's one of those things

where, you know,

you get those teachers who say,

"I was tough on you

because I knew you could be really good."

And Muneeba knows this kid's potential.

She knows there's something special there.

And she still wants to protect her

from all that.

You know, if you come

to that part of the world ever,

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or wherever.

We were all one country at one point.

It's that mayhem, that craziness,

lots of food, lots of laughter,

lots of fighting.

It's in my blood.

I don't even have to incorporate it.

It's just there. It's there.

So you want to go to a party, at night?

Is this a joke?

You do trust me, right?

No. I don't trust you.

- Of course she does.

- No, I don't trust her.

She does.

And three, two, one, go!

This is our

first introduction to Kamran.

It was freezing. I mean,

they'd done everything possible

to make me comfortable.

The pool is heated,

and it feels like a hot tub,

and there is also a hot tub,

in case I needed it,

which I didn't,

'cause the pool was so hot.

They're going again.

Go away. You're going again.

Why?

- They're what you call

- Hey, this guy's the man.

- This guy is the man. We gotta go, though.

- Don't. There they go. Run off.

Kamala is like She's kind of

been alone for a lot of high school.

She's been around a lot of people,

but there's never been someone

who fully understands her,

or, you know, what she goes through,

and there's always been that little,

like, sense of loneliness,

and a chip on her shoulder, 'cause like,

"Oh, I'm Brown. I have to, you know,

act differently in school

"when I'm not around Brown people."

And so, enter Kamran.

This charismatic, attractive

Don't tell Rish I said that

guy who just lets Kamala,

you know, be loose.

Mashallah.

- What does that mean?

- Damn!

I am in the Red Dagger lair

which is the secret hideout

of the Order of Red Daggers,

and this is where Waleed,

and Kareem, the Red Dagger,

are meeting with Iman

and talking to her about her powers,

and connecting the dots for her.

For hundreds of years, that scarf

has protected the identity of warriors

willing to put on the mantle

of The Red Dagger.

You access The Red Dagger lair

through this Chinese restaurant,

and its kitchen, and the walk down,

and then the reveal

that takes place once you walk in.

It's really something very special,

and when Iman and Aramis

walk through it for the first time,

they had this moment where it really

does look like a secret lair.

Roll with the Red Dagger.

That's the way to open your eyes.

Red Dagger.

In the script, it says, you know,

Kareem, he pushes back the oven,

and it goes back,

and it's a trap wall and whatever.

When we went to rehearse, they didn't

tell us at all what the set was all about.

So when I got there, I expected, you know,

I'd push the oven

and it'll go a couple feet.

We'll stop. We'll move to the next set.

But it ended up being

a fully practical set.

So, we push on this oven,

and it opens this trap wall

that goes back 15, 20 feet into this

huge, grand, blue walkway.

I mean, in the middle of rehearsal,

me and Iman literally stopped,

and we're just like, "What the hell?"

Like kids in a candy shop.

That is the coolest thing ever.

It was not hard to feel

like a Red Dagger that day.

You know, Kamala came looking for answers,

and she ends up finding this 17-year-old,

and in the script,

it's with his sexy hair.

So, that tells you everything.

Aramis really threw himself

into this role.

He put the Red Dagger costume on,

and he was in.

And also, you know, he happens to be

very talented at martial arts,

so that was very helpful.

Yeah, I was trained in Wushu

for like five years.

The show I was on before this

was like a martial arts show.

It was perfect for Red Dagger.

We gotta do lot of our

stunts together, which is so great,

because a lot of the times, you know,

I'm like doing stunts

with the actor's stunt double,

or you know, other actors are doing

with my stunt double.

We can't really have those action moments

together all the time.

But, for the most part, Aramis

and I have been doing our stunts together,

and it just adds to the dynamic.

Kamala's got a lot of

love interests, you know?

So, we wanted to make sure

that when she met another boy,

it wasn't going to be just about that.

It was about her meeting someone

who works really hard

to be good at what he does.

He doesn't have the powers that she does.

He trained really hard.

And to show her that there are other,

you know, brown heroes like her.

And, that she can do it,

and do it in her own way,

and it doesn't have to look like

what the Avengers look like.

Our function is simple.

To protect our people

from the threats of the unseen.

Having a character like Waleed

to be able to fall back on,

and to be able to create

that relationship with Farhan,

who is an amazing guy, by the way,

amazing actor, has been great.

Just being in his presence

was actually amazing.

He's a producer, director, actor in India,

and it's just been fabulous to work

with him on this project.

I used to watch his movies

when I was a kid, with my parents.

They were like the few Bollywood movies

I actually enjoyed watching.

So, it's pretty crazy.

Your humanity links you to

the matter of this world.

It makes your abilities unique.

Kamala is made aware of certain powers

that she possesses,

is made aware of the power

of an individual, so to speak,

and how it takes one person really

to change the course of destiny.

That's something

she learns from Waleed.

So it's a mentor-like character

to Kamala.

And yeah, that's what I'm doing here.

Apart from some really kick-ass action.

It's so fun playing a mean girl.

It's just the best thing.

The consequence of that

is that I've become really a nice person

in my real life,

because I get it all out on set,

and there's a lot of, sort of,

grunting, and roaring,

and all of that anger

that I've been suppressing for years.

It's all coming out now.

I've had her running. She's been

jumping out of moving rickshaws.

She's been running upstairs,

and, like, she's absolutely lovely.

Being a part of the creation of the action

is actually, you know,

that's definitely where my heart is.

And just having these physical

environments to be able to drive in,

be able to fall in, and fight in,

it's like, there's no replacing it.

It's a blessing

to be on location.

You just feel this sense of realism.

I was "Hopefully nobody opens

their windows while we're in a take."

And they were like, "No, this is,

you know It's just a lot."

I was like, "What? All of this?"

The physicality of it is just,

that's my favorite part.

You know, I just like throwing punches

and getting hit and running around.

Action on rehearsal.

I love the choreography of it.

I'm still baffled

that I'm talking to you

in Thailand on a Marvel series.

If you asked me a year ago

if this would have happened,

I would have been like, "No."

"I hope."

Farhan, Mehwish,

you know, Samina, Fawad,

they're huge actors

and we're so lucky to have them here.

I was a fan

of all of these actors.

The reason that we have them,

is because I was like,

"Maybe they'll do it.

You think they'll do it?"

And they did. And it was very exciting.

You chose us, and that's what mattered.

And I'm still choosing you, Hasan.

It's bringing in a different

kind of flavor to the story

because these actors are sort of giants

in their own right.

And they're so accomplished

and they've done so much.

And we're bringing them

into the Marvel fold.

It's gonna be really refreshing for us

to be able to have

that kind of talent

from this part of the world,

which, you know, frankly,

is incredibly important to us.

Aisha, we don't know

what just one bangle will do.

If there's even a chance this bangle

can take us back home, we have to try.

In the previous episode we hear of Aisha,

but this is where we see the flashback

and exactly what happened.

And how she decides to stay and,

you know, make this her home.

So, this is basically the rose field

and that what you see behind me

is my home sweet home.

And it's been pretty crazy

because of the storms

and fitting in the scenes between storms,

it's insane. I mean,

it's been super fun as well.

I love the roses. I wish it was daylight

so you could've seen how beautiful

these fake roses look.

I mean, you can't tell that they're fake.

We found this location

with this really cool tree

and that was kind of the cornerstone

for that location.

We found this amazing

I think it was a mango tree.

We're like, okay,

that's what we wanna have

as a part of Hasan's world.

I had to design the whole village

while I was in quarantine

in the hotel room.

And what they did is,

they built me this scale model

of the landscape and the tree.

And then they gave me

a bunch of little buildings, like, toys.

So I had to sit there in quarantine

and I would like, take my camera,

my phone, and line up the buildings.

And that's how we laid it all out.

But Gandhi has said the time has come now

for us to do or die.

To fight for what is ours or perish.

It's a cool way

of acquainting people

with the history of different regions.

Specifically 1947

was an extremely tumultuous

and turbulent time for all the inhabitants

of the sub-continent.

This is the last train, Hasan,

we need to hurry.

But what are we actually running from?

So the origin story kind of,

taking this into account,

is, I think, a great way to show people

what actually happened.

Sana!

Okay, so we are here in Thailand,

which is really India.

It's actually 1947 partition.

One of the most historic events

in South Asian history.

It is the moment where India

was split up into multiple parts

where Muslims were sent

to one part of India,

which became Pakistan and Bangladesh

and where Hindus were supposed

to stay in India.

And so,

it's sort of this massive migration.

Partition was a very defining moment

for a lot of Indians and Pakistanis,

my family included.

You know, my great grandparents,

they had to walk for days

and days to get away

and I hear stories about it all the time.

But, you know,

I never knew the extent of it

until I started doing research

on it for the show.

It's really heartbreaking what happened

and not a lot of people talk about it.

There's very few things in modern media

that mention partition

and have an unbiased view of it.

You often work on films

or TV series where you know the story,

it's been told in a way before.

But the story of Kamala's journey

back home has never been told.

That story of partition,

the story of experiencing Pakistan.

The story of going to pre-partition India.

And everyone wants to tell that story

so that it goes from being local

to being global.

Whatever happens,

Sana gets on the train tonight.

Promise me.

The sets were absolutely marvelous

and uh

and, well, traumatizing at the same time.

Because you're living history

and in a very elaborate way.

I literally had goosebumps walking

onto the set and seeing it for myself.

And I'm sure this is how

it would have felt.

The madness, the chaos,

everything that went down.

Sana!

It's been quite intense this week.

We are in about 99 degree weather.

We've got 500 extras

all in period costume.

And we have these crazy

period steam engines and trains

that our production designer

and the entire art department

really reconfigured to make it look like

it was truly from that part of India,

that time period.

For the partition sequences

we built every single costume.

What's really exciting

about doing period work is that,

we sometimes get so engrossed

in trying to understand

what was period correct

and not period correct,

that we forget that people in 1940s

had their own specific

individual characters.

So, you load up on research,

you keep it in the back of your mind

and then you try to create characters

who, within that period,

had their own individuality

and their own stories to tell,

and their own color palettes.

And we didn't want it to feel

that it was being cinematically

just portrayed in a flip way.

We want it to feel real and we wanted

to show that there was trauma involved

because you're seeing this split of

Hindu and Muslim cultures.

To portray both those cultures

in a specific way

and show that they existed

and what was going on.

And there was a divide

and yet the people were one people.

I'm a filmmaker who spent

the better part of two decades,

telling human interest stories.

And I worked a lot with

the separation of home,

with issues of identity.

And this is what essentially the story is,

it's a story about identity.

It's a story about searching

for your roots.

"What you seek is seeking you"

For Kamala, she's looking up

to all of these heroes

who look nothing like her and yet,

within her own family

was this very, very powerful woman

who is the source of all of her strength

and her power

and obviously

that's the message of the story,

is look towards who you are,

look towards your lineage, your legacy.

There's power, there's strength in that,

but make it your own.

So you are that light girl?

Yeah.

Our family is magical.

Munee, I've told you so many times

over the years.

The backlot in Bangkok

has really allowed us

to make the streets of Karachi come alive.

It's very rare

for a large city like Bangkok,

to have space that allows films

to redress entire areas.

Chris Glass has done

such an incredible job

literally from the way

the shops are laid out,

the signage, the things that Kamala

would hear or experience

if she was actually walking down

a street in Karachi.

That is what we've transported here

on this set.

The people playing Kamala's family

are real Pakistanis from Pakistan

and they know what makes

clothing interesting or special

and what make characters interesting

or special,

and you can't just wing it and just be

like, "We'll just have you wear this."

It was a good check balance situation

for all of us,

you know, understanding

that everyone knew their stuff.

I've never really been

to Karachi.

I mean, I was born there

and I went there when I was like, five.

But I don't remember any of it.

You know, actually being able to

kind of live it is pretty awesome,

and you know, it's like me and Kamala

are experiencing it all

for the first time together, you know.

Kamala's going to Karachi

for the first time

and finding more about her culture

and so is Iman.

You know, I think it's crazy

'cause I'm learning way more

about Pakistan and about my culture

and heritage from the show

than I did in real life.

So, I'll take that as a win.

My mother's very happy about that.

We're here in a new city. We wouldn't want

you getting into any trouble.

I would never.

She is experiencing

what is known

as the heritage walk in Karachi

which is a walk that happens once a week

where people walk through the streets

and look at all of the architecture

that was there from the British era,

the colonial era,

and there are shops

and people buy things as they walk.

And that's the experience

that we recreated for Kamala here.

Old Town is where many of the refugees

first settled when they came from India.

In Jersey City, there's a scene

where there's a Jersey City sign,

it's in the first episode.

So we want to echo that here, so we made

our own "Greetings from Karachi" sign

and this is all hand-painted.

We painted this, this is all metal.

Wanted to always have parallels

between her world

and Jersey City and then Karachi.

It's based on truck art in Pakistan.

And then we had local Thai painters

paint this by hand.

Let me tell you, these guys are amazing.

They painted all these trucks.

We'll walk over

to these trucks here in a minute.

So, one of the most unique things

about South Asia

is they have these things

called jingle trucks

and then truck art.

So these are buses here

and once again, this is all hand-painted.

But I think they call them jingle trucks

'cause they make a lot of noise,

jingling noises, as they move along

down the street.

There's always these chains I hear

at the bottom.

You can see down here.

You know, that's kind of a feature.

I must admit

that when I was first told

that Karachi is being recreated

in Bangkok,

there was a little question mark

that was hanging over my head

as to how is this gonna happen.

And from the moment

that we walked on to the set,

I mean, it just feels

I mean, it feels like you're there.

It's absolutely fantastic.

With Jersey City and Karachi,

you know, we're kind of enhancing it.

We're turning up the volume a little bit

with color and certain things.

Local-owned. Local blood, sweat and tears

is what brings out the flavor.

You're not gonna see Najaf selling out.

I haven't changed my menu in 14 years.

There's all kinds of layers to this

that we've been going through

to create Kamala's world.

We're doing this.

There's Kamala.

Even bedsheets, would she really

have those kind of bedsheets?

Would she have these curtains in her room?

Will the curtains be from her mother?

'Cause her mother probably told her,

"Here's your curtains,"

you know, versus her picking them.

But there's certain things in her room

that she'd get the choice of picking.

And it really shows her personality

and she's a huge fan of the Avengers.

The world of Kamala is this actually,

grounded world of Jersey.

So, although

it is a comic book adaptation

and you have really the humor

and the comic book style

and you're in her world,

we wanted to have a sort of,

grounded physicality

that you really feel you're there

on the streets with her

so that it gives a big contrast

once the super powers kicks in

and once, you know, the MCU kicks in,

you have this difference.

And this is also a way of making

our show very distinct

from the other superhero movies

or TV shows.

The amount of detail they put in

to all these sets.

The amount of stuff they built.

Like, they built a whole Circle Q.

They built literally the Khan house.

They built part of Coles Academic High.

They built so much.

I don't know what to say.

You say yes.

And then you give me a fist bump.

I kept thinking this is

the weirdest high school

that I've ever seen

or I've ever created.

'Cause I've done

a couple of high schools before

and this one's like, definitely unique

with the color palette.

We love colors, you know.

Everything's very, very colorful.

So they came up with the idea of having

the high school pink.

- Let's go for it. Let's go loco.

- Everything pink?

They were like, "All pink."

And the lockers' really blue

- and that's gotta pop.

- And green floors.

That's pulled from

the actual comic.

The comic has pink walls

and this, kind of, pale blue.

Sana was the first one to say,

"This is great, I really like the colors."

And we were like

this is visually the best thing

"We've ever done in our lives."

We already have

a great first take

and now we're seeing

if we can maybe get it even better.

The palette of it is in Kamala's world.

If you look at her room,

you look at the dusty room

in her grandmother's house,

it has the same color

as the high school, actually.

I feel like that's a thread

that goes through. It's part of her world.

Camelia, glad you're not bruising

from that dodgeball incident.

I never went to high school

in the US,

so, for me, that was really challenging,

trying to understand

the American high school experience.

I didn't want to fall into

any of those '90s tropes

of what high school kids

are expected to be

and I wanted them to be

sort of, more encompassing

of the world around them.

You wanna be true culturally

to what you're saying

about the culture on both sides,

Pakistani street culture

as well as American school culture.

I like your necklace.

Thanks.

It's actually my name in Arabic.

There are just so many tones and shades

to this whole show

and that's really, to me,

been the fun of it.

You're a girl divided. Right?

"Is she there or is she there?"

"Where's Kamala?"

No one knows. No one knows.

And I know, I know fantasy is fun.

But right now, we gotta

pull it together and join reality.

It's our son's wedding,

and as is

with all big fat Indian weddings,

they really do live up to that name.

We don't have small weddings.

That's not what we're known for.

So it just felt very specific

to the culture and felt really right.

It's so much fun.

This idea of the specific New Jersey

middle-class Bollywood wedding.

What's the actual point of this?

Oh, uh, well, it brings

fortitude to your marriage

so that every time you clash

you become closer.

- Is that actually true?

- Who knows?

And you want people

to be able to breathe and have some fun.

It's super comfortable

trying to dance in this.

Like, it's pants and not a skirt,

which is shocking.

I definitely feel fancy.

I definitely feel like I'm at my wedding.

I wore one of these.

It really immerses you

in the world of Aamir's wedding

and it really helps.

Story-wise, it was really important

that this dance was about Kamala

and her family and friends

coming together,

and her feeling close with these people

and this community that she loves.

Na, na, na, na, na, na

Click.

Many, many people learn

many different dances.

The last big fat Indian wedding I went to,

there was

seven to ten dances by

You know, the bridesmaids will do one

and the parents will do one.

I want to get my steps right.

So even if it doesn't have the finesse

that you do

then I will play with my expression.

Because I need to flirt with her.

- But, exactly.

- I want that.

We always wanted to make it feel very real

and very authentic

and at the same time have really fun

and good steps.

But the fun thing about weddings

is when the family really gets involved.

I've been a dancer in my youth.

So I've done eight to ten years

of classical Indian dance.

I have done a full-on Bollywood dance

in a Bollywood movie before.

Drop it down, left leg.

Drop it down, right leg.

I'm from the land

where this stuff happens

and I'm embarrassed and ashamed to say,

no, I've never.

But, my characters that I've played,

I've never had to do it.

Occasionally, once in a while.

But they've made it really easy for me

because they must have said,

"Let's not waste production time

trying to teach this man."

I'm getting there. I'm getting there.

To me, it's such an opportunity to share

such a significant part of a culture

that I certainly grew up around.

Somehow they have more

and more energy every take.

I don't know. I think that's what dancing

does to people.

It makes them joyous

and that's what we're feeling.

When I heard about dance rehearsals,

I had no idea

that I would be a part of it.

Then, of course, you know, I get the call.

I come in, I'm like

I'll probably just be in the background.

I'm in the front. So, you know

We're gonna feature you.

Just 'cause you didn't think

you would be in it.

Featuring Bruno.

The person who is possibly

the worst dancer you will ever see.

I feel exhilarated.

That was a good first take.

That was a lot of energy

just now.

It was. I didn't know we were

gonna go all the way through with it.

Started with high energy,

some things went wrong.

- But that's why we're doing another take.

- Nothing went wrong.

I think I almost bumped into

three people, but it's fine.

Saagar and I go back.

We have been friends for years

and it was easy to have chemistry.

And he's also a great guy.

So, he's fun to play with.

Tyesha was modest,

but Travina was twerking at the end there.

Yeah, I was, yeah.

Travina will give you a little

Whoo-hoo.

Watching the dancing has been really cool

and seeing the decorations for the wedding

because there's been so much build-up

to the wedding

and seeing what it is and going through it

and now the fight scenes, it's

There was two components to what we had

to prepare for with that wedding sequence.

One was the big Bollywood dance number,

but in addition to that,

we also had to prepare for, you know,

the climactic fight sequences

between Kamala and the villains.

And so both of those things

are happening back-to-back

within the course of this wedding.

So, yeah, our time spent

in sh**ting out that set

and that whole sequence

had our attention in two different places,

dancing and fighting,

which I think is pretty awesome.

- Oh, sorry.

- I didn't know we were doing presents.

- I was like, where'd that come from?

- So sorry. Sorry.

Dancing and choreography

and stunt choreography,

it's a little bit of the same

kind of beast.

You have to do a lot of planning

that goes into it.

You have to know the exact steps

and the exact placement of people

so you know what angles

to be sh**ting it out from

and it just requires

the same amount of rigorous preparation.

That was fun.

The great thing about this show

is that we've been able to build

a lot of sets or be on location

a lot of the times.

So, everything is very real.

Behind me is AvengerCon,

which is really the first MCU comics

Actually I can't say "comics convention."

Fan convention.

The first MCU fan convention

that really has ever existed.

It's at the home of Captain America,

Camp Lehigh.

Which by the way, guys, is in New Jersey,

which the writers' room discovered.

So very convenient for us, Jersey heroes.

We're trying to stay professional

but it's really hard

when you have all this fun stuff

around you.

It's so fun.

What we tried to do is pay homage

to the conventions that exist

but put an MCU spin on it.

Real rubble.

Yeah. Really of the Battle of New York.

Iman has never seen the set of AvengerCon

so this is gonna be the first time

that she'll witness it and yeah,

it's gonna be pretty dope

to see her reaction.

- Welcome!

- Hi!

- How you doing?

- Good.

- Hey, hey, hey. Well

- I'm ready.

I'll lead the way here. Come, come.

Here, you can see a glimpse already

and ta-da!

It looks so good!

The very first time we came here,

we actually had a meeting.

For the first half an hour,

there was no meeting,

It was just me and him running everywhere.

- Like kids.

- Yeah.

So much detail, so much fun.

This is insane.

I've never seen so much detail

put into a set like this.

We're gonna take so many pictures

And I've been on a lot of sets

and it's like, just, this is outstanding!

You wanna show every detail

but that's why you're here

so that if it doesn't make it

in the final cut,

still can show you the huge,

huge lollipop we got here.

It's amazing, if we wanna put

the camera anywhere, we can.

This is the place

where you have an exhibition

of everything that the Hulk smashed.

From the Battle of New York in 2012.

It's $3,500, but it's smashed

by the Hulk himself so

So it's really worth it, you know.

A violin for $5,000. Hulk did this.

I'm looking for a fist, you know,

the big Hulk fist, so I can start just

Maybe use it in a scene.

Here you can eat some Asgardian food,

I would assume.

Something like the Bifrost macaroni,

as you can see here.

Yeah, son.

I'm feeling like a kid again.

I know! I am a kid!

As you can see, you have

a giant Ant-Man head over there.

You have the water and people can sit

on the hands and take pictures here.

Adil's chilling in the Ant-Man hand.

After Kamala finally

activates her powers,

this giant head is gonna end up

on poor Zoe's face.

Well, not necessarily.

You save her, don't you?

I save her, but I also cause the damage.

- Her first heroic act is making sure

- My first heroic act.

This giant Ant-Man head

doesn't fall on a classmate.

It's gonna be really epic.

It's gonna roll everywhere

all over the place

and there's gonna be harnesses involved.

People just smash into things

- Crazy stuff is happening.

- and everything going everywhere.

Explosions!

I could have won the cosplay contest.

But I did that.

Please don't tell anyone.

Stop, okay? I'd never tell anyone.

Never ever?

Never ever ever.

Plot twist!

Plot twist.

The great thing

about Marvel Studios is that

they're not gonna apologize for the fact

that Marvel Comics costumes

are kinda over the top and wild

and colorful and they kinda lean into it.

When we were doing

the cosplay costume, it was super fun

because Kevin's like,

"Yeah, just make it look messier,

"just make it look crazier."

And so we just pushed it

as much as we could

'cause it's something

that Bruno and Kamala put together

and it's not perfect

and it's a little bright

and a little gaudy.

And even just like her helmet

is so wild and crazy,

but just super nerdy.

Are you sure we can keep that on?

What, it's an homage.

We created a Kamala who was

a sort of perfect storm of an artist

but kind of a nerdy character

but also a superfan but also someone

who was kind of effortless

and cool in her own way.

Is that what superheroes wear these days?

Well, I got my handy-dandy mask

that Bruno made for me

because this protects me and covers

my face enough for no one to recognize me.

Um

And we're wearing our AvengerCon shirt.

Even though I got in trouble for going,

Kamala still managed to get the shirt.

So that's a win for me.

She really, over the course

of this six-episode arc,

finds herself and becomes

someone to be looked up to,

you know, on her own standing.

And the idea with her costume

was very much that there were elements

borrowed from the Marvel Universe.

Um, this idea that she was a fan

of Captain Marvel

and that she wanted to emulate things

that were beautiful

about the Marvel Universe,

but she also brought this wealth

of her own culture to it.

Today is a historical day

because it's the first time

we're gonna see the fully-finished costume

of Ms. Marvel on screen.

Is that Ms. Marvel?

Ms. Marvel?

I can breathe in this.

- That's what you need.

- That's all I need.

It's the first time we're seeing it

on camera with people.

Normally, it's like in my trailer

and they're like,

"Oh, the lighting sucks."

But this is it and I'm very happy. Yeah.

Now we hide it from the world.

The super suit

was the most challenging

and also the most exciting thing.

Because of the situation with COVID

and because of the situation

that we were working under,

we decided that we were gonna

build the suit ourselves

in-house, in our little,

tiny costume shop in Atlanta.

And it was a first time for all of us,

building a super suit.

Of course, we had the blueprint

of the comic book.

We did refer to that a lot.

But it seems like what we landed on

was a sort of hybrid of what's

in the comic

and also what Kamala brought to it herself

and what I brought to it

and what my crew brought to it.

And it has to perform

many, many different tasks.

You know, it has to be

a Marvel super suit,

a Pakistani super suit.

A comfortable super suit,

a made in-house super suit.

Have Islamic elements, Marvel elements,

color elements from Captain Marvel.

But it was a beautiful challenge

and I think

I hope that we rose to it.

The super suit. It's insane.

It's very surreal. I was like

I was literally crying last night because

I didn't know how to prep for this.

So I just didn't. But I don't think

anyone can prep for this.

You know, I dressed up as Ms. Marvel

three years ago for Halloween

and I was like looking at those pictures.

It's insane, the difference.

First of all, I thrifted that whole thing

and got my grandma to help me

sew the lightning bolt on

and it was like a whole moment

and then, now I'm wearing it

in a freaking Marvel Universe

which is I can't even put it into words

how cool this is.

It's very My heart is very full.

In a lot of ways, this is really

the essence of the Kamala Khan

origin story from the comics

but it's also very, very different.

It's a true adaptation in every way.

The thing I gravitated towards the most

was this idea of family lineage

and the power that is passed on

from one to the other.

I can't do stars, Nani,

but I can do circles, okay?

Basically, Kamala has the ability

to manifest hard light or Noor.

And she uses it to make platforms

and you know,

she can embiggen her fists.

So we got that going for us.

It's very different from the comics.

In the comics,

Kamala could like shapeshift

and just grow in size

and also get really small.

I think there was a conscious effort

to not have her feel like Mr. Fantastic

or Elastigirl.

There were some early concepts

before I got on that had this idea

that she could manifest armor

or parts of her body

in this protective element.

And so I saw this as an opportunity.

I mean, how often

do you get to come into the MCU

and make up a power from scratch,

which is to me, the most exciting,

the most fun thing you could do.

So, you know, I love this idea

that she was able to manipulate

this energy from another source.

You know, Sana described it as,

imagine it if you were like to look

at a lens flare and you trap that,

you harden a lens flare that you see

with your eye or through optics.

That was an interesting way

of describing it.

So I then started building ways

of making what she's building,

this energy that she can create

or channel through herself

manifest in our dimension

as these objects.

Wow, that's

amazing.

How does it feel?

Like an idea come to life.

Platforms allowed her to get

to places that you wouldn't be able to.

Like she can't fly but she can certainly

run off a building

and continue running across it

to another building

or get down to the street level.

She can create walls or shields

and eventually she's able to do things

like her embiggened fists,

which are complete I wanted to pay

an homage to the comics there.

Episode six is the last act,

so it's basically

the third act of a movie.

It's gonna have action

and passion and drama

and it's gonna go, you know, to a buildup,

it's gonna go crescendo,

crescendo, crescendo,

you'll be on the edge of your seat

and then

Boom!

So, today we're gonna do

like a super cool expl*si*n stunt

with our actors in real life,

where we're gonna duck behind the corner

and then there's gonna be a expl*si*n.

So hopefully, it all pans out

'cause can only do it once.

Yeah!

Yes! Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Nice, nice, nice!

Any questions?

Why is hero spelled wrong?

Aamir sneaks in on the plan

and scares everybody to death.

And now, Aamir's a part

of the great Kamala Khan plan.

That's what I do, you know.

I just kinda swoop in

and take control.

Or at least, I think I'm taking control.

- But really I have nothing under control.

- Stop lying.

That's exactly what happens to Aamir.

Yeah, it's okay

'cause it's just in his head.

You know, as long as he's

happy and confident in himself,

you know We've got that.

Yeah. I'm always happy and confident

in myself, you know.

Yeah. So this plan is getting unfolded,

as you see, there's a chalkboard.

We're supposed to stop Damage Control

with softballs?

No. We are going to stall Damage Control

with softballs.

The real plan is Zoe.

We got all sorts of gadgets

and traps and Zuzu system.

The Zuzu system's here.

And also, I got my brain.

Okay. Actually, I think it's more

Bruno's brain but it's okay.

You got my beard.

Let's move on!

You're doing your own stunt.

I know. I'm so excited.

It was built up in our heads

for a long time

so I think, all of us were like, "God,

I hope it meets our expectations,"

and it not only met them,

but surpassed them.

I certainly could not grasp

the scale of a project like this.

It is truly astounding

what they are able to do.

And obviously

seeing it in person is even cooler.

Action!

Just like cuts. So, we go from

"it's working" to smack on the ground.

It's working.

And we're following the storyboards.

This is the finale of episode six.

So there's a lot that happens

between Kamran and Kamala.

She slowly starts to find her way

a bit more

and she slowly starts

to control those powers.

With Kamran, it's overwhelming

and it's spilling out of him

and it's kind of like a raging river

to the point where,

you know, he goes nuclear and he pulses

and he's hurting people

he doesn't even want to hurt.

We're building up the scene where

the SWAT team kinda storm in

and they take a sh*t at Kamran

and that's why this wall over here

that you see is blown up.

And then, this is just the scene

we've just sh*t is moments after that

when Kamala's basically

just looking at Kamran

and begging him not to do

what he's about to do.

And that's when he kind of just says,

"Screw this," and steps back out

into the line of fire and really uses

his powers in full force

and all the lockers come flying off

and it was awesome.

The stunt team just did an incredible job

of somehow not getting crushed.

I lost my balance.

Oh, no! They're gonna have to die again.

Fire! One, two, three! Freeze!

We are here now,

in the exterior of the high school,

where you have

the epic finale ending of episode six.

We have the characters of Kamran

and Kamala and all the kids,

they are outside and it's like,

basically a stand-off.

Fire!

Lot of superpower,

lot of coolnessness.

I think it's also the real moment

Kamala Khan becomes Ms. Marvel.

She becomes embiggened

and we see her in the full form

and we see the real deal,

what she really is.

She effectively,

you know, armors up.

All this hard light

that you've been seeing

pockets of throughout the entire show,

encases her entire body

and she becomes even bigger.

Bigger than she can ever imagine.

This was a big stunt,

some practical effects,

and story-wise, it is when Kamala,

first time is gonna be embiggened.

She jumps and crashes

to take out that sonar g*n

and her impact causes the cars

to fly away.

It's a memorable hero moment.

Whoa!

Yeah!

This world has a way

of making people feel small

and so it's on Kamala

to take up more space

and to really bring out more

and more of herself

and that's really why we decided to have

this moment at the end of six.

You know, it's this giant

culminating thing where we get to see

all of our Jersey City characters.

Everyone from the gyro stand guy

to people at school.

Everybody comes together

and it's a really empowering moment.

Kamran.

Kamala and Kamran get trapped

in this giant dome bubble thing

of light power

and they have

this whole conversation about how,

you know, you're allowed

to be more than one thing

because there's

Every minority deals with this thing.

Where like, for example,

if I go to Pakistan, I'm too Canadian,

if I go to Canada, I'm too Pakistani.

But you're allowed to have

this in-between and be both.

Kamran's part Djinn and part human.

Kamala's part Djinn and part human.

And they're together just finding

this happy in-between.

What am I supposed to do now?

How can I be normal?

There is no normal.

There's just us and what we do

with what we've been given.

I'll buy you time.

I just feel very, very lucky

that I get to be here,

that people fell in love with Kamala,

that they understand

what she stands for.

I just hope that people know that we have

put our blood, sweat, and tears

in one of the most chaotic times

in human history

to tell a story that is really meaningful

to a lot of people

and that's really important.

And we meant it.

I've been thinking a lot

about the beginning of the comic

and issue number one

and the pitch of this story

and then to be here in Thailand

and looking all around me

and all of the people

who have brought this story to life

who I didn't know a year ago,

five years ago,

and certainly not seven years ago

when we put this story together

and put this character together.

It's really momentous.

We all just tried to get in the last sh*t.

- They cut us out.

- We weren't very successful.

Everyone's so committed

to being a part of this

and everyone realizes

how special of a project that this is

and honors that every day.

Years from now,

I'll look back at this

and know that we did something

that mattered,

that was important, and it was

the right time to tell this story.

And that in doing so, we will, hopefully,

enable many, many young women

around the world

to become superheroes

in their own communities.

We're entering

a new point of the MCU

and I think audiences are really ready

to see different kinds of superheroes.

We're at a point where there are

such huge fans of the movies.

What could be more fun than seeing a girl

who's a huge fan of the same exact people

as we are join their ranks?

It's very interesting to see the parallel

between the character of Kamala Khan

and Iman Vellani herself

because Kamala Khan is this girl who never

would expect that she would be part of,

the superheroes, of the Avengers.

She's a big fan of Captain Marvel

and the other Avengers.

But you know, she's just like

a normal Brown girl of Jersey

who never believes

she's gonna be part of that.

In the same way,

Iman's story is that story.

It is a girl that grew up like all of us

with the Marvel movies, Marvel Universe.

I'm in tears. This is so good!

She never believed to be

be part of that universe.

She never believed

she would be part of all these actors

and being herself a superhero.

So that is like a kind of

meta storytelling that we're doing.

We're telling the story of Kamala Khan,

and also telling the story of Iman

and I think you'll all feel that through

the way that she portrays that character.

Feels like it's destined.

It was her destiny. Unbelievable.

You sure are,

always have been

our own little

Ms. Marvel.

I'm a superhero now. So, that's normal.

I'll go grab coffee

with Spider-Man tomorrow.

Maybe, you know,

catch a movie with Iron Man.

It can happen.

How do you feel? You okay?

Just like a chair!

Yeah.

We completely blanked on our dance moves.

This is aunties' chance

to hang with the cool kids.

I haven't caused total destruction yet.

So that's good.

- I have but on accident.

- Yeah.

We have actually gone through this

like 20-plus times

and it's just more

and more fun every time.

Like, I could watch this forever.

It's really fun.

Done, man. I'm going pro.