Ms. Marvel Age Rating Changes Expectations For The MCU Show & Character

Ms. Marvel is set to premiere in June 2022 with a TV-PG age rating, changing expectations about both the show itself and its titular character. Ms. Marvel will bring a new hero in Kamala Khan into the MCU, a young fangirl of Captain Marvel. Given her extreme fan hobbies amongst regular growing pains, Kamala struggles to fit in until she gains superpowers of her own.

Since 2008 and the creation of the MCU with Iron Man, only WandaVision has been rated PG-13 (or its TV equivalent TV-14). However, that is set to change with Ms. Marvel and the revelation that the Disney+ show will receive a TV-PG rating. This rating not only has implications for the show as a whole but the expectations surrounding its content and lead character due to the latter's apparent appearance in The Marvels leading to the expectation of something more mature from the show.

Ms Marvel's low rating will changes expectations of the show's tone and genre. The first trailer released for the show emulated that of a John Hughes comedy, not unlike Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, the similarities to the latter may end there. While Homecoming did feature fun elements of that type of film, it also had some darker, more serious character moments that have become a staple of the MCU - though it does avoid showing Uncle Ben's MCU death. With Ms. Marvel receiving a TV-PG age rating then, the expectations of these more serious moments have changed. Instead, Ms. Marvel seems like it's shaping up to go even further than Spider-Man: Homecoming and tell a John Hughes-eque coming-of-age high school story without the added dramatic elements. That's not to say that PG projects can't have serious moments, and certainly, Ms. Marvel will have its fair share, but the rating alters the expectation of just how serious the show will go.

Furthermore, the age rating will likely lead to younger audiences watching this specific Disney+ show than others such as Loki and Moon Knight. This suits not only the show's tone and genre, but Kamala herself. Kamala Khan is a much younger superhero than any in the MCU thus far besides Spider-Man. Kamala's youth, alongside elements of her character such as her fangirling of Captain Marvel and the fan-fiction she writes, will make her much more relatable to a younger audience than any other MCU hero. Again because of comparisons to the likes of Spider-Man: Homecoming, it was expected that Kamala's youth would be portrayed in a way that is both relatable to younger audiences and endearing to older ones. The age rating alters these expectations, with the assumption now being for Ms. Marvel to embrace the younger side of Kamala's character.

It remains to be seen just how much the PG rating will impact Ms. Marvel in terms of power portrayal, tone, characters, and more, but one thing the rating does is change expectations of such elements. With Kamala appearing in 2023's huge crossover event The Marvels, it makes sense to expect Ms. Marvel to contain more mature content. However, with Marvel Studios breaking new ground and producing a TV-PG show, expectations should be checked for the portrayal of both Kamala Khan and the show itself come the release of Ms. Marvel in June 2022.

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