Director Nia DaCosta excited to show a different side of the female experience with The Marvels

LOS ANGELES – It is impressive enough being in charge of a US$270 million (S$365 million) superhero film.

But at 33, Nia DaCosta is also the youngest person to direct a Marvel movie – and the first black woman to do so.

Opening in Singapore cinemas on Thursday, The Marvels is additionally the first from Marvel to have an entirely female lead cast.

Oscar winner Brie Larson reprises her role as Carol Danvers from Captain Marvel (2019), the first standalone female-franchise title character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

In this story, Danvers suddenly finds her powers entangled with those of two other superheroes – Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) – forcing the trio to work together to save the universe while also confronting the female villain Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton).

DaCosta was just 30 when she got this job, beating previous record-holder Ryan Coogler, who was 31 when he helmed Black Panther (2018). The American film-maker’s previous work includes directing the horror movie Candyman (2021) and crime drama Little Woods (2018).

Chatting with The Straits Times over Zoom, she is determined not to let the expectations that come with that weigh her down.

“I’m not thinking about any of that. I also am not deeply online in the way that I used to be when I was younger, so a lot of that discourse, I don’t engage in.

“For me, the toughest critic and the person who puts the most pressure on you is yourself, so that’s what I contend with.”

And while the runaway success of the fantasy comedy Barbie – currently the No. 1 movie of 2023 with global takings of US$1.44 billion – suggests an appetite for female-led films, DaCosta says that is nothing new.

“Every time a movie with a female protagonist does well, it’s saying that yes, people want to spend more time with female leads, and I think we’ve always known this.

“But what’s exciting about Barbie or Captain Marvel or Wonder Woman (2017) or even something like (the 2011 comedy) Bridesmaids before that – is that they’re all so different,” she adds.

“And that’s what I get excited about. It’s not, ‘Oh, it’s a successful movie with female leads’, but that we can show different sides of the (female) experience – whether you’re going to your friend’s wedding or flying through space trying to save the universe.”

Together, the director and her stars wanted to bring something different to the MCU, the shared universe of films and series that adapts Marvel comic book characters for the screen.

DaCosta says: “I felt pretty lucky because the movie they told me they wanted to make when I was pitching for the directing job was already really different from what I’d seen in the MCU.

“And I really wanted to get deeper into what it is actually like to be a hero, especially for Carol, who was trying to figure out who she is in the first film.

“In this film, I was, like, ‘Let’s slow down, let’s see where she lives and let’s figure out what it’s actually like to be in her shoes.’”

Da Costa says 34-year-old American actress Larson, who won a Best Actress Oscar for the kidnapping drama Room (2015), took her co-stars under her wing.

“Similar to Captain Marvel in the film, Brie is the veteran among these three women,” says DaCosta.

“She’s been in the MCU for a while, so she really brought this amazing energy of leadership and support. She made sure everybody had a good time and that they felt safe and seen and held.”

Parris, the 36-year-old American actress who first played Rambeau in the Disney+ series WandaVision (2021), also took a hands-on role.

“She was instrumental in making sure Monica’s story included her development as a hero – her connection to her power, how she feels about it and what it was like to learn to use it in different ways,” DaCosta says.

And just like her character Kamala, Vellani – a 21-year-old Canadian performer who first played the role in the Disney+ miniseries Ms Marvel (2022) – “is a big nerd”.

“She’s very passionate, professional and also hilarious,” says the director.

“So they brought those individual strengths together and the chemistry between them was phenomenal.”