The Marvels star Iman Vellani is not focused on the movie’s box-office failure — and thinks it’s something for Disney CEO Bob Iger to worry about instead.
“I don’t want to focus on something that’s not even in my control, because what’s the point? That’s for Bob Iger,” Vellani, 21, told Yahoo Entertainment in an interview published on Monday, November 20. “[The box office] has nothing to do with me. I’m happy with the finished product, and the people that I care about enjoyed the film.”
The Marvels hit theaters on November 10 and made $47 million domestically and just under $100 million worldwide on its opening weekend, marking the worst start for any Marvel film since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. The Captain Marvel sequel then made just $10.2 million in its second weekend, breaking the record for the biggest second-weekend drop among Marvel releases.
Vellani — who made her debut as Kamala Khan on the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel last year before continuing her role in the film — went on to say that all she cares about is that the audience has a good time while watching The Marvels.
“It has superheroes, it takes place in space, it’s not that deep and it’s about teamwork and sisterhood,” she explained. “It’s a fun movie, and I’m just so happy that I can share it with people.”
While some MCU fans are disappointed by the film, Vellani said she is not listening to the haters.
“I had a lot of experience in high school alone when I would share my excitement with someone, and then they’d immediately shut me down for being so excited,” she shared. “I would hate to see that within the fan community as well, because it does feel awful. If people are excited about something, let them be excited about it. And if you have constructive criticism, voice it — but never be the wet blanket on someone else’s excitement.”
Vellani stars alongside Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Zawe Ashton and more in The Marvels, which finds Ms. Marvel teaming up with Captain Marvel (Larson) and Monica Rambeau (Parris) to stop Dar-Benn (Ashton) from destroying Earth’s resources in her quest to restore her home planet.
Larson, 34, previously discussed how excited she was to return to her role as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers in the sequel — and also couldn’t help but gush over working with Vellani.
“A huge part of why I wanted to play Captain Marvel was because of Ms. Marvel and what that meant. To see that character realized by such a brilliant human with so much potential is just a really exciting thing,” she told Entertainment Weekly in February. “Iman is the future. She is the perfect Ms. Marvel and the most incredible persona and castmate. I’m so excited for her success and I’m so excited to see what she will do with her life, because she can do anything she wants. She’s one of my favorite people on this earth.”
