Ms. Marvel came out of the gates swinging hard just a month ago, and has continued to wow audiences up to now. With a remarkable 98 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, calling Iman Vellani’s Hollywood debut “triumphant” would be a hefty understatement.
It’s the latest Marvel property to have graced our palates until Thor: Love and Thunder crashes into theaters tomorrow, but Taika Waititi has no intention on stealing any of the Disney Plus series’ mojo, publicly applauding the show and its ability to expertly wield representation; a modern-day ethos that Waititi himself values quite highly.
In an interview with IndieWire, Waititi named Ms. Marvel as his number one representational milestone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, praising its handling of Kamala Khan’s Muslim heritage.
The best thing I’ve seen is Ms. Marvel. It’s incredible the way they’ve done it. It’s not like, “Oh, she happens to be Muslim” and you never see any of that. It’s all that side of her life, the entire thing.
The question was raised after Waititi broke down his representational pursuits in his own work, namely Thor: Love and Thunder, in which he took the opportunity to explore queerness and indigenous cultures; two fields that he has quite a bit of experience with by way of Our Flag Means Death and Reservation Dogs, respectively.
It seems the MCU family is one where everyone lifts each other up, and Waititi certainly isn’t alone in talking up the critically-acclaimed Ms. Marvel. While we all wait to hear Iman Vellani’s opinion on Thor: Love and Thunder, catch the final episode of Ms. Marvel next Wednesday on Disney Plus.