Actress Teyonah Parris gives glowing remarks of director Nia DaCosta’s work on the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels. DaCosta is known for her work on the 2018 indie film Little Woods and some episodes of the critically acclaimed British drama Top Boy. DaCosta also directed the upcoming Jordan Peele produced and written reboot of the 1992 classic horror film Candyman, in which Parris also stars.
Though it is a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, The Marvels is taking somewhat of a different direction. Possibly in response to the lukewarm reactions to the first Captain Marvel film, Marvel decided to add more familiar faces to the fray. The Marvels is composed of Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, whose own series is set to debut on Disney+ later this year, Parris as Monica Rambeau/Spectrum, whose character was introduced in the first Captain Marvel as a child, but reintroduced in WandaVision as an adult, and, of course, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel. Bringing in DaCosta to direct is a new direction for the franchise as well, whose previous film was directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.
In an interview with THR, WandaVision actress Teyonah Parris spoke highly of director Nia DaCosta’s vision for the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels. DaCosta previously worked with Parris on the upcoming film Candyman, which is likely the film that garnered her enough recognition to be offered the highly-anticipated MCU sequel. Parris praised DaCosta’s fresh perspectives and confidence in her own vision, which is to be expected from Marvel Studio’s first Black female director.
"She has a very particular point of view. It’s young, it’s very fresh, and it’s very sure of itself. The type of filmmaker she is is very visually beautiful, and I’m excited to see how she integrates that into this very established universe."
When it comes to new perspectives and fresh takes, Marvel has definitely been increasing its attention to diversity both in front of and behind the camera. Ms. Marvel is Marvel’s first Muslim superhero, not to mention a prominent role for a South Asian female as both the written hero and Vellani are of Pakistani heritage. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings marks Marvel’s first Asian superhero film, and Chloé Zhao, who directed the upcoming Eternals film, is Marvel’s first female Asian director. Eternals in of itself features a diverse cast including stars such as Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, and Gemma Chan.
Fans should rest assured that, though the franchise has seemingly switched directions, it is still in good hands. After all, Marvel has has smashing successes with franchise hand-offs before, such as with Taiki Waititi’s innovative take on Thor with 2017’s Ragnarok, which is often cited as one of the MCU’s best films. As long as everyone is deeply invested in the film, which Larson’s training videos clearly indicate she is, then fans are in for a treat, just one with maybe a different flavor.
Source: THR