Nia DaCosta
Photo by Corey Nickols/Getty Images for IMDb

‘How did I end up with this horribly difficult job?’: Nia DaCosta reveals the rigors of directing ‘The Marvels’

'Because it's the sequel to five things, the entertainment factor has to be so high.'

The Marvels director Nia DaCosta is revealing how immensely high pressure it is to helm not only a big-budget superhero sequel but one that serves as a follow-up to several different franchises in the MCU.

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We Got This Covered can exclusively reveal the quote from DaCosta, who made the remarks at a panel in Glastonbury in the U.K. called “How to Save Cinema,” where she had a discussion with Polite Society director Nida Manzoor. WGTC’s David James was in the audience at the time when DaCosta revealed she was initially hesitant to helm the Captain Marvel sequel.

Photo by David James.

“It’s funny because it’s basically […] when I first heard about it, it was like, oh, Captain Marvel 2…And I was like, ‘oh, you know, she’s not really my girl maybe as much but I’m totally, I love Marvel. So like, let’s see what else is happening.’

“And then later, they’re like, ‘it’s Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel,’ who’s one of my favorite characters, I used to read her in the comics when it first came up. And Monica Rambeau. And I’d worked with Teyonah [Parris] on Candyman and I was like, ‘well, well, well.’ And so I pitched on it and thankfully got it.

“But I had this meeting with Kevin [Feige] where he was like, ‘well actually, it’s kind of a sequel to five things.’ And I was like, ‘how did I end up in this horribly difficult job?’ It’s like, ‘oh dear god, help me.’ But yeah, because it’s the sequel to five things, the entertainment factor has to be so high. So it’s a great job but it’s very stressful.”

Honestly, as a Marvel fan myself, I’m pretty excited for The Marvels, which comes to theaters on November 10. Even though I am not much of a fan of 2019’s Captain Marvel, I still enjoyed Brie Larson’s screen presence in the film. And the fact that it will serve as a sequel to not only that movie but the excellent Disney Plus shows Ms. Marvel and WandaVision is certainly a reason for celebration. Plus, DaCosta’s Candyman remake was an absolute banger, in my opinion.

Later on in that same panel, DaCosta also remarked on what it was like working with Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani and her thoughts about director Martin Scorsese’s outspoken problem with Marvel movies, so be sure to check back on our site for those forthcoming stories.


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Danny Peterson
Danny Peterson covers entertainment news for WGTC and has previously enjoyed writing about housing, homelessness, the coronavirus pandemic, historic 2020 Oregon wildfires, and racial justice protests. Originally from Juneau, Alaska, Danny received his Bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of Alaska Southeast and a Master's in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Oregon. He has written for The Portland Observer, worked as a digital enterprise reporter at KOIN 6 News, and is the co-producer of the award-winning documentary 'Escape from Eagle Creek.'