‘Ms. Marvel’ Star Iman Vellani Discusses Her Iron Man Shrine and Gaming with Thor

Iman Vellani’s MCU fandom isn’t just another press tour talking point; she’s the genuine article. 

Vellani, who plays Pakistani-American teenager Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel on Disney+’s Ms. Marvel, not only has an Iron Man shrine in her childhood bedroom, but she also has a knowledge base that consists of deep cuts such as cross-promotional material between Marvel Studios and Xbox. Ms. Marvel’s creative team was so taken with Vellani’s enthusiasm for the Marvel Cinematic Universe that they took inspiration from her own collection of Iron Man merchandise.

“So back home, I have an Iron Man shrine, basically. And one of the things in it is a bust of Iron Man’s head, but it’s also a cologne. It smells foul, but it looks cool. So before I got cast, I was giving Sana [Amanat], our producer, a tour of my room, and I showed her that … And then my first day on set, they were giving me a tour of Kamala’s bedroom, and … they had recreated the little Iron Man perfume that I have,” Vellani tells The Hollywood Reporter.

In “Generation Why,” the premiere of Ms. Marvel, Kamala theorizes that Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is actually a closet gamer, which MCU fans know is true after watching Avengers: Endgame. But Vellani believes Kamala has already schooled the God of Thunder in the world of online gaming.

“My guess is that Kamala has definitely versed him online, playing Fortnite. I think they’ve interacted online,” Vellani says.

In a recent conversation with THR, Vellani also made it clear that she is not Thor’s sworn enemy, “NoobMaster69.”

So we all saw footage of when you got the role on Zoom. What happened directly after that?

I was on my friends’ driveaway, and they were all watching me. They did not know I had auditioned, so they were super confused about the phone call I was taking in the middle of their driveway. So the phone call ended, and I slowly walked back to my friends’ car, and they were like, “So what happened? Did you win the lottery or something?” And I was like, “Basically!” So then I told them I got the part, and they were super confused again because I didn’t tell them anything else. And then we screamed. There was lots of screaming. And they were like, “Wait a minute, you lied to us! You said you were going to room with us for university! You’re never going to university!” So I had to apologize for all my lies, and then we got burritos. Good day.

Everybody is bringing up the parallels between you and Kamala. You’re both MCU fans who became superheroes out of nowhere. Did anything from your own MCU fandom make it into her bedroom or AvengerCon?

There is something in her room. So back home, I have an Iron Man shrine, basically. (Laughs.) And one of the things in it is a bust of Iron Man’s head, but it’s also a cologne. It smells foul, but it looks cool. So before I got cast, I was giving Sana [Amanat], our producer, a tour of my room, and I showed her that and told her the story behind it. And then my first day on set, they were giving me a tour of Kamala’s bedroom, and they were like, “Look what we have on the table!” And they had recreated the little Iron Man [cologne] that I have. So that was cool.

You and Brie Larson both reprised your Marvel roles before the first performance was even released. Was that a bizarre feeling to play Kamala again in The Marvels before the public got to meet her?

No, it was like muscle memory. There were only a couple weeks in between productions, so it was already very routine for me.

In the first episode, Kamala mentions that she’s going to make a theory video about Thor being a secret gamer, and we know from Endgame that he did, in fact, become a gamer during his depressive state. So have you started thinking about the very high likelihood that you’ll discuss this in a scene with Thor someday?

(Laughs.) I haven’t thought about that, but my guess is that Kamala has definitely versed him online, playing Fortnite. I think they’ve interacted online. 

In Endgame, Thor went off on a gamer named “NoobMaster69,’” so what if that was actually Kamala?

No, because the guy [D.C. Pierson’s Aaron] from the Apple Store in Captain America: The Winter Soldier ended up being Noobmaster in a little short film that they made. [Writer’s Note: In a cross-promotion between Xbox Game Pass and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Pierson reprises his role and admits he’s the infamous gamer named NoobMaster69.]

Wow, you really do know your MCU stuff. 

(Vellani gives two thumbs-up.) 

I’m genuinely stunned right now. You blew me away with your knowledge.

(Laughs.) I have that effect on people.

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Ms. Marvel is now airing on Disney+.