‘The Marvels’ Director Shares Best Advice She Got for Making an MCU Movie

The Big Picture

• Nia DaCosta, director of The Marvels, sought advice from Destin Daniel Cretton and Ryan Coogler, who offered guidance on navigating the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
• DaCosta reveals that she spoke to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Cretton most often, as he offered advice about the Marvel process.
• DaCosta advises future MCU directors to bring everything they have to the project.

Nia DaCosta has become the latest up-and-coming director who’s been recruited to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in only her third feature film. The Candyman director takes over the reins of handling Brie Larson‘s Captain Marvel in The Marvels, which serves as a sequel to not only Captain Marvel but the Disney+ series WandaVision and Ms. Marvel. Keeping up? Good. Given the somewhat daunting nature of jumping into a 9-figure blockbuster from crime dramas and horror, it would be natural to lean on other directors who have been there, done that, and got the t-shirt.

That’s exactly what Marvel encourages its directors to do. DaCosta has previously revealed that when you sign on for a Marvel movie, in order to feel confident in your own voice, the first thing they tell you is to talk to other directors, and Collider’s Perri Nemiroff followed up on that thread, enquiring: who exactly did DaCosta hit up for the top tips on handling the MCU and that transition, and what was the best advice?

The answer, it seems was a pair of acclaimed filmmakers. Destin Daniel Cretton, who did such a great job with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings — so good in fact, he got an Avengers movie off the back of it — and Ryan Coogler, perhaps the most renowned of the Marvel directors at this stage. Not the worst duo to come to when you need some guidance. DaCosta said:

“It’s so hard to say the best advice because you just need different things at different times. They were all so great. The person I talked to the most was Destin Cretton. He was just great at knowing every step of the process, like, ‘Oh yeah, be stressed about that, but you don’t have to be stressed about that. Oh, you should look at that, though.’ You know? It was very like, ‘I’ve been through this. I get you.'”

What Advice Does Nia DaCosta Have for Future MCU Directors?

As for passing on her own wisdom, DaCosta feels authenticity is the name of the game. Don’t pretend to be someone else, that isn’t why you were hired — bring the best of yourself, is DaCosta’s guiding principle for future MCU directors. She explained:

“Ryan Coogler’s really great. I’ve said this a lot, like, ‘Be yourself,’ and that’s probably what I would say to the next person. Just bring everything you have. They can take it or leave it, but as long as you bring everything that you have – and that’s for everyone, the actors, the department heads – you know you’ve done everything you could.”

Carol Danvers (Larson), known as Captain Marvel, successfully reclaimed her identity from the oppressive Kree regime and sought vengeance against the Supreme Intelligence. However, unforeseen repercussions thrust Carol into the role of stabilizing a chaotic universe. Her responsibilities lead her to an enigmatic wormhole connected to a Kree revolutionary, resulting in an entanglement of her powers with those of Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), the devoted Ms. Marvel of Jersey City, and her estranged “niece,” the S.A.B.E.R. astronaut, Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). Learn more about The Marvels here.

The Marvels opens in theaters this Friday, November 10.

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