How Old Is Kamala Khan In The Marvels? Director Confirms Ms. Marvel's MCU Age

Kamala Khan had the honor of being the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first mutant when "Ms. Marvel" bowed on Disney+ in 2022. Starring newcomer Iman Vellani as the Pakistani American superhero, the miniseries was a hyper-stylized slice of teenage angst, garnering praiseful reviews from critics. The character will next appear alongside Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) in "The Marvels." Vellani, born in 2002, was a teenager herself when she landed her "Ms. Marvel" role, making the whole process feel authentic. And fittingly, its climactic battle takes place at a New Jersey high school. But "Ms. Marvel" left some unanswered questions, one of which is how old will she be in "The Marvels." But according to director Nia DaCosta, no time has elapsed since we last saw Kamala Khan, which means she's still 16 years old at the time of the film's events.

Speaking to Total Film Magazine, DaCosta let slip Khan's age in "The Marvels" in the course of discussing what excites her about the movie. "They're all switching places," she said of Khan, Danvers, and Rambeau. "That gives it so much dimension, but it makes it really fun. And then you have the complication that two of them can fly and are basically invulnerable, and then [there's] one 16-year-old girl who can make hard light."

The series finale of "Ms. Marvel" ended with a cliff-hanger cameo from Brie Larson's Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel. In the brief scene, Kamala Khan's power-granting bangle begins to pulse and we see her teleported through the door of her bedroom closet. In her place, Captain Marvel emerges, realizing she's swapped places with her teenage namesake. Heading into "The Marvels," which functions as a sequel to both "Ms. Marvel" and 2019's "Captain Marvel" while following up on a plot strand from 2021's "WandaVision," it appears the story will pick up right around that moment, as the film's three main characters must figure out what's causing them to swap places.

As "The Marvels" director Nia DaCosta put it in her Total Film interview, "How do we mix and match and keep the peril and the stakes high with these three women switching places? That was so fun." It sure does sound like a good premise for a movie, but also a smart move from a world-building perspective, as fans will get to watch a new superhero team form among three people thrust together by cosmic circumstances. That same formula has previously done well with MCU projects like "Guardians of the Galaxy" and, of course, "The Avengers."

When last we saw Kamala Khan, she had begun to master her powers and had just learned she's a mutant. The fact that she will still be 16 in "The Marvels" means she may still be grappling with the massive changes in her life, in addition to now being forced to work with her longtime idol, Captain Marvel. With so many story threads to work with, "The Marvels" is shaping up to be the most exciting MCU movie in some time.