Marvel Studios seems to have a particular knack for securing not just extremely talented filmmakers to bring their superpowered slugfests to the big screen, but for tapping a particular vein of largely overlooked filmmakers. By focusing on independent, foreign and “genre” directors, they have given their cinematic universe a fiercely unique and individualistic feel that is completely unprecedented in the world of blockbuster filmmaking.
For instance, Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts has only two directing credits to his name, most notably the criminally underseen Cop Car, were a corrupt policeman engages two runaways in a long-distance chase after they steal his car, which just so happens to have a dead body in the trunk. Taika Waititi is a New Zealand filmmaker whose two feature-length films, Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, have similarly not been widely seen in the United States.
Although he’s been a notable presence in Hollywood since the 1980’s, having penned the scripts for the first two Lethal Weapons, Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 was only the second film he directed, following the — you guessed it — underseen and underappreciated Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Horror director Scott Derrickson (Sinister), dramatist Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet), newcomer Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) and comedian Peyton Reed (Bring It On) were all inspired choices to direct their particular Marvel films, bringing an out-of-the-box perspective and unique skill-set that were perfect for their respective entries in the MCU.
To this end, it appears that Marvel’s choice in directors for Captain Marvel — the long-anticipated first female-lead Marvel movie — is no less inspired. They have chosen long-time collaborators Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck to head up the movie. And if you don’t recognize those names, don’t worry: most other people haven’t either.
Although their filmography is mostly comprised of documentaries, Boden and Fleck are probably best known for the Oscar-nominated Half Nelson. This drama, which Fleck directed and both of them wrote, starred Ryan Gosling as a drug-addicted, middle school history teacher working in the inner city. Like the similarly “adult only” Cop Car, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Sinister, it’s not the kind of calling card that one would expect to earn somebody a job directing a family friendly Marvel flick, but the studio’s track record on selecting prime talent is unparalleled, and precedent suggests that this will be no different from their other choices.
As with the two most recent Captain Americas, they’ve chosen an established duo rather than a singularly talented individual. They’ve directed their three most recent films together and have proven to be more than compatible with one another creatively. As with other films in the meta-series, Marvel has opted for filmmakers with experience in both television and film, which they consider a strength when trying to stitch together a producer-driven shared universe alongside numerous other contributing talents.
It also should be noted that Captain Marvel will now be the first Marvel film directed by a woman. It is understandable that the film studio would want their first female solo film to have creative input from a woman, as she would bring her uniquely gendered perspective to the character. It’s the same reasoning that informed DC’s decision to hire Patty Jenkins to direct Wonder Woman and Marvel’s to hire Ryan Coogler for Black Panther.
The only way I could be more excited about their choice in directors is if they had somehow convinced Joss Whedon to helm it. Boden and Fleck are an immensely talented duo who understand character-driven films and working as part of a larger creative team. I have every confidence that they will bring the same level of artistry that they did to Half Nelson to Captain Marvel.
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