Following yesterday’s news that Nia DaCosta had signed on to helm Captain Marvel 2, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally confirmed the lineup of directors for all of its movies with a locked-in release date. After much speculation over who could end up taking the reins for Carol Danvers’ solo sequel, DaCosta seems like an inspired choice, with horror maestro and Academy Award-winner Jordan Peele singing her praises for what she’s bringing to the Candyman reboot.
The delay of all of the MCU’s Phase Four projects doesn’t seem to have slowed down the franchise’s desire to continue putting the pieces in place for the future, either, with DaCosta’s hiring meaning that Marvel now have directors set for their next ten movies that are all in various stages of development.
A look at the talent assembled makes it clear that the all-conquering studio are intent on delivering on their promise of embracing representation and diversity as a huge part of their future as well, with returning faces Jon Watts, Taika Waititi, Ryan Coogler, James Gunn and Peyton Reed being joined by MCU debutants Cate Shortland, Chloe Zao, Destin Daniel Cretton, Sam Raimi and now DaCosta.
Based on recent comments by the likes of Kevin Feige and Thor: Love and Thunder star Tessa Thompson, it also surely can’t be a coincidence that of the five new directors that have recently joined the MCU, only one of them is a middle-aged white dude, with Sam Raimi already well-versed in the world of mega-budget comic book blockbusters having crafted Sony’s original Spider-Man trilogy.
Based on what we’ve seen so far from the Candyman reboot though, as well as her acclaimed feature debut Little Woods, DaCosta is one of the fastest-rising talents in the industry, and while tackling a $200 million Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel at the age of just 30 is going to be a daunting task, the filmmaker will be keen to prove she’s more than up to the challenge.
