Marvel Heroes: Secret Warriors animated film announced!

Marvel is assembling some of their boldest and bravest heroes for a new animated feature film entitled MARVEL HEROES: SECRET WARRIORS! In the full-length animation, characters like Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Miss America Chavez, Squirrel Girl, Quake, Spider-Gwen, Inferno, Patriot, Exile, and Captain Marvel will join forces against Hala, one of the last of the Kree and the lone surviving member of the Accuser Corps following the fall of the Kree Empire.

Prior to the film's release, Marvel will launch MARVEL RISING: SECRET WARRIORS, an animated series consisting of six four-minute shorts in 2018. In talking to Buzzfeed about the new animated initiative, Marvel's director of content and character development Sana Amanat expressed her overwhelming enthusiasm for the project by saying "It came out of a desire to be able to tell stories about characters that we think are the next great heroes of the Marvel Universe," Amanat told the entertainment news outlet. "I think it's incredibly important that we tell young women and young girls that they have this incredible power within themselves, and that they have heroes out there [who] … they can look up to, especially in these times."

Lending her voice to the character of Kamala Khan a.k.a. Ms. Marvel is Kathreen Khavari, who said "To have this brown girl who's a Muslim, who's a superhero, who doesn't fall under these stereotypes … [and] is just a good, decent human being who wants to bring that out in other people — I feel really fortunate to be able to portray her."

Providing the voice of the brash Miss America Chavez will be Cierra Ramierez, while Milana Vayntrub will step into the role of Doreen Green a.k.a. Squirrel Girl. "[I] feel like a lot women will feel represented and impassioned by this badass young woman who wants to make the world a better place," Vayntrub exclaimed. She's particularly pleased that the character isn't simply "for the male gaze. And it's not about, 'Will my crush like me after this?' There's more dimension to [Squirrel Girl] than being a babe." 

Chloe Bennet of AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. will reprise her role as Quake, while Dove Cameron will record her vocals for Ghost Spider, the secret codename of Spider-Gwen. Really? I've never heard the character refered to by this name, but then again, I'm not exactly caught up on my Spider-Gwen reading. Also set to be featured as a part of the fun is Tyler Posey who will play Inferno, with Kamil McFadden as Patriot, Kim Raver as Captain Marvel, and Booboo Stewart as Exile, alongside sidekicks Tippy Toe and Lockjaw, who will be voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. Though perhaps one of the biggest highlights of these casting announcements is that AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. star Ming-Na-Wen will play the part of the villainous Hala.

"Most of the people on this movie are these really powerful [women] who are still trying to figure out their powers, but they do it in a really cool way, where they're kind of clumsy at first," Posey stated. "But they do it in a really heroic, genuine way, and I think a lot of young girls will take something from that." 

Lastly, Booboo Stewart added to the chorus of excitement to be a part of this ambitious project by saying "To just be a part of this new wave of superheroes and to have women at the forefront of that … I feel like it's great that young kids are just going to grow up with it," Stewart gushed.

Finally! It's like someone at Marvel heard my prayers and decided to answer them. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a great Captain America, Iron Man, or Punisher animation as much as the next fan, though it's about damn time that Marvel began ushering in some of their newer female characters into the limelight. There's lots of potential for this project to jump start a whole new and important movement in the industry and I can't wait to see the results. Bring it on!

MARVEL RISING: SECRET WARRIORS will launch in 2018.