Nia DaCosta sought advice from other Marvel filmmakers - and one in particular was very helpful

11 November 2023

Nia DaCosta spoke to "a lot of Marvel directors" before agreeing to helm 'The Marvels.

Nia DaCosta sought advice from fellow directors

The 33-year-old filmmaker wanted some advice and guidance before joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe so turned to the likes of 'Black Panther's Ryan Coogler, 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' Destin Daniel Cretton, and Chloe Zhao, who oversaw 'Eternals', before signing up because she knew working under the banner would be a very different opportunity to anything else she had done.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: “I talked to a lot of Marvel directors.

“It’s such a specific experience and they make movies in such a unique way, it was really cool to get some insider knowledge.”

And Nia found James Gunn, who directed the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' series, to be the most helpful.

She said: “He really contextualised what we were doing and how hard it was. Sort of reframing the way you think about it.”

In addition, the 'Candyman' director also had conversations with her friend and collaborator Tessa Thompson, who plays Valkyrie in the MCU.

She said: “[Tessa] was the first person I talked to. For Tessa … I wanted to know all the tea about Kevin Feige. I was like, ‘Is he the worst? Like, is he gonna torture me for however long this movie is?’

“She was just like, he’s a really great guy, and he really cares, so that was very reassuring.”

Meanwhile, the director revealed Iman Vellani - who plays Ms. Marvel - is such a big fan of the comic book world, she was "stressed out" when she had to film with Samuel L. Jackson, who has played Nick Fury in numerous Marvel films.

She said: “She’s incredibly professional … she was ready to go, she’s smart, she’s creative, she has great ad libs and has great suggestions … at the same time when Sam Jackson came to set for the first time, she hid behind me.

"I thought she was joking, but she genuinely was stressed out to meet him. It was really lovely to see that. That enthusiasm is so infectious and reminds us all why we’re here.”