Despite decent reviews, 2023's The Marvels only ended up taking in just over $200 million worldwide to claim the dubious honor of becoming Marvel Studios' lowest-grossing movie of all time.
The MCU sequel certainly proved to be divisive, but the same could be said of Captain Marvel, and that went on to become a $1 billion smash when it was released back in 2019.
While speaking to THR about taking the helm of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, director Nia DaCosta suggested that the major issue with The Marvels lay with the script.
“Making the 28 Years Later sequel was one of the best filmmaking experiences I’ve had. One of the issues I had with Candyman and Marvels was the lack of a really solid script, which is always gonna just wreak havoc on the whole process. But Alex Garland hands you a script, and you’re like, ‘This is amazing.’ You don’t really have to change it, although I did, I basically asked for more infected. [Laughs.] That was, like, my big contribution.”
“I inherited an amazing cast, then I was given the leeway to cast the rest of the film,” she continued. “There were a couple of locations I inherited. I was given the leeway to develop all the other locations. Some of it overlapped, like the character Samson — Danny and I would collaborate a bit on the look, but at the end of the day, Danny shoots so different from the way I shoot.”
In a separate interview with Deadline from earlier this year, DaCosta revealed that the version of the movie that we saw in theaters was very different to the one she shot.
"They had a date, and they were prepping certain things, and you just have to lean into the process hardcore. The way they make those films is very different to the way, ideally, I would make a film, so you just have to lean into the process and hope for the best. The best didn’t happen this time, but you kind of have to trust in the machine."
"It was interesting because there was a certain point when I was like, ‘Ok, this isn’t going to be the movie that I pitched or even the first version of the movie that I shot’ so I realised that this is now an experience and it’s learning curve and it really makes you stronger as a filmmaker in terms of your ability to navigate."
We haven't seen Carol Danvers or her super-powered pals since, but they are all expected to return for Avengers: Secret Wars (we're still not sure about Doomsday).
"In Marvel Studios’ The Marvels, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol’s estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team up and learn to work in concert to save the universe as The Marvels.”
The film also stars Zawe Ashton and Park Seo-joon. Nia DaCosta directs, and Kevin Feige is the producer. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Mary Livanos and Matthew Jenkins serve as executive producers. The screenplay is by Megan McDonnell, Nia DaCosta, Elissa Karasik and Zeb Wells.
The Marvels is now available to stream on Disney+ and to purchase on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD.