Ms. Marvel Star Compares His MCU Character to Spider-Man's Ned Leeds
Matt Lintz, who will make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Ms. Marvel, compares his new character to Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds from the Spider-Man franchise. Ned first appeared in the MCU in Spider-Man: Homecoming alongside Tom Holland’s Spider-Man/Peter Parker. He was not originally aware that his best friend was Spider-Man, but when Peter accidentally revealed his superhero alter-ego, Ned was eager to help in some way. Calling himself Spider-Man’s “guy in the chair,” he helped Peter during the events of Homecoming from behind the scenes. Ned would go on to support Peter in Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Lintz is playing Bruno Carrelli in Ms. Marvel, which will focus on the origin story of Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), a young superhero fanatic who has a particular fascination with Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). As revealed in the Ms. Marvel trailer, Kamala will somehow come into cosmic powers of her own that are reminiscent of Captain Marvel’s. As is standard with many Marvel stories, superhero Kamala will be joined by a close friend - in this case, Bruno - as she navigates becoming Ms. Marvel.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant on the Moon Knight premiere red carpet, Lintz addresses what can be expected from Bruno’s addition to the MCU. The star talks about his character's relationship with Kamala, and the similarities he sees between Bruno and Ned Leeds. Check out Lintz's full quote below:
I’m playing Bruno Carrelli. So, I’m playing the best friend of Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel. He’s the tech whiz. He’s a sidekick. You could say he’s the Ned to the Peter Parker, Spider-Man. I don’t know, and I think his relationship with Kamala is something that people are going to watch and want to see. He helps out in a lot of ways, but that’s all I’ll say about that.
Even though Lintz’s Bruno is expected to play more of a supportive-friend role to Vellani’s Kamala, the storylines of previous friends-of-the-hero suggest that he won’t simply be standing by and watching as the action in Ms. Marvel unfolds. While Ned was involved from behind a computer screen in Homecoming, by the time he appeared in No Way Home, Ned’s true MCU potential was being teased, as he realized he could create magic portals like Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Other characters who originally filled similar roles have gone on to become major players in the MCU. Some examples include Iron Man/Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) best friend, James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), who became the hero War Machine, and Captain America/Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) best friend, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who became the Winter Soldier.
While Bruno’s MCU story post-Ms. Marvel is unknown, he’s primed to be important to Kamala Khan’s development. Marvel Studios has already confirmed that Vellani will reprise her role as Ms. Marvel in the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels. While The Marvels will certainly be jam-packed with excitement, since Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau will be joining Vellani, it’s not impossible that Lintz’s Bruno joins Kamala in making the jump to film. Answers about where Lintz’s Bruno is heading will likely become clear by the end of Ms. Marvel.