Ms. Marvel Ends Filming in Thailand (Despite COVID-19)
It’s a wrap for Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel, coming to Disney+ later this year. The Marvel Studios series completed production in Thailand despite the growing resurgence of COVID-19 in the country, according to an exclusive report in Variety.
Incoming Kamala Khan
The new Marvel Studios series, Ms. Marvel, is the first Disney-Marvel superhero show to star a Muslim teen and supporting cast.
Iman Vellani. Photo: NBC News
The MCU show is a six-part series that introduces newcomer Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan (A.K.A. Ms. Marvel), a New Jersey-raised teenager who has a special “fan-fic” relationship with superheroes and subsequently discovers that she has special embiggening powers. The Disney+ show will explore Kamala Khan’s character arc as she finds out who she is as a hero.
In December 2020, Marvel Studios released an official teaser trailer (above) for Ms. Marvel before the studio finished production on the series, and in it, Marvel Studios President and Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige described Kamala Khan “as one of the newer characters in the Marvel Comic Universe.”
Photo: Marvel Comics
Ms. Marvel Wraps!
The production set was relocated to Thailand after a stint filming in Atlanta, Georgia, in which some eagle-eyed fans noticed the young Vellani in her comic book accurate super hero costume.
Photo: Dailymail.com
According to the report in Variety, the shoot in Thailand was overseen by two-time Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and encompassed footage for four and five of the show’s episodes in their entirety:
With Living Films as production services company, and Chris Lowenstein as line producer for Thailand, sets were constructed at the modern Studio Park facilities to the south east of Bangkok. Together, first and second units involved some 450 people.
While another spike of the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to halt productions across Thailand again, Disney-Marvel was able to get special permission to continue filming to in the country, according to a report in CBR, throughout April and early May of 2021.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. Photo: Asia Society
In Thailand, where a third-wave of the coronavirus pandemic is raging, new measures have been imposed to combat the spread as of April 19, 2021, closing schools, restaurants, gyms, sports facilities, cinemas, and film and TV productions countrywide.
Photo: @BRMarvelNews
According to the Variety report, the company’s excellent track record with health and safety standards played a role in Marvel Studios ability to keep filming on location. Specifically, Variety reported that:
It is understood that Ms. Marvel was able to obtain a waiver and continue filming as it was already observing strict anti-virus protocols. Measures included closed sets, mandatory masks and face shields on set, virus testing twice per week, rigidly-separated transport, and controlled air systems.
Joining Vellani in Disney+ series is Nimra Bucha, Azhar Usman, Aramis Knight (Kareen/Red Dagger), Saagar Shaikh (Aamir Khan), Rish Shah (Kamran), Zenobia Shroff (Muneeba Khan/Kamala’s Mom), Mohan Kapur (Yusuf Khan), Matt Lintz (Bruno Carrelli), Yasmeen Fletcher (Nakia Bahadir), Laith Naki (Sheikh Abdullah), and Travina Springer (Tyesha Hillman). Bisha K. Ali is the series co-writer and showrunner, and the show has four directors including Obaid-Chinoy, Billal Fallah, Adil El Arbi, and Meera Menon.
Featured Image: The Walking Dead @BRMarvelNews/Composite by MarvelBlog.com
