‘The Marvels’ Director Nia DaCosta Opens Up: Keeps Good Ties with Marvel Crew and Praises Kevin Feige’s Kind Gesture

Nia DaCosta recently talked about her time working on The Marvels and what it has taught her as a filmmaker.

She first met actress Tessa Thompson years ago at the Sundance Film Labs, where DaCosta was developing her first movie, Little Woods. That early meeting left a lasting impression on her.

DaCosta and Thompson then joined forces in MCU’s The Marvels, where Thompson had a small role returning as the King of New Asgard. The production of The Marvels was rocky.

Even with all that, DaCosta says she doesn’t hold any anger toward anyone involved. “There’s no ire in any of my energy. I was on the Avengers set a couple weeks ago because I still have relationships with these people,” she said. She also mentioned Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, adding, “He wrote me a letter for my UK visa.”

DaCosta has been open about how the final version of The Marvels, released in 2023, didn’t match her original vision. She previously told The Hollywood Reporter, “It was interesting because there was a certain point when I was like, ‘Ok, this isn’t going to be the movie that I pitched or even the first version of the movie that I shot.’”

The film went through lots of changes, including rewrites and reshoots. DaCosta said this taught her a lot about working in big studio environments. “So, I realized that this is now an experience, and it’s a learning curve, and it really makes you stronger as a filmmaker in terms of your ability to navigate,” she said.

She admitted that the process wasn’t easy. “The way they make those films is very different to the way, ideally, I would make a film. So you just have to lean into the process and hope for the best. The best didn’t happen this time but you kind of have to trust in the machine,” she explained.

The Marvels turned out to be a major box office disappointment, reportedly losing Marvel over $300 million. This was a shock, especially since the first Captain Marvel movie in 2019 made more than $1 billion worldwide.

Critics and fans felt the movie struggled to balance action, comedy, and emotional moments. With multiple main characters, including Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan, and Monica Rambeau, the film didn’t give enough time to explore each of them fully.

Even though the movie didn’t turn out the way she wanted, DaCosta seems focused on learning from the experience and moving forward with her career.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!