Iman Vellani's Favorite MCU Movie Might Surprise Ms. Marvel Fans

The Disney+ miniseries "Ms. Marvel" has the potential to shake up the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a long time coming as Marvel Studios introduces the popular comic book hero to the mix. The series follows Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), a Muslim American teenager living in Jersey City who spends her days fantasizing about and indulging in superhero content, especially admiring Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). Though Kamala at first seems an unlikely candidate to join the ever-expanding ranks of superpowered heroes on Earth-616, she realizes she has cosmic-level superpowers via a mysterious bangle too.

Kamala's story is basically the wildest dream of any Marvel comic book fan come true: She gets to join the ranks of the likes of Captain Marvel and the Avengers, and odds are that she'll grow into quite the pivotal character in the MCU — audiences can already expect Vellani to reprise the role in the upcoming movie "The Marvels," the sequel to 2019's "Captain Marvel." For now, "Ms. Marvel" is expected to air six episodes on Disney+ that will reportedly directly set up "The Marvels," similar to how the "WandaVision" miniseries laid the groundwork for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" (via Deadline).

Vellani, just 19 years old, is now one of the MCU's youngest stars, and it seems that growing up as superheroes grew into the pop-culture sensation of the 21st century made her quite the Marvel fan in her own right.

Iman Vellani and Kamala Khan may represent Phase Four as Marvel Studios spins away from the Infinity Saga, but Vellani has old-school taste (for the MCU, at least). In a recent interview with Beyond the Trailer, "Ms. Marvel" directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah noted that Iman Vellani is a die-hard MCU fan — so much so that 2008's "Iron Man," which kicked the entire cinematic universe off with its success, is her favorite movie. Fallah also said that Marvel Studios executive Kevin Feige is Vellani's idol, noting that the actor's passion for the MCU creates parallels between Vellani and the character she plays in the MCU.

"All of a sudden, she's now an actress there, playing a superhero, and that's the parallel story of Kamala Khan," El Arbi said in the interview. "[She's] aspiring to become a superhero, looking up to Captain Marvel but not thinking that really, really she's going to be part of it, and all of a sudden, it happens. So it's a love letter to the fandom of the whole world."

Vellani's affection for the first "Iron Man" film, which was released when the actor was only five years old, has been a major focus of media attention leading up to the premiere of "Ms. Marvel" on Disney+. Vellani told Entertainment Tonight at the "Ms. Marvel" red carpet event that she can recite the first 10 minutes of "Iron Man" from memory — though she said she was too nervous to perform it correctly on the spot.