Yara Shahidi, who is best known for playing Zoey Johnson in the hit comedy Black-ish and its spin-off Grown-ish, made her case in a recent interview for why she should be cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actress joins a long list of stars that have expressed a desire to be featured in the MCU, and she has a role in mind with ties to Nick Fury.
Shahidi became a household name after playing Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross’ daughter Zoey in ABC’s comedy series Black-ish. The series premiered in 2014 and is currently in its seven-season. It follows an upper-middle-class father who struggles with cultural identity while he raises his children in a predominately white neighborhood. In 2017, Shahidi’s character was given a spin-off series titled Grown-ish, which explores Zoey’s experiences in college. The Larry Wilmore-produced spin-off is currently airing its third season on ABC’s sister network Freeform.
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Following the success of Grown-ish, Shahidi signed an overall deal with ABC Studios. The star recently launched the production company 7th Sun and will produce and develop scripted and alternative television projects for a variety of ABC platforms. Upon announcing the news of the deal, Shahidi noted that is "thrilled" to be partnering with the network.
After working in television for the better part of seven years, Shahidi is making the move to the big screen. Last year, Shahidi was cast as Tinker Bell in David Lowery’s Peter Pan & Wendy and became the first person of color to play the role. The Disney Plus live-action film is based on J.M. Barrie’s iconic novel, Peter and Wendy, and began production in Vancouver this month. The cast includes Jude Law as Captain Hook, Ever Anderson as Wendy, and Alexander Molony as Peter.
During a recent interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers, Shahidi revealed that she is a Marvel fanatic and thinks she belongs in the MCU, particularly as the daughter of Nick Fury. The Harvard student mentioned that she thought she had a chance to be in the MCU after she briefly played Samuel L. Jackson’s daughter in 2010’s Unthinkable. “I was in 12 seconds of a movie as Samuel Jackson’s kid at the age of 13. I was like…if this is not an in then I don’t know what is,” said the star. “I should be Nicole Fury because Nick Fury has a son.” Shahidi stated that she could be green-screened into an MCU movie since Marvel Studios has a headquarters right where she shoots Black-ish and Grown-ish.
Shahidi isn’t the first actor to tell Meyers that they want to play a Marvel character. Earlier this month, Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler said wants to play Captain Marvel’s bossy sister She noted that the MCU doesn’t have many “helper” characters and that there “should be someone who turns on the lasers, ‘cause you never see that.”
Marvel Studios' Secret Invasion is in development at Disney Plus.
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