Captain Marvel Director Shortlist Gets Longer

We're still more than two years out from Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel film, but it's about that [...]

Brie Larson Captain Marvel
(Photo: BossLogic)

We're still more than two years out from Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel film, but it's about that time for the studio to choose a driector. At San Diego Comic Con 2016, Marvel made the casting of Brie Larson as the titular heroine official, but the project is still without its lead visionary. It's been made clear that Marvel wants a female director in charge of the film, and their recently released shortlist of directors proved that they were on a serious hunt for just that.

The list consisted of just three filmmakers; Niki Caro (McFarland, USA), Lorene Scafaria (New Girl, Seeking a Friend for the End of The World), and Leslie Linka Glatter (The Walking Dead, Homeland). While this list made it seem as though the studio was close to choosing the right woman for the job, it,s clear their minds aren't quite as made up as we had thought. Kevin Feige added one more name to the mix of already talented directors; Rebecca Thomas.

Thomas doesn't have quite the credentials as the other ladies on this list, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have the talent. The one feature to her name, Electrick Children, recieved high praise after its premier at SXSW in 2012. While not well known amongst fans, the film does boast an incredible 86% Rotten Tomatoes score. Her success has already landed her the keys to another big studio feature, as she's poised to direct Universal's live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

That sounds like a big scheduling conflict, and a huge conflict of interest for the Disney-owned Marvel Studios, but the Universal picture still hasn't set a release date. With no production schedule in sight, and only Chloe Grace Moretz aboard the film's cast, it's reasonable to think Rebecca could still take the Marvel project. If all else fails, she could even drop The Little Mermaid project all together, as Sofia Coppola has already done.

Jeff Sneider first broke the news of Thomas on the short list in his podcast a few days ago, and he made a more formal announcement later that day on Twitter. Sneider has been known to be a reliable source in the industry, and no one from Marvel has yet to dispute the report.

While adding one more name into the mix seems like the production team is having a hard time making a decision, it could also mean that Rebecca Thomas is just that good. If she was able to break into a group of established directors such as this and still be considered, she must definitely be worth the time. Captain Marvel isn't scheduled to release until 2019, but the search for its director should be concluding fairly soon.

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