There are some films that just fail to impress the audience, no matter the work put into it, and Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels is a good example of that. Despite the sky-high budget and the star-studded ensemble, the film received mixed reviews from critics, adding itself to the pile of Marvel Cinematic Universe fails. Call it superhero fatigue or plain disinterest in the characters, The Marvels went on to become one of the lowest-grossing films in the MCU with a $206 million box office run.
Now, the film’s director is finally speaking up about what went wrong along the way, and it looks like the finished product wasn’t exactly what Nia DaCosta had in mind. Instead of feeling let down, though, she decided to simply take it as a lesson.
Nia DaCosta opens up about The Marvels
Nia DaCosta has worked as a director on a handful of projects, including some short films and 2021’s Candyman. The Marvels was only the third feature film of her career, so it is safe to say that there is still a lot left to learn as she grows in the industry.
By the time the superhero film came out, fans were already struggling to accept the new MCU, and things just weren’t working out. Whether it was Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania or Black Widow, Marvel Studios saw a decline in the positive reception it is so used to.
Then, of course, there is the unnecessary mass hate against lead actress Brie Larson that should be considered when we talk about The Marvels failing to make it big. All in all, there were a few things that contributed to the film’s failure, other than the storyline and execution.
Talking about her film at Storyhouse (via Deadline), DaCosta revealed that The Marvels isn’t the film that she had initially pitched to the studio. In fact, it wasn’t even the version they had first shot.
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.’
Despite the disappointment, DaCosta took it in stride, looking at whatever happened as a lesson and not letting it put her down. She said, “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.” Well, kudos to her for seeing the silver lining.
Is Nia DaCosta disappointed with The Marvels?
Any artist who spends a good amount of their time on basically a dream project will be disheartened to see it not doing well in the eyes of the audience. DaCosta might be one of them. Continuing to tell her side of the story at Storyhouse, the director compared her process to that of Marvel Studios.
She stated that there is a big difference in how she approaches her films versus how the studio does. In her words, “The way they make those films is very different to the way, ideally, I would make a film.” Regardless of it all, DaCosta decided to “lean in to the process and hope for the best.”
While she agreed that the “best” was far from what they achieved with The Marvels, she added that it is important to trust “the machine” above all.
It was also revealed that she had to step away from post-production work on the film to start working on her upcoming film, Hedda. While this may not sit right with some fans, DaCosta admitted that the film was behind schedule and she had no choice but to choose one over the other.
Sometimes, things may not work out as we intend them to, but hey, if there is one thing we can learn from DaCosta, it is that not every chapter has to be perfect as long as the story keeps moving forward.
The Marvels is available to stream on Disney+.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
