What Went Wrong With One of the MCU’s Biggest Bombs Explained by Director

By now there’s no debating that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has missed the mark a few times in recent years, and now the director of one of those misses is weighing in on why. Nia DaCosta was at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Monday, promoting her upcoming zombie sequel 28 Years later: The Bone Temple. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, she contrasted her experience filming that movie with other sequels and franchise entries, including The Marvels for the MCU. In the case of The Bone Temple, DaCosta felt that it was easier working on a sequel, with the cast and other elements already in place. In other cases, she feels she has been left hanging without enough work in the pre-production phase.

“Making the 28 Years Later sequel was one of the best filmmaking experiences I’ve had,” DaCosta said. “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.”

What Went Wrong With The Marvels?

The Marvels was a sequel to Captain Marvel, as well as the series Ms. Marvel and other elements of the MCU. It was written with input from the creative teams of both Ms. Marvel and WandaVision to ensure that the stories all lined up without contradicting one another. DaCosta was credited as a writer on the movie, along with Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik.

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Based on all we know about the production of The Marvels, its shortcomings may be chalked up to “too many cooks in the kitchen,” though that’s not quite what DaCosta said this week. However, if she and her colleagues were trying to work accommodate MCU productions and stories, it would make sense that the script would keep changing and never feel satisfactory. At the same time, the issue of Marvel greenlighting projects without having time to fine-tune scripts has been discussed a lot lately, including by Marvel veteran and DC Studios head James Gunn.

It’s worth remembering that The Marvels is only considered a box office bomb by MCU standards. It’s still the highest-grossing movie ever directed by a Black woman, and its reviews were not generally negative. The movie is streaming now on Disney+ for fans who want to give it another chance. DaCosta will be back in theaters on January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.