Filmmaker Nia DaCosta, director of the highly anticipated horror reimagining of Candyman, will direct Captain Marvel II for Marvel Studios.
DaCosta replaces Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who directed 2019’s Captain Marvel to a $426 million domestic gross, and $1.1 billion worldwide. Brie Larson will return as the titular hero, also known as Carol Danvers, from a script by Megan McDonnell, a story editor on Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney + series WandaVision. Marvel Studios executives met with several individuals about the job, but DaCosta “seemed to have the edge for some time,” and met with Kevin Feige just this past weekend.
DaCosta is the fourth woman and the first Black woman to direct a Marvel Studios picture, following Boden, Cate Shortland (Black Widow), and Chloé Zhao (Eternals), part of Marvel Studios’ continued push for broader inclusion in its top creative positions.
The 2019 indie Little Woods, starring Tessa Thompson(Westworld, Men in Black: International), launched DaCosta’s career, helping land her the job of directing the new Candyman movie for producer and co-writer Jordan Peele.
Captain Marvel was officially announced as part of the MCU’s Phase 3 lineup in late 2014 and was originally scheduled to come out in July 2018, but was ultimately pushed to March 2019. Carol Danvers’ existence was first teased when Nick Fury activated a special pager before turning to dust at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, and when Captain Marvel came around, the MCU wound the clock back to 1995 to show Carol’s struggles with the Skrulls and Kree, and how she met Fury. Carol Danvers finally popped up in the present day, having survived The Decimation and becoming one of the Avengers’ key allies in defeating uber-villian Thanos.
Fleck and Boden are looking to remain involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, possibly through a Disney+ series. It’s the expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe through Disney+ that appears to be laying the groundwork for Carol Danvers’ next adventure.
Captain Marvel II is currently scheduled for release on July 8, 2022.
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David Raiklen wrote, directed and scored his first film at age 9. He began studying keyboard and composing at age 5. He attended, then taught at UCLA, USC and CalArts. Among his teachers are John Williams and Mel Powel.
He has worked for Fox, Disney and Sprint. David has received numerous awards for his work, including the 2004 American Music Center Award. Dr. Raiklen has composed music and sound design for theater (Death and the Maiden), dance (Russian Ballet), television (Sing Me a Story), cell phone (Spacey Movie), museums (Museum of Tolerance), concert (Violin Sonata ), and film (Appalachian Trail).
His compositions have been performed at the Hollywood Bowl and the first Disney Hall. David Raiken is also host of a successful radio program, Classical Fan Club.
