Summary
- Director Nia DaCosta contacted previous Marvel directors for guidance on directing “The Marvels” and had concerns about working with executive producer Kevin Feige.
- DaCosta acknowledges that the movie mostly follows Feige’s vision and direction, and she knew she would have to take a back seat as the director.
- DaCosta faced challenges and felt overwhelmed during the production process, but sought reassurance from Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton.
The Marvels director Nia DaCosta gets candid about directing her first Marvel film and creative freedom in the MCU. In a recent interview with Variety, DaCosta revealed that she contacted directors who previously worked on Marvel projects, like Chloé Zhao, James Gunn, and Taika Waititi, for guidance on whether to direct The Marvels. The 33-year-old director was initially concerned about working with executive producer Kevin Feige for the first time.
“Are they going to kill me and destroy my soul? Is Kevin Feige a bad man?” she joked. “And they were like, ‘No, he’s just a good guy who was a nerd.’”
She further explained that the movie mostly follows Feige’s vision and direction despite her role as the director, with the filmmaker knowing that she would have “take a back seat.”
“The Marvels is a Kevin Feige production, it’s his movie. So I think you live in that reality, but I tried to go in with the knowledge that some of you are going to take a back seat.”
The Marvels is a sequel to Captain Marvel and follows Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) as they team up to investigate their malfunctioning powers. Zawe Ashton, Park Seo-Joon, and Samuel L. Jackson star in the film.
DaCosta also contacted Shangi Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton for reassurance during filming because she was “overwhelmed” and “stressed” about the production process.
“Sometimes you’d be in a scene and you’d be like, ‘What the hell does any of this sh–t mean?’ Or an actor’s looking at some crazy thing happening in space, and they’re [actually] looking at a blue X. There were obviously hard days, and days where you’re like, ‘This just isn’t working.’”
With the upcoming sequel, DaCosta carries a heavy burden for success since the first Captain Marvel film grossed over $1 billion worldwide at the box office, making it the first female-led superhero film to surpass a billion dollars. Additionally, superhero films this year have largely been underperforming at the box office, like Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, falling short of $124 million to break even.
Fans Are Concerned About Box Office Potential of The Marvels
DaCosta’s comments have since sparked a mixed reaction between fans and critics. Some have stated that her comments reflect a potential box office failure for The Marvels, while others praised the director for her honesty and open-mindedness.
However, in an interview earlier this year, DaCosta reassured fans that The Marvels’ upbeat and humorous tone would reduce “superhero fatigue” for Marvel movies.
“I think superhero fatigue absolutely exists. The biggest difference from the other MCU movies to date is that [‘The Marvels’ is] really wacky, and silly. The worlds we go to in this movie are worlds unlike others you’ve seen in the MCU. Bright worlds that you haven’t seen before.”
Despite her optimism and involvement in the film, DaCosta wishes to move on and be a part of a project where her directorial vision shines.
“It was really great to play in this world, and to be a part of building this big world, but it made me just want to build my own world more.”
The Marvels is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 10, 2023, as part of Phase Five of the MCU.
