"That's the plan": Iman Vellani envisions Ms. Marvel's inclusion in the X-Men universe

Modified Mar 15, 2024 22:32 IST

Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani wants to see her character become an official X-Men and mutant in the MCU (Image via Disney)

Thursday, March 14, 2024 saw Iman Vellani, better known as Ms. Marvel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), give an interview to ComicBook.com on what she envisions her character’s future to be in the franchise. Per Vellani, her top choice is the X-Men due to the fact that it would mark her “as a legitimate mutant, and all the naysayers can no longer say nay.”

While the ending of The Marvels seems to set up Kamala Khan, the true identity of Ms. Marvel, as the founder of the MCU’s Young Avengers group, her goals seem to lie elsewhere. Iman Vellani even goes as far as to claim that her current co-writing efforts on the character’s current comics allow her to shape the hero’s story as that of a mutant’s. In turn, she claims “that’s the plan” with respect to using this shaping to influence the direction of the MCU.

Iman Vellani wants to see Ms. Marvel made into “a legitimate mutant” on “the big screen"

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One of the biggest reasons why Iman Vellani wants her character Ms. Marvel joining the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is to silence detractors to Kamala’s status as a true mutant. Some fans have expressed hesitation on the MCU having more influence on the comics, rather than the comics influencing the MCU. Likewise, with Vellani actively co-writing the current comics for her on-screen character, some controversy has swirled as a result.

Khan was originally introduced as an Inhuman who had gained her powers following her exposure to the Terrigen Mists. Nearly the entirety of her existence has seen her origin story described as such, up until the premiere of the Ms. Marvel series on Disney+. Within, fans saw Khan introduced as the MCU’s first confirmed mutant.

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The comics, however, appear to be taking a different direction than the Disney+ series did. Khan’s mutant status in the comics is still ambiguous, due to her mutant powers allegedly having yet to emerge as a result of her also being an Inhuman. As mentioned above, Vellani is a co-writer on this very comic series, and seems to be making a push for these mutant powers to awaken in this medium and storyline.

Given these latest comments on Ms. Marvel’s X-Men future by Iman Vellani, it seems that the character could be set up as a gateway character to introduce fans to the X-Men at large. This would see Khan’s role be comparable to that of Rogue in the Fox movies, Jubilee in the 1992 animated series, and Kitty Pryde in the comics. However, this is purely speculative as of this article’s writing, meaning fans will simply have to wait and see.