The Marvels Director Nia DaCosta Wants To Unite Two X-Men Heroes Next
Following her admirable contribution to the Candyman franchise, director Nia DaCosta has been on the rise. In the "Captain Marvel" sequel, "The Marvels," the filmmaker reunites with "Candyman" actor Teyonah Parris in her first collaboration with Marvel. After the 2019 film, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) returns to fight alongside Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Parris). Making history as Marvel's first official female ensemble hero team-up, the film could be a precursor to an X-Men movie of DaCosta's dreams. In a one-on-one interview, Jake Hamilton asked the director her thoughts on directing an X-Men installment.
"I really like Scott Summers and Storm together," DaCosta noted. "Their dynamic as like fighting over who should be the head of the X-Men has always been really fun for me to read in the Chris Claremont run." If "The Marvels" director were to direct an X-Men film, depicting this power struggle would be at the top of her list. Claremont was heavily influential; he's the writer behind stories such as "Days of Future Past." DaCosta refers to the writer's arc where Storm and Scott are leaders of their own teams of mutants. This dynamic was sadly lacking in the 20th Century Fox films, as Storm (Halle Berry) and Cyclops (James Marsden) were heavily sidelined. DaCosta's desired film may not be in the cards yet, but she did have a hand in bringing some of the X-Men lore to screen.
The Marvels has a mutant of its own
"The Marvels" doesn't have the X-Men team-up that fans have been clamoring for since Disney acquired Fox, but it has the next best thing. The member of the group, Kamala Khan, was the first mutant included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. During the events of "Ms. Marvel," it seems Kamala only gets her cosmic powers through her heirloom bangles. Only at the end of "Ms. Marvel" does Bruno reveal she has the gene that triggers mutation and her resulting powers. The series differs from Kamala's comic origins, which define her as an Inhuman. Following "Agents of SHIELD" and the "Inhumans" flop, the subject matter has been largely ignored in larger properties. It should be noted that Kamala has vastly different powers in the source material, meaning the MCU is doing whatever it wants with her character. But this is a win for Nia DaCosta, a long-time X-Men lover.
"X-Men is, like, my thing, I love the X-Men so much," the director told GamesRadar+. "I love the films, most of the films. Either way, I got to have a mutant in my movie, so that was fun!" Kamala may not be the character comic fans are familiar with, but this is undoubtedly just the beginning for the X-Men to be integrated into the universe.