Nia DaCosta has talked about her experience creating such a high-profile film as The Marvels numerous times, and she has now disclosed another fun, or rather surprising, fact about the Brie Larson-starrer.
The MCU's final Phase Five movie of 2023 is dropping this November, and the marketing campaign has recently been unleashed. Since Larson, along with the rest of the cast, is currently on strike, which prevents her from promoting The Marvels, DaCosta has basically taken on this challenging task upon herself alone. In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the filmmaker discussed how the film came together, what her working relationship with Marvel Studios' President Kevin Feige was like, and which things about the movie she found the most astounding.
DaCosta has had a few negative experiences on the set of the other movies she has directed, as she hasn't had the best relationship with some crew members. Fortunately for her, she was able to choose her own team for The Marvels and, therefore, avoid similar problems. The filmmaker understood the importance of having the right people on her crew. "I realized it wasn't ever gonna be about how much power I amassed or how many great movies I made, or if I won awards, it was always just going to be the people that I surrounded myself with," she said.
DaCosta then shared her biggest and most pleasant revelation from the time on The Marvels, which turned out to be her relationship with certain members of her team. "The thing that I've been most surprised by lately is how much respect I'm getting from these middle-aged white dudes that I work with," added the filmmaker.
The director's chemistry with her Marvel team was a breath of fresh air after her previous project, Candyman. This 2021 sequel to the 1992 movie of the same name received critical acclaim, in particular for DaCosta's directorial efforts, as well commercial success, but its set failed to be a healthy work environment. The filmmaker recalled being harassed by some of the crew members, who said "super inappropriate" things that, according to her, "you would just never say to anyone else because they were so specific to my gender, my race, my age."
The Marvels Will Be Breaking Records
DaCosta's The Marvels will be a record-breaking movie -- in fact, it's already the highest-budgeted title directed by a Black woman, and that puts a lot of pressure on all the people involved with the production, but particularly on the filmmaker herself. That's part of the reason she has opted for taking a break from social media until the movie comes out. Apart from avoiding unnecessary commentary on her directorial expertise, DaCosta has spared herself from reading sexist backlash that accompanies The Marvels, just like it did its predecessor Captain Marvel.
"I'm just girding myself for it. I am a sensitive soul, and I think maybe more of us are than we want to admit," she admitted.
The Marvels will hit theaters on Nov. 10, 2023.
Source: Vanity Fair