Disney+ has no shortage of Marvel TV originals on the way to its expansive library, but it was beginning to feel like Ms. Marvel was never going to make any progress, especially compared to the likes of the upcoming WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Fortunately, there is now some big news regarding the show all about Kamala Khan finally taking some steps forward. Ms. Marvel has put together its directing team for the TV show.
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah of Bad Boys for Life will direct episodes of Ms. Marvel for Disney+, according to THR, as will Oscar-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Meera Menon of The Walking Dead and The Punisher fame. While details are still scarce about what to expect and how many episodes these directors will helm, this is still news worth getting excited about.
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah successfully revived the Bad Boys franchise after 25 years with the long-awaited Bad Boys for Life, which released back in early 2020 and proceeded to crush and hit box office milestones. Interestingly, the duo commented earlier this year on the chances of them directing a future superhero movie, and Adil El Arbi revealed that they'd had "talks" with Marvel, and there was nothing concrete as of late June.
At the time, Adil El Arbi shared that there were "looking for what is the right character," and hoped to work with Marvel or DC. Apparently, Ms. Marvel was the right character, as they are heading to Marvel to direct Kamala Khan in her first live-action appearances.
As for Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, she is a documentarian, journalist, and filmmaker who has won not only two Academy Awards, but also multiple Emmys for her work over the years. Best known for her Oscar-winning documentary shorts Saving Face (2012) and A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015), Obaid-Chinoy has spent much of her career in documentaries, so it should be interesting to see how she helms episodes of a fictional TV show like Ms. Marvel.
Of the directors who have been announced, Meera Menon brings the most television experience to the table. In fact, she has already directed for superhero shows, with an episode each of The Punisher and Titans to her name. Other high-profile directing gigs include The Walking Dead, spinoff Fear the Walking Dead, two episodes of Outlander, and four episodes of The Magicians. She certainly has genre experience heading into Ms. Marvel!
Ms. Marvel centers on a Pakistani-American teen by the name of Kamala Khan, who made history as the first Muslim character with her own Marvel title. Kamala is technically an Inhuman on the pages of Marvel comics, and Inhumans have only gotten the MCU treatment so far with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which ended earlier in 2020. Her powers include the ability to stretch her body, show remarkable strength, and heal herself.
Unfortunately, the search is apparently still on to find the perfect actress to bring Kamala Khan to live-action as star of Ms. Marvel, so there is no news just yet on that front. The role may start on the small screen, but she is expected to appear in Marvel films as well. We've come up with some actresses who would be great to play Kamala, and one star from a Netflix series has already said that she won't play the character.
Hopefully more news continues to break on the Ms. Marvel front. She-Hulk recently broke some big news after a long period where little progress was seemingly being made, so perhaps the same will happen with Ms. Marvel. That said, the only Marvel Disney+ original that is currently guaranteed to launch before the end of 2020 is WandaVision, despite The Falcon and the Winter Soldier originally slated for an earlier premiere.
Check out Disney+ for a wide variety of Marvel movies and shows, although Netflix is the place to be to see the MCU's original take on Inhumans with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. For more viewing options, swing by our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule!
