The lack of self-awareness in “The Marvels” director Nia DaCosta’s recent comments about the state of superhero movies …
The term “superhero fatigue” was recently coined to address the lack of enthusiasm for Marvel and DC movies underperforming at the box-office. It’s an argument that’s been prevalent these past few years, and for good reason.
One can make the case that “Guardians of The Galaxy Volume 3” made nearly $850 million worldwide and squashed this narrative, but what about the other films that failed to ignite a spark? ‘Ant-Man 3,’ “The Flash,” “Thor: Love and Thunder,” ‘Shazam 2,’ “Black Adam,” ‘Doctor Strange 2.’
That leaves one more Marvel film to go for 2023, “The Marvels,” and DaCosta (“Candyman”) says her upcoming movie is not part of today’s “superhero fatigue” because it’s silly fun:
“I think superhero fatigue absolutely exists. The biggest difference from the other MCU movies to date is that [The Marvels] is really wacky and silly. The worlds we go to in this movie are worlds unlike others you’ve seen in the MCU. Bright worlds that you haven’t seen before.”
Wasn’t “Love and Thunder” supremely wacky and silly? Ditto ‘Ant-Man 2’?
Marvel Studios gave fans a hint of what’s to come this fall with the release of the first trailer for “The Marvels.” This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 33rd feature film.
It’s being branded as a sequel to 2018’s “Captain Marvel,” which introduced Brie Larson as the titular superhero. Other characters in this sequel include Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, from last year’s Disney+ series “Ms. Marvel,” and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau from “Wandavision.”
Sundance alum, Nia DaCosta, in her third feature film, directs “The Marvels” — she was discovered with her indie “Little Woods” and then followed that one up with the 2021 remake of “Candyman”.
DaCosta is one of four credited writers on the screenplay, along with Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik, and Zeb Wells. You almost never get a single person writing the screenplay for an MCU movie.
It’ll be interesting to see how real ‘Marvel Fatigue’ is with this upcoming release. Can “The Marvels” succeed despite the recent bumps on the road? The original “Captain Marvel,” directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, grossed $1.1 billion worldwide. If ‘Guardians 3’ made $850 million then this one will make far less.
“The Marvels” hits theaters on November 10.
This is the adaptation of the nonfiction book by Dan Schilling and Lori Longfritz. It wrapped production in February and has been in post-production ever since. The film test-screened a few months ago.