Fans are upset and got #FixMsMarvel trending in the wake of rumors regarding the cast of the upcoming MCU movie. What can Marvel Studios do?
Fan uproar over casting rumors regarding the Ms. Marvel TV series has led to a trending hashtag and online chaos, as Marvel Studios came under fire. This confusion stemmed from the fact that the ruckus arose over unsubstantiated reports rather than official studio press releases, leaving many wondering what the studio should do or if they need to do anything at all.
This controversy seems unsurprising, given that Kamala Khan has been inflaming fan passions since her introduction in 2013. Kamala Khan was one of many who gained Inhuman powers when the Terrigen Mists spread across the Earth, but she distinguished herself by using her newfound shapeshifting powers to protect her hometown of Jersey City. She took up the name of Ms. Marvel with the blessing of her idol Carol Danvers and became the first Muslim superhero to star in their own solo series at Marvel Comics. While Kamala has become one of the most popular of Marvel's recent original characters, she has also been a target of those who dislike Marvel's efforts at diversifying their line-up and been held up as an example of political correctness run amok.
Contrary complaints lie at the heart of the current controversy, as fans of the Ms. Marvel comics reacted to reports that the cast of the Ms. Marvel series would not accurately reflect the characters from the comics in terms of their heritage and beliefs. This flew in the face of earlier promises by Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige that they would be casting Muslim actors of Pakistani heritage to play Kamala and her family. This problem, however, pales compared to reports that one of the actors rumored to have been cast has a history of sexual misconduct.
The #FixMsMarvel uproar began on December 7, 2020, when the Twitter fan account MsMarvelNews made a number of posts regarding several casting rumors that they deemed inappropriate. These included Zenobia Shroff (best known for playing Priya Ullah in The Affair) as Kamala Khan's mother, and Yasmeen Fletcher (best known as Chandra in the film Upside Down Magic) as Kamala's friend, Nakia Bahadir; a Turkish Muslim who attended the same Mosque as Kamala's family. The management of MsMarvelNews was unhappy with the idea that Kamala's mom might be played by a non-Muslim Indian actress and that Nakia Bahadir might be played by a half-Caucasian Christian actress.
The posts also attacked actor Matt Lintz, best known as Henry on The Walking Dead. Lintz was rumored to be playing Bruno Carrelli; a friend of Kamala Khan from the comics, who was the first person privy to her double life as Ms. Marvel. Lintz was attacked for being a supporter of Donald Trump on his social media, although that support seems to be limited to liking several Tweets Trump had made. It should be noted, however, that Lintz has denied being a Trump supporter on his personal Twitter account, and that the original MsMarvelNews Tweet regarding him has since then been deleted.
The final post involved Andrew Brodeur; a 23-year old actor best known for his role as Will in the movie Tall Girl. Brodeur was rumored to have been cast as Josh Richardson; a classmate of Kamala Khan's, who was ultimately unmasked as the villain Discord. According to MsMarvelNews' post (which linked to several other Tweets made in 2019) Brodeur was expelled from his college following multiple Title-9 cases. Several other people on Twitter confirmed that Brodeur was a serial sexual harasser who made multiple women uncomfortable with his behavior.
It should be noted, again, that none of the actors mentioned by MsMarvelNews have been officially tied to Ms. Marvel. At the time the #FixMsMarvel hashtag was trending, the only official casting announcement made by Marvel Studios was that Canadian actress Iman Vellani had been cast as Kamala Khan. While previous reports by the MsMarvelNews fan site regarding the show have proven accurate, the casting rumors are still just rumors.
Assuming the rumors are accurate, however, do they represent a breach of trust on the part of Marvel Studios and their promises that a Ms. Marvel show would reflect the original comics? That is a matter of heavy debate. On the one hand, the issues of diversity and representation were a major part of the original Ms. Marvel comics written by G. Willow Wilson and it makes sense for the show to reflect its source material in that regard. Conversely, there is some question as to where the line is drawn in questions of diverse casting.
The point has been made that there is already a lack of roles for South Asian actors in Hollywood and that limiting the casting for a role to Muslim actors or Pakistani-American actors makes it more difficult for these actors to find work - and for diverse casts to be built in the long run. Some argue that not only is it perfectly acceptable for an Indian-American actor to play a Pakistani-American character or a Christian actor to play a Muslim character but that it is the very core of the actor's craft to be able to see the world as another person and act as a vessel through which that character can be brought to life. It has also been noted that few complained that Chadwick Boseman, an American actor originally from South Carolina, played the African king T'Challa in Black Panther or that Kamala Khan herself is being played by a Muslim Canadian rather than a Muslim American.
Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to be found, since it will be impossible to satisfy everyone. Some will be upset if Marvel Studios decides to cast Ms. Marvel without any consideration of religious or national background. Others will be upset if the pool of actors for the casting call is limited to Pakistani-Americans or Muslims.
Regardless, the challenge raised by the #FixMsMarvel hashtag remains; how can Marvel Studios fix Ms. Marvel, presuming that it needs fixing at all? It is still early enough in the show's filming that the supporting roles could be recast without delaying the production. This would be an important consideration given the widespread delays Marvel Studios has suffered in the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic. However, it may be wholly unnecessary given that the controversy was based entirely on Internet rumor rather than official casting announcements.
While its easy to understand why Ms. Marvel fans would be outraged over an actor with a history of mistreating women being tied to a superhero show aimed at young women, it should be noted that Andrew Brodeur has never faced any criminal charges. It should also be noted that MyLife, the website cited by MsMarvelNews, is currently under investigation by the US Department of Justice for providing misleading information in its records. Even so, the accounts of Brodeur's past actions, if accurate, are disturbing and hard to dismiss as they were made on Twitter by a number of people over a year before the recent upheaval tied to the #FixMsMarvel hashtag.
The complaints against the other actors named in the report seem petty in comparison. Many would argue that it is an insult to suggest that an actor could not imagine or convey the pains of discrimination and persecution merely because they aren't the right nationality or the right religion. Some would also argue that it is the writing of Ms. Marvel that is important and that the genetic makeup and political or spiritual beliefs of an actor are unimportant so long as they tackle their role with respect and convey the character appropriately. In any case, it will be impossible for anyone to make an informed judgement one way or the other until Marvel Studios confirms the cast.
