‘Ms. Marvel’ star says they’re the Ned to Kamala Khan’s Spider-Man

We got our first proper look at Ms. Marvel when the first trailer dropped earlier this month. From what we’ve seen so far, it promises to be a fun, coming-of-age show as Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan goes from superhero fangirl to just plain superhero. With its focus on a teen protagonist and breezy tone, the Ms. Marvel trailer definitely gave off a lot of Spider-Man: Homecoming vibes. And it turns out the similarities may go deeper than that.

In an interview with ScreenRant, star Matt Lintz broke Encanto‘s big rule and talked about Bruno — his Ms. Marvel character, Bruno Carrelli, that is. According to the actor, he’ll be playing Kamala’s best friend who fans can expect to fill a similar role to Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds in the Spider-Man movies, as he’ll be her tech-savvy “guy in the chair” just as Ned is to Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.

“I’m playing Bruno Carrelli. So, I’m playing the best friend of Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel,” Lintz teased. “He’s the tech whiz. He’s a sidekick. You could say he’s the Ned to the Peter Parker, Spider-Man. I don’t know, and I think his relationship with Kamala is something that people are going to watch and want to see. He helps out in a lot of ways, but that’s all I’ll say about that.”

What Lintz has to say fits with Bruno’s portrayal in the comics, which is a little ironic as Ms. Marvel promises to take some pretty massive liberties with the source material. On the page, Kamala is an Inhuman with the ability to change her shape and size. In the MCU, however, she’ll be able to generate energy constructs thanks to some kind of Khan family heirloom that’s really a mystical alien bracelet.

Vellani and Lintz are joined by a bustling supporting cast that has continued to add names as late as this month, thanks to the series undergoing last-minute reshoots. Zenobia Shroff and Mohan Kapur are Kamala’s parents Muneeba and Yusuf, Saagar Shaikh is Amir, her older brother, and Aramis Knight is the vigilante Red Dagger.

Remember, this is just the beginning for Ms. Marvel as she’s already set to return in 2023’s The Marvels opposite her idol, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson). Catch Kamala’s big MCU debut when her very own series hits Disney Plus on June 8.