‘Ms. Marvel’ Directors Say Kevin Feige Didn’t Explain the [REDACTED] Line, They Didn’t Shoot the Post-Credits Scene
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ms. Marvel directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who helmed the season premiere and finale, pulled back the curtain on their job on the show.
WARNING: This story contains spoilers for the final episode of Ms. Marvel
The filmmakers were asked about how the finale finally depicted the full extent of Kamala’s powers. Bilall explained how they adapted the comics instead of having a direct translation:
“First of all, Kevin [Feige] didn’t want to make a literal translation of what was in the comic book. It’s an adaptation. We started off with this [idea] of ‘hard light,’ and from there, we started to create what that power would be — while still doing an homage of what is in the comic book. In the comic, she can’t control her power at first. It’s making her body bigger and smaller, which is a good metaphor for being a teenager. But towards the end of the comic book, she really controls it. So, we created that same thing. In the beginning, she can’t control it, and step by step, the more she starts to know her history, she becomes Ms. Marvel. In the last episode, she has that big fist with hard light that can smash things, and then she’s finally herself.”
Adil then weighed in on the high school sequence, saying that it was their version of Home Alone:
“Well, that was our big ‘Home Alone’ sequence. [Laughs] We had a lot of fun with that. We also wanted to bring back the animation and the style that we had in the pilot. It was cool: The whole team was trying to figure that out, like, “Okay, what kind of traps could a bunch of kids do, and how could we get that humor?” We obviously watched Home Alone, so that was a big inspiration for us. Together with our VFX team and our DP, we came up with things that were visually interesting and funny that could maybe pause the bad guys, but not too much because it still needs to be realistic. That was a big challenge. But in the end, the sequence was a whole lot of fun to make and I hope fun to watch.”
As fans of the show know, Ms. Marvel balances out a lot of intimate moments with big action setpieces. Adil El Arbi explained how Steven Spielberg’s filmography heavily influenced the way they approached it:
“We grew up not only with the Marvel stories, but also Steven Spielberg. Obviously, he’s a master in doing this singular, very intimate story of family or kids and putting them in a larger-than-life spectacle kind of story. That’s sort of what we wanted to do, and it’s also what’s present in the comic book, where the real story is how your family, your friends, and your community are the true superpower.”
They were then asked about their experience with Iman Vellani, and Adil explained how they quickly bonded with her because they had had similar trajectories getting into Hollywood. Adil said:
“I think one very emotional moment for her and for us was the rooftop scene we did, where she says, ‘It’s not like the brown girls from Jersey City save the world.’ We had a deep, deep conversation about what we went through, being Moroccans from Belgium and eventually making ‘Bad Boys For Life’ and being transported to Hollywood out of nowhere, and how she went through a kind of similar experience. I think that by the time we did the finale, she had really grown into a professional actress. It was really great to see that evolution between the first day of shooting, where she’s this fangirl. By the last day, she really became a mature and very professional artist.”
When asked about the final scene, where Bruno tells Kamala she has a genetic mutation, Adil explained that they don’t know anything more than we do. Apparently, all Kevin Feige would tell them is that they had to shoot it, insert the classic X-Men theme, and be done with it. He said:
“Well, it’s like national security kind of secret stuff. [Laughs] You get [the script], and you’re not allowed to ask too many questions. Not even any questions! You’re reading it, and you’re like, ‘Oh, for reals?’ We were like, ‘So, does this mean what we think?’ and you don’t get any answer from Kevin. He just said, ‘You shoot this, put the music there,’ and that’s that. It was a big honor to have it in our episode. But we’re like everybody. We have no idea what’s going to happen in the future. We only hope we can be part of it.”
Bilall then confirmed that the post-credits scene was shot by Nia DaCosta while filming The Marvels, as some had suspected. But apparently, the directors didn’t even know the scene was in the episode until the very last moment. He said:
“That was actually shot by Nia DaCosta while she was doing The Marvels. She was already shooting with Brie Larson and Iman. It’s kind of the same thing: She didn’t know when she shot it that it would necessarily be used for our tag. We didn’t know about the tag either until we saw the final color grading of the last episode. All of a sudden, after the credits, we’re like, “Oh, what is this?” That’s the genius way that Marvel keeps everything separate. They have a plan, but they don’t tell you what it is. They’re like, ‘Don’t worry about it. You’ll see.'”
About the possibility of a second season, Bilall said they’d be totally on board, and Adil added:
“Awesome. A ‘Ms. Marvel’ movie would also be awesome. If they ask us, we’ll be there. We’ll see what happens with The Marvels, where Iman is there, too. If we can get the chance to explore more of her world and her friends and her family, there are more elements to the story. We can go even further.”
You can check out more bits from the interview here. If you haven’t already, make sure to also check out our review of the final episode of Ms. Marvel, and stay tuned for more news from Marvel Studios! Next week, we might get an explanation about that mutant bombshell during the San Diego Comic-Con panel, so don’t miss it.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
