The Marvels Director Nia DaCosta Explains Finishing The Movie Remotely

Last week Variety published a report about how some tastemakers and higher-ups at Disney were unhappy and uncertain about the MCU's future. Some concerns were about either having to bring back Avengers alum Scarlet Johannsen and Robert Downey, Jr., as well as what to do with Jonathan Majors. Another seemingly big concern was the production of the upcoming entry, The Marvels.

The sequel to Captain Marvel--but also a tie-in to Ms. Marvel and the WandaVision series--is directed by Nia DaCosta (Candyman). The director raised some eyebrows when she suddenly moved to London to work on Hedda, starring Tessa Thompson, who also makes a cameo as Valkyrie in The Marvels. A source close to the production of The Marvels stated that they thought "it’s kind of weird for the director to leave with a few months to go."

Now DaCosta has clarified why she finished The Marvels’ production remotely, in a move that isn't exactly unheard of in filmmaking--having to adjust her schedule because of the ever-shifting schedule of the film itself.

"It was literally just that they moved the date of the film four different times," the director explained on Jake's Takes. "So instead of it being a two-year process, which I was deeply committed to, it became a three-and-a-half-year process...I pushed [Hedda], and then I pushed it again, and then I pushed it again, and then eventually, we all knew, 'Okay, if this pushes again I'm not gonna able to be in L.A. to do the rest of [The Marvels] in person.'"

DaCosta said they figured out a way to do post-production remotely, adding that she and Marvel "figured out the best process" for her to finish The Marvels in the United Kingdom. It was at the point she had to leave the film was already so far along that both she and her crew knew the kind of movie they wanted to make.

"Everyone was so clear about what the film was, what we wanted, everyone knew what I wanted," DaCosta continued. "So it really wasn't the dramatic thing that I think people are sort of feeling it is."

The Marvels finally arrives in theaters on November 10.