Kumail Nanjiani, the first Pakistani actor to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has got another feather in his hat as he makes his Star Wars debut. His character on the show just made an appearance and it has got the Marvel superhero in his feels.
“I am so overwhelmed right now. My cousin had a better collection of action figures when we were kids. I was so jealous. I think I finally pulled ahead,” Kumail tweeted after the first two episodes of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi were streamed on Disney+ on May 27.
Pakistani-American comedian plays a con-man named “Haja” in the series that follows Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) on an adventure set between the prequel and original trilogies of films. The season has added some freshness into the mix.
Episode two follows Obi-Wan on his search for a young Princess Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) who has been kidnapped.
“He’s this sort of con-man guy who cons people for money,” Kumail said earlier while talking about his character during an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
The Oscar-nominated star was lauded last year for his “inner Pakistani roots” after he stepped out at the Eternals premier rocking a sherwani from a Pakistani designer. He flaunted his desi heritage with a purple and gold sherwani on the red carpet of Eternals outside of Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on October 18, 2021.
The Eternals has caused a stir among comic book fans and critics, as the characters’ gender, color, and sexuality were changed in the film version.
Furthermore, in the comic books, the character of Kumail Nanjiani was first represented as a Japanese samurai, but was later transformed into a Bollywood movie star.
