Despite disappointing box office returns for The Marvels, Kamala Khan actress Iman Vellani is excited about her MCU future and possibly teaming up with younger heroes to punch evil in its stupid face. While nothing is written in stone, the final scene of Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels hints at a potential Young Avengers film, with Iman Vellani playing a Nick Fury-type role as she recruits up-and-coming superheroes to commit exciting acts of derring-do. Speaking with Yahoo Entertainment, Vellani revealed who she’d like to team up with for a Young Avengers initiative, and some of her choices could surprise you.
Before we reveal the list, here’s some background for how The Marvels sets up its Young Avengers tease. We’re about to take a trip into Spoiler Town, so proceed with caution! At the end of The Marvels, Kamala Khan does her best Nick Fury impression while trying to recruit Hawkeye‘s Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) to the Young Avengers. While not disinterested, Kate informs Kamala she’s older than she looks. After the awkward exchange and Lucky the Pizza Dog cameo, the music swells as Young Avengers fans say “Finally,” under their breath.
While Kamala name-drops Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton) of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania fame in the scene, it remains to be seen if the size-changing hero could join the team. This quandary begs the question: Who does Vellani want on the Young Avengers? Vellani thinks Dominique Thorne’s character Riri Williams (Ironheart) “would be fun.” MCU fans met Williams in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. There’s also an Ironheart Disney+ show in the works, though we’ve been waiting to hear updates for a while now.
“I also want to say Kid Loki, because he’s the only guy I could think of,” Vellani said, referring to the young variant of Tom Hiddleston’s character played by Jack Veal on the Loki TV series. “Well, him and Patriot, I guess,” she added, nodding toward Elijah Richardson’s character Eli Bradley from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. “And maybe Billy and Tommy, although they aren’t as fleshed out in the MCU yet,” Vellani said, referencing Wanda and Vision’s kids from WandaVision, played by Julian Hilliard and Jett Klyne, respectively. “I’m excited to see if any of those storylines go anywhere.”
Who would you want on a Young Avengers team? My bote is Viv Vision, although she’s technically a Champion and has yet to be introduced in the MCU. I’m sure the writers at Marvel can figure out how to make her a part of the mix, especially if Wanda “died” in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. They could introduce her in Vision Quest, assuming that’s still happening. The crystal ball for the MCU is foggy AF right now, y’all.