Nia DaCosta made history, twice, when she was chosen to direct The Marvels, in August 2020. At 34, she’s the youngest-ever director of a Marvel movie, and the first Black female director of one. She has a habit of breaking records. Her previous feature, Candyman (2021), a subversive horror film co-written with Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld, was the first film by a Black female director to debut at No. 1 in the U.S. box office.
What stands out about DaCosta is her single-mindedness. “I have a very clear vision,” she says of her projects. DaCosta tells studio executives her idea for a film, then makes it clear that if they don’t like her vision, she isn’t right for the project. “You lose purchase on what you’re going to end up doing if you don’t have a strong idea initially,” she explains. This approach makes her entry into the Marvel universe even more impressive, as big-budget studio spectacles don’t always reward creativity.
