The Marvel Cinematic Universe has come to dominate the world of cinema in recent years. Some people see this as a good thing, arguing that these action movies serve as an easy entry point for new fans of the medium. Others meanwhile are less positive, claiming that these cookie-cutter blockbuster thriller movies devalue the art of the moving picture.
Of course, those who work on these movies are very aware of the debate and it seems some can’t help but poke fun at the argument. Candyman’s Nia DaCosta, who’s directing the Captain Marvel sequel, recently admitted to Inverse that she jokingly calls herself “Marvel trash”.
“I like to call myself Marvel trash,” she joked. “Actually, my friends call me that. I will go see all the movies. Even if it’s bad, I’m like, ‘Well, there are some good things about this.’I grew up with the comics. I grew up watching the Spider-Man cartoon and the Fantastic Four. I knew a lot about the Marvel universe in general.”
DaCosta went on to say she’s enjoyed researching Carol Danvers calling it a “crazy wild ride”, adding she likes Monica Rambeau’s “fun” origin story. Still, there’s a lot of Marvel history to sift through and DaCosta was keen not to get too lost in the mire of Marvel’s tangled and contradictory continuity.
“I tried to not get overwhelmed because, as with most comic book heroes, there are like seven different origin stories and there’s different power sets that kind of contradict and don’t really overlap well,” she said. “It was really choosing what’s been established already in terms of the MCU and then what’s going to work, most compellingly, for our story. You read enough so you can stop reading, in a way.”
She was asked about the MCU movie formula and how she’s adapted it to fit her own vision. “The Marvels, my biggest thing going into it was making sure I approached these characters as human beings and not necessarily as superheroes,” she explained. “I want to know more about Captain Marvel. Who is she? What are her fears? What drives her? How do you actually deal with being the most powerful being in the universe? How does that weigh on you? That’s the sort of thing I want to explore.”
The Marvels is part of Phase 4 and will fly into theatres on February 17, 2023.