Sandra Saad has spoken about her joy over playing Marvel's first Muslim female superhero in an upcoming video game.
The actor has already voiced characters in high-profile games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Fallout 76, but says there's something special about her role as Kamala Khan / Ms Marvel.
"As a fan, I've really enjoyed being able to relate to Kamala. Her being a fangirl is really cool, she's energetic, sparky and kind of awkward like me," Saad tells Newshub.
"But she's a first-generation American, her parents are immigrants and I am that way too. She's a young brown girl and gosh, if I wasn't playing the role of Kamala I would be running to get this Avengers game just so I could relate to a character on that level."
Khan is the protagonist of Marvel's Avengers, the game being released next month. In the comics, the character made her first appearance in Captain Marvel #14, which was released in 2013, before she went on to star in a solo Ms Marvel series that debuted in 2014.
Saad, an Egyptian-American, says she totally understands why the character is a hit. She believes seeing yourself in forms of pop culture where you're not usually represented is particularly satisfying.
"A few weeks ago Drake came out with a song that had one Arabic sentence and our whole community freaked out - like, Arab Twitter was losing it. We were singing it and singing it and singing it, just that one part over and over. It's so cool to see, it certainly sparks joy," she says.
"We're always striving for someone that we can relate to on a level that we haven't experienced. That's what's really cool about this game, young brown girls are going to be able to experience this character on a level that they didn't know was possible."
In terms of actually playing the game, Saad isn't shy in confessing what she enjoys about it most.
"I love playing as Kamala! But that has been the general consensus, everybody loves playing as Kamala. I love her abilities, I love that she uses her body - there's something so visceral about using your body," she says.
"Like stretching your arms out and making your fists grow, you really feel it through the controller. It's the same reason I love playing as The Hulk. Using your body to smash people together, it's a lot of fun."
Marvel's Avengers, developed by Crystal Dynamics, will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia on September 4, before being released on next-gen consoles later this year once they're released.
