The Marvel Cinematic Universe is shaping up to be a hugely integral part of Disney Plus. As well as featuring the entire MCU back catalogue, the upcoming streaming service will also debut The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, Hawkeye and Marvel’s What If…?, four shows and one animated series that will see the stars of the feature films reprising their roles on the small screen.
The Disney Plus projects were announced along with the rest of Marvel Studios’ Phase Four output at San Diego Comic-Con, but already speculation has once again started heating up surrounding the MCU with Disney’s D23 Expo set to take place next weekend. Kevin Feige’s appearance at the event will be one of the most highly-anticipated moments of the entire showcase, with the President of Marvel Studios set to reveal even more about the company’s upcoming slate.
Rumors have been running wild that Feige will announce something surrounding either the X-Men or Fantastic Four at D23, but WGTC has heard from our sources – the same ones who told us Ewan McGregor was returning as Obi-Wan, which was confirmed last night – that an adaptation of Ms. Marvel is officially in the works, with Mindy Kaling involved in some capacity. Kaling herself commented on the story in a recent interview as well, admitting that she’d met with Marvel Studios.
“I think the people I’ve spoken to at Marvel about it are so excited about the character and I think that they’re trying to figure out what to do with it, and I told them I would help in any way because I truly love her. They really seem interested, and I think they will probably do something. Now that there’s like this streaming service with them, it might be something like that, but I think they understand how much excitement there is.”
It’s interesting that the actress specifically mentioned the streaming service, because Disney Plus would serve as the ideal proving ground for the MCU to introduce new characters, ones that could then be added to the movies somewhere down the line. In the comic books, Ms. Marvel is closely associated with Captain Marvel, which Kevin Feige alluded to in an interview last year to promote the Brie Larson-starring blockbuster, saying:
“Ms. Marvel, which is another character in the comic books, the Muslim hero who is inspired by Captain Marvel, is definitely sort of in the works. We have plans for that once we introduce Captain Marvel.”
Introducing Ms. Marvel in a Disney Plus series would be a smart way of bringing Kamala Khan into the MCU, especially with Mindy Kaling involved, given her extensive background in creating, writing, directing and producing television shows. A six or eight episode run would allow plenty of time to create a fully-formed character, and Phase Five’s Captain Marvel sequel could conveniently be the ideal time to send Ms. Marvel to the big screen as a featured supporting player.
