The Action-Packed Ms. Marvel Fight Scene That Sadly Didn't Make It Into The Show
The Marvel Disney+ miniseries "Ms. Marvel" tells the story of a self-described Avengers fangirl named Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) who gains incredible cosmic powers after receiving a mysterious golden bangle from her grandmother. "Ms. Marvel" received near-universal acclaim from both critics and fans alike, so much so that the series surprisingly took the title of the MCU's highest-rated offering.
The series received praise for its imaginative visual style, compelling protagonist, and excellent performances (specifically in regards to Vellani), although admittedly, the show is far from perfect. Indeed, one of the worst things about "Ms. Marvel" is the fact that the show fails to build up its villains — the interdimensionally-displaced Djinn known as the "Clandestines" — in a satisfying way. They make only a few key appearances in the series before they are anticlimactically shoved through an interdimensional gateway to go bother somebody else, and as such, you never really see them as the powerful beings that they're made out to be.
Indeed, it seems like there was originally a plan to get the Clandestines more involved earlier in the series with a large-scale fight involving several key characters — though unfortunately, that scene never actually ended up in the show.
This major fight scene was cut to keep the story's pacing intact
Fans of "Ms. Marvel" will remember that one of the first times that Kamala fights the Calndestines head-on comes in Episode 4 when Kamala teams up with a mysterious character named Kareem (Aramis Knight) –- a member of the Djinn-hunting group known as the Red Daggers. Although this confrontation is rather brief (and ends with Kamala being thrown backward through time itself), cinematographer Jules O'Loughlin has revealed that there was supposed to be a separate fight involving Kamala, the Kareem, and the Clandestines, which was ultimately scrapped from the final cut.
"There was a particular fight scene we shot in an abandoned train-yard in Bangkok ... the lines were overgrown with vines and trees; an amazing location," O'Loughlin recalled during an exclusive interview with ScreenRant. "We had a fight scene there with Kamala and our Red Dagger and the Clandestines ... it was a really physically tough scene to shoot." O'Loughlin said he was particularly proud of this scene due to the harsh weather they had to endure while filming, though admitted that it simply did not fit the series' pacing in the end, and accepted why it had to be cut.
Knowing that this action-packed fight sequence (set in such an incredible location) ended up being cut from the final product is certainly disappointing, and although O'Loughlin himself understands why the scene was removed, there are no doubt plenty of fans out there who desperately wish that this particular battle made it into the series.