The Marvels Director Getting Thrown Under The Bus By Disney
World of Reel reports that Disney continues dragging Nia DaCosta through the mud regarding The Marvel’s epic failure at the box office.
Disney CEO Bob Iger points the blame at DaCosta and has gone on record stating that her involvement in the film is the main reason it failed to gross less than $100 million at the domestic box office, which is an MCU first.
Nia DaCosta has since spoken about these claims and suggests that they’re unfounded for a number of reasons.
Disney Vs. Nia DaCosta
Disney has made several bold claims about Nia DaCosta. Still, each claim has been countered by DaCosta and her representatives, suggesting that more is going on behind the scenes than what Disney is suggesting.
The first claim was that DaCosta needed extra help on-set, but the extra help never arrived due to the COVID pandemic, which was in full swing when The Marvels was being filmed.
In other words, Disney is questioning Nia DaCosta’s competence as a director. But DaCosta has suggested that she had zero creative control over the movie in the first place, which contradicts the narrative that Disney has established on this front.
Prioritizing Other Movies?
The second claim involves Nia DaCosta’s absence from the set during the film’s post-production phases. Her absence is because she dipped out to work on her next project, Hedda.
Though DaCosta was indeed needed in London to begin production, scheduling issues must be questioned if we want to look at this objectively.
Obligated To Work On Hedda?
Nia DaCosta has since snapped back and made it very clear that she was obligated to start working on her next film, Hedda.
In her statement, she asserted that Disney was well aware that she was needed elsewhere, but as production for The Marvels dragged on, she had to shift her focus to Hedda.
Pushing The Marvels
Hedda was a green-lit project with a cast and crew that was waiting for her to helm the project, and she simply couldn’t be in two places at the same time.
In Nia DaCosta’s own words, she stated that “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.”
No-Show At The Marvels Events
But the accusations don’t stop there, as Nia DaCosta was also accused of being a no-show at The Marvel’s November 8 cast-and-crew screening in Los Angeles so she could celebrate her birthday.
The minor detail that was left out when this claim was made was the fact that she had already attended a smaller premiere in Las Vegas the night before.
What’s more, DaCosta and her representatives went into full defense mode and put out a statement that claimed she wasn’t even invited to the November 8 screening in the first place.
Big-Budget Flop
When a big-budget film flops, the natural response is to point fingers and find a scapegoat. In Nia DaCosta’s case, she’s certainly being thrown under the bus by Disney.
But it’s also worth noting that Disney’s last four theatrical releases flopped and cost the company over $1 billion in losses.
In other words, though its clear that The Marvels was a massive failure, Nia DaCosta wasn’t involved with any of the other properties (Lightyear, Strange World, The Haunted Mansion, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) that have also failed tremendously at the box office.
Nia DaCosta is currently in London, working on her upcoming film, Hedda.
