The Marvels Lacked 'Really Solid Script,' Director Says, 'Which is Always Gonna Just Wreak Havoc on the Whole Process'

The Marvels manager Nia DaCosta has compared her acquisition moving connected the large fund Captain Marvel flop to her clip helming the upcoming 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. The large difference, she said, was really having a "solid script" to enactment with.

DaCosta pb improvement connected The Marvels from an aboriginal stage, and has spoken successful the past astir her archetypal ideas for the film. But contempt yet being credited, alongside others, with penning the film's script, DaCosta has present said her clip connected the task suffered arsenic a effect of its writing.

"Making the 28 Years Later sequel was 1 of the champion filmmaking experiences I've had," DaCosta told The Hollywood Reporter. "One of the issues I had with Candyman and Marvels was the deficiency of a truly coagulated script, which is ever gonna conscionable wreak havoc connected the full process."

Launched to mixed reviews successful November 2023, The Marvels is notable for being the lowest-performing movie successful the entirety of the MCU. Its theatrical tally finished connected conscionable $206.1 million, good nether the production's $374 cardinal budget. A sequel to 2019's Captain Marvel, it earned conscionable a fraction of that film's $1.13 cardinal haul.

At conscionable 105 minutes, The Marvels is besides 1 of the shortest films successful the MCU, thing fans person blamed connected last-minute changes to the movie's communicative successful post-production and full sequences being cut. Noticably, 1 conception of the movie acceptable connected a satellite whose inhabitants pass done opus was heavy trimmed, with Captain Marvel herself spending conscionable a fewer minutes determination earlier the crippled pushes on.

DaCosta primitively had immoderate precise antithetic ideas for the film, including a clip question communicative and the instauration of fashionable Marvel Comics quality Adam Warlock. But the manager has antecedently said that some ideas were nixxed by Marvel arsenic clip question was already a absorption successful Disney+ bid Loki, portion Adam Warlock was acceptable to debut successful Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The last mentation of the movie credits DaCosta arsenic 1 of respective writers, alongside Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik, who antecedently worked connected episodes of Wandavision and Loki, respectively. Additional worldly was besides provided by Zeb Wells, a writer connected Robot Chicken and She-Hulk: Attorney astatine Law.

Marvel brag Kevin Feige precocious discussed the studios' wont of changing movie scripts during production, a signifier called "plus-ing" that is presently underway erstwhile much during the ongoing filming of Avengers: Doomsday. "I’ve ne'er been satisfied with a movie we’ve released," Feige told The Hollywood Reporter past month, successful an interrogation that discussed the mixed fortunes of Marvel Studios implicit the past fewer years.

"There’s plus-ing happening each time connected the Avengers: Doomsday acceptable close now," Feige added, "and it is astonishing to ticker due to the fact that what those filmmakers, those actors, some the ones that are playing these characters for the archetypal oregon 2nd clip and the 1 playing them for the 10th oregon 12th time, are the champion successful the satellite astatine it, and cognize these characters truthful well. So if they person an idea, you privation to perceive to it and you privation to set to it and you privation to amended it. I wouldn’t privation to alteration that."

It's a antithetic attack to the 1 present practiced by Superman manager James Gunn, who has said that DCU movies volition sprout with a last mentation of the publication already successful place, and seemingly 28 Years Later manager Alex Garland arsenic well.

"Alex Garland hands you a script, and you're like, 'This is amazing,'" DaCosta said, continuing her examination betwixt her past and aboriginal projects. "You don't truly person to alteration it, though I did, I fundamentally asked for much infected. [Laughs] That was, like, my large contribution."

As for Captain Marvel herself, aft the Marvels' mediocre performance, fans person been near with questions implicit what the aboriginal mightiness hold. The quality is expected to look successful Avengers: Doomsday, though Marvel itself is yet to denote histrion Brie Larson's involvement, and determination are seemingly nary plans for a 3rd Captain Marvel movie. Meanwhile, DaCosta's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple launches January 16, 2026.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social