Laurel Marsden, a relative newcomer in Hollywood, has joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor will play Zoe Zimmer in Ms. Marvel, the Disney+ series that centers on teenage hero Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani).Marvel declined to comment.

Marsden appeared opposite Sophie Turner in Quibi's Survive. Though the streaming service was short-lived, the performance generated some attention and put her in the mix for larger projects, with Ms. Marvel her highest-profile to date.

Writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Adrian Alphona introduced Zoe Zimmer in 2014's Ms. Marvel No. 3 as the first person Kamala Khan saves. In the comics, Zoe Zimmer is for Kamala what Flash Thompson is for Peter Parker — sometimes a bully, sometimes a friend.

Ms. Marvel is expected to bow in late 2021 on Disney+, and is currently in production in Atlanta. Head writer Bisha K. Ali oversees the series, which is directed by Bad Boys for Life filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, as well as Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a two-time Oscar winner in the documentary short category, and The Walking Dead helmer Meera Menon.

EXCLUSIVE: One Night In Miami star Kingsley Ben-Adir will play a lead opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn in Secret Invasion, the upcoming Marvel series for Disney+, Deadline has learned.

In Secret Invasion, Jackson and Mendelsohn reprise their MCU characters Nick Fury and the Skrull Talos, respectively, who first met in Captain Marvel. The crossover comic event series showcases a faction of shape-shifting Skrulls who have been infiltrating Earth for years. I hear Ben-Adir will play a lead villain on the show. Marvel Studio declined comment.