Vellani shared with the magazine, “I love Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Ragnarok.” While the movies she mentioned were among the top tier of Marvel movies, she apparently missed out on one hero and his trilogy of movies.
Missing from Vellani’s list was Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man and his three films in the MCU. Holland’s films are a fan-favorite and his movies have consistently brought in the box office numbers for Marvel. In fact, his $1.9 billion-grossing Spider-Man: No Way Home is the highest-grossing solo superhero film in the MCU.
Sadly, it wasn’t just Vellani whose list didn’t include any Spider-Man films. Disney 23 also asked Marvel actors Paul Rudd, Natalie Portman, Simu Liu, and Shira Haas for their favorite films. These actors mentioned some of their absolute favorite films from the universe to watch but sadly did not mention Spider-Man as one of them.
| Iman Vellani | Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel | Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Ragnarok |
| Paul Rudd | Scott Lang/Ant-Man | Thor: Ragnarok and Captain America: The Winter Soldier |
| Natalie Portman | Jane Foster/Mighty Thor | Thor: Ragnarok |
| Simu Liu | Shang-Chi | Black Panther, Captain America: Civil War, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Endgame |
| Shira Haas | Ruth Bat-Seraph | Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Endgame |
| Xochitl Gomez | America Chavez | Spider-Man movies |
The only one to mention Spider-Man films as her favorite was Xochitl Gomez, who played America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. And she had a clear reason why she loved them. She shared, “I really like MJ from the Spider-Man movies. I love Zendaya who plays her; I am such a huge fan.”
Iman Vellani told Disney 23 magazine that she had always been a Marvel fan and made her family rewatch the MCU movies chronologically before any new movie came out. She revealed her whole preparation process whenever an Avengers movie hit the theaters.
She further mentioned how she lost friendships over the Team Cap vs Team Iron Man debate. The Marvels actress shared that Spider-Man’s mentor Iron Man is clearly her favorite as Robert Downey Jr.’s character drew her to the MCU. Vellani shared:
I have always been a Marvel fan. I used to make my whole family re-watch the movies in chronological order before any new movie came out. I wrote my English essays on the MCU. I’ve painted each individual nail a different Avenger before going to see a new Avengers movie. I made theory boards. I’ve lost friendships over people being Team Cap and not Team Iron Man. I guess you could say I’m a fan… In case it weren’t clear, Iron Man is my favorite. He’s what drew me to the MCU.
Kamala Khan co-creator Sana Amanat, who also served as the executive producer of Ms. Marvel once revealed to Empire about how Vellani’s Zoom screen test went. She shared, “She showed me every corner of her room, and it was covered with Avengers. Then she opened up her closet, and there was more Marvel everywhere.” Vellani’s audition story itself painted a picture of how big of a fan she really was.
