Did The Marvels Director Nia DaCosta Leave During Production? Here's The Truth

On November 1, 2023, Variety published a feature entitled "Crisis at Marvel: Jonathan Majors Back-Up Plans, 'The Marvels' Reshoots, Reviving Original Avengers and More Issues Revealed." The piece paints a foreboding picture of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's immediate future. Quoting an anonymous industry insider, Variety gives voice to criticism levied against "The Marvels" director Nia DaCosta, who was not in attendance for the final months of post-production on her first MCU film. The anonymous industry insider notably said, "If you're directing a $250 million movie, it's kind of weird for the director to leave with a few months to go."

A number of the article's statements have been called into question but DaCosta did indeed leave "The Marvels" in post-production before everything officially wrapped. On November 6, 2023, Jake Hamilton published a video interview with DaCosta on his YouTube channel "Jake's Takes," in which, after sidestepping the massive "X-Men" bombshell trailer detail, DaCosta offers context for her absence, a context that did not appear in Variety's feature. According to DaCosta, she left post-production on "The Marvels" because the film's release date kept getting pushed back and she could no longer justify rescheduling other commitments. "[Marvel] knew the entire time that I had an obligation — a green-lit movie with people who were waiting for me," explained DaCosta. "I pushed that and then I pushed it again and then I pushed it again. Eventually, we all knew that if ['The Marvels'] pushes again, I'm not going to be in LA to do the rest of this in person."

"By the time I left to start prep [for] my next film," she added. "Everyone was so clear about what the film was, what we wanted. It really wasn't this dramatic sort of thing people are thinking it is."

According to Nia DaCosta's interview with Jake Hamilton, Marvel delayed "The Marvels" four different times, a string of decisions that drastically ballooned the production window from a two-year process to a three-and-a-half year process, which means that DaCosta ultimately gave the film almost double the amount of time she was originally contracted to provide. Still, despite her clarifying comments, DaCosta is not surprised at the backlash created by Variety's article. She prefaced her explanation to Hamilton by saying, "I think there's a lot of energy and criticism around Marvel, anyway, so I'm not surprised."

In addition, Hamilton prefaced the subject of DaCosta's absence from the last few months of post-production by acknowledging that Steven Spielberg began production on "Schindler's List" before post-production on "Jurassic Park" closed. "People applauded him for it," said Hamilton, referring to Spielberg's busy work schedule. It's unlikely that DaCosta's "Jake's Takes" interview coming out so rapidly after Variety's article is a coincidence. Through Hamilton, DaCosta provided immediate crucial context that safeguarded her career. As of this writing, Variety has not updated its feature to include DaCosta's response. Instead, it still includes the line, "(a representative for DaCosta declined to comment)."

For those interested in her career, DaCosta is currently in production on "Hedda," the latest adaptation — which she wrote and is now directing — of Henrik Ibsen's stage play "Hedda Gabler." The production will star Tessa Thompson, an MCU veteran, in the title role. The film is produced by MGM's Orion Pictures and Plan B. 

"The Marvels" will release in theaters on November 10, 2023.