"Marvel Executive Says Ms. Marvel is a 'Top Priority'"

"Despite being one of the MCU's biggest disappointments, there are still plans for Kamala Khan and Iman Vellani in the franchise."

The Ms. Marvel series on Disney+ holds the title of the least-watched live-action Marvel show with a weekly release. Recently, The Marvels, starring Iman Vellani, also underperformed at the box office, resulting in a $200 million loss for Disney. The film failed to attract Marvel's female audience. Additionally, the Avengers video game featuring Kamala Khan was a flop, and her comic series has been repeatedly canceled and relaunched, often more than a dozen times. There’s also speculation that the Young Avengers movie has either been outright canceled or reworked into a rebranded Disney+ series, as the actors involved have aged out of their roles.

Is Ms. Marvel a fan-favorite character?

In a strange article from The Hollywood Reporter, the site claims Ms. Marvel is a “fan-favorite character,” that Marvel “struck gold” with her, and even calls X-Men '97 and Agatha “resounding wins.” However, both of those shows, much like Ms. Marvel, received some of the lowest ratings for Marvel on Disney+.

What’s even more puzzling is the article mentions the Marvel Zombies animated series but fails to acknowledge Ms. Marvel or Iman Vellani while discussing the show. It's well known that Marvel Zombies is set to feature Ms. Marvel as the lead, with Iman Vellani describing Kamala as the “Frodo of the story.” (I’ve speculated that Ms. Marvel may be immune to the zombie virus, in line with her extensive powers in the MCU.)

Marvel Exec Talks About the Future of Ms. Marvel in the MCU

When asked about Ms. Marvel's future in the MCU, Brad Winderbaum, Head of Marvel's Television, Streaming, and Animation, had this to say:

"I love Iman. She’s incredible. I love that character. I will tell you that she’s certainly a big part of the MCU to me. Ms. Marvel is a really important show to us, and without going into great detail, because I don’t want to spoil anything, she is top of mind. So it’s going to be exciting to see where she pops up next."

An interesting point Winderbaum makes is that Marvel's new direction focuses on telling compelling stories that resonate with fans:

"The most important thing we can do as a studio is tell stories that connect with people. Not every show needs to be a massive, Endgame-scale event that appeals to everyone in an emotional way. What matters is that we create stories that resonate emotionally with any segment of our fan base, bringing them the same sense of joy they felt when they saw Endgame in theaters. If we can do that for even one fan, we’ve done our job. This approach will allow these shows to be discovered, and word of mouth will help more people find them."

It’s also refreshing to hear that Winderbaum is a big fan of the comics. Recently, there was news about a producer leaving the MCU who reportedly wouldn’t hire writers who read comics. In contrast, Winderbaum shared:

"I remember walking into the comic store as a kid. I was a Marvel fan and collected Marvel comics. There was such a wide range of books available to me. You had the heightened fantasy of Thor, the soap opera with social commentary in X-Men, the adventure stories in The Avengers and Iron Man. Marvel has always been many things, not just one. There are countless stories to tell in different genres and tones that speak to different parts of the fandom. That’s something we’re trying to create in our television slate and across the entire Marvel slate."