Marvel Studios: Assembled (2021–…): Season 1, Episode 11 - The Making of Ms. Marvel - full transcript
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.
Me era 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 Me era 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 super cool.
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 shooting
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. Ma shall ah.
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.
Ma shall ah.
- 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, Sam in a, 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, Has an.
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, Has an,
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 back lot 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 dodge ball 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 shooting 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 shooting 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 super fan 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 shape shift
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 explosion stunt
with our actors in real life,
where we're gonna duck behind the corner
and then there's gonna be a explosion.
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 shot 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 shot 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 gun
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 shot.
- 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,
I man'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.
- 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.
Me era 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 Me era 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 super cool.
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 shooting
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. Ma shall ah.
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.
Ma shall ah.
- 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, Sam in a, 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, Has an.
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, Has an,
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 back lot 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 dodge ball 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 shooting 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 shooting 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 super fan 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 shape shift
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 explosion stunt
with our actors in real life,
where we're gonna duck behind the corner
and then there's gonna be a explosion.
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 shot 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 shot 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 gun
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 shot.
- 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,
I man'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.