How do you actually film an action scene in 3 locations? The director of “The Marvels” in the MCU, Martin Scorsese and more

Although “The Marvels” creator Nia DaCosta, unlike some other MCU debutants, already had a studio film on her resume with the new “Candyman,” she still joins the ranks of Marvel directors joining the Jumping into the MCU, they were faced with what was probably their biggest project yet.

When we meet DaCosta for the (virtual) interview, we ask her about it major challenges associated with such a gigantic projectespecially when it comes to filming such complicated action scenes as in ‘The Marvels’, where the three main characters constantly switch places. But it’s also about the love for Marvel critics Martin Scorsese and the dream of being in the second season of “The last of us“getting involved…

From indie to Marvel director

Nia DaCosta: (laughs) What I especially like about the first part is the flashback scene where you see Carol getting up every time she hits the ground. That affected me very much. This is her real superpower. That she doesn’t give up and keeps going. That’s what fascinated me about her as a character. And my love for Ms. Marvel also helped me find my way to The Marvels.

Nia DaCosta: It was very simple and boring. I wish it was a more exciting story. My agent said to me, “Hey, you’ve always talked about wanting to do a Marvel movie. There could be an opportunity here. What do you think?” Of course it was great for me. I had a few conversations with the executive producer first and then my big pitch [MCU-Chef] Kevin [Feige] and all others. And things continued from there.

Nia DaCosta: I asked everyone for advice. (laughs) It’s a very big project and I wanted to know what I was getting myself into. I called many directors and spoke with Tessa [Monica-Rambeau-Darstellerin] Teyonah [Parris] discussed, which was already in “WandaVision”. And my producer Mary Livanos was extremely supportive.

Nia DaCosta: When you co-write the script and then direct it, it is inevitable that something of yourself will end up in the film. But it was a very interesting process, finding ways to put my stamp on it. But it was more about putting everything at the service of history. But since I really like Easter eggs, it was also great to include things from the comics that I really love, things that maybe no one else would care about. That’s why I added a personal touch.

Nia DaCosta: No not at all. Every day I was basically just making the film itself. I don’t think we ever really talked about it. I think the actresses feel a certain responsibility, because it is their images that go around the world. On the other hand, they also had to worry about learning their lines and, like us, making sure everything else was correct. We were quite busy with that.

Martin Scorsese and superhero fatigue

Nia DaCosta: I love the man. I just watched Killers Of The Flower Moon. He’s brilliant. One of the reasons he went to NYU Film School was because he attended there. I’m such a big fan, he’s also a real film historian. I find his love for films very inspiring. And there are so many different types of films. I love his work, but I also love the Marvel movies. I live in a world where I can watch whatever I want and have fun with it.

Nia DaCosta: Personally, I always go through phases of preferring certain types of movies or media and not liking others. And when I’m done, I just go back there. I never think, “Oh my God, I’m forced to watch all these movies. What should I do?” There’s always a certain ebb and flow when it comes to dominant genres in the film industry. And right now we’re in the midst of a flood of superhero movies.

Nia DaCosta: It’s definitely quite unique in the way these three main characters interact with each other. There are generally only seven types of stories in the world. So we tell the same stories in different ways. But what always sets them apart are the characters at the center of these stories and their individual journeys. That also applies here.

Nia DaCosta: That was a lot of fun and one of the things that appealed to me about the project. I had never seen anything so cool. This felt very fresh and a great way to tie characters together. And yes, that was quite complicated. But once we internalized the requirements of each environment we needed, we settled into a rhythm of sorts. But even after three months of filming there was still a day when we were filming a scene like that and me, my effects guy and my assistant director were trying to understand what exactly to film, what order to film it in and when the green screen should be used.

We just stared at each other and at some point I realized it and explained: we have to do it this way and that way. And my assistant director still looked confused and deleted all the notes he had made. (laughs) So there were always moments later where we were like, “Oh my God, what are we doing here?” But when you understand it, something great happens.

Director for the second season of “The Last Of Us”?

Nia DaCosta: (laughs) At some point I stopped.

Nia DaCosta: So if Kevin wants to implement one of my many esoteric, bizarre ideas, I’ll be there in a heartbeat. (laughs)

Nia DaCosta: Listen. Phone call [die „Last Of Us“-Macher] Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann and tell them I love the games, the second one is a masterpiece. I love what Neil and Craig have done with the series. That would be great. I would also only direct one commercial for the season. (laughs)