Summary
WithThe Marvelsfinally making its debut as the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after reportedly extensive test screenings and reworks, the film’s director reveals some perplexing feedback she got from audiences and how the screenings affected her creative process.
Despite the first film’s massive success and the distinction given to the leading character within the MCU,Captain Marvel 2has been the subject of constant apprehension and negative reports. Nia DaCosta (director ofThe MarvelsandMs. Marvel’s post-credits scenethat set up the film) was also the target of some less-than-encouraging rumors that further cast the film in doubt.
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DaCosta—who recently refuted reports on thebehind-the-scenes drama onThe Marvels—has also opened up about the film’s much-discussed test screenings and some audience feedback. Speaking toColliderin a recent interview, the director was queried about any advice she received during screenings that helped shape the final product that audiences see in theaters, and DaCosta had a humorous anecdote to share. “I can’t think of anything specific because it literally is, you get every kind of note you could possibly think about. Literally, someone said, ‘I don’t like that tank top.’ What am I gonna do about that? Literally nothing.” Despite the silly nature of such feedback, DaCosta does have a more functional method of collecting notes on her projects, specifically from trusted associates.
That’s sort of every filmmaking process where, whether it’s getting notes from your executives — because even if you’re not doing test screenings in the way that Marvel does, I usually like to just get a group of people I trust and who have great taste together, and that’s really helpful for me.
DaCosta also reflected on how she would approach giving someone else feedback on a project, outlining what she believes are the two types of notes people share when screening a film and pinpointing the most critical question to ask oneself in that situation. “Am I giving a note because I’m asking them or wanting them to do it the way I would have done it, or am I giving a note that is improving what they actually wanted to do?” The director then revealed that the first could generally be ignored while the latter was worth taking up. While this outlook is certainly intellectually valuable, it seems that DaCosta might have benefited a bit from more of both sorts of advice, asThe Marvelsdebuted with one of the MCU’s lowest Rotten Tomatoes scores.
In addition to the low initial ratings,The Marvelsbox office projections dropped even lowerjust before release from an already underwhelming estimation by MCU standards. While DaCosta certainly brought an exciting premise to what could have been a by-the-book sequel, it does seem that the execution has been far less than ideal, and worse yet, very few people seem eager to see that execution for themselves. The lack of promotion from the film’s three strong female leads, the film’s main draw for a target demographic that isn’t necessarily first in line for superhero movies, was almost assuredly the main culprit behind the film’s terrible start. The vocal minority of fans that seemed hostile toThe Marvelsfrom the beginning surely didn’t help matters either.
With yet another big-budget film with a lot of potential seemingly set to underperform, the powers that be at Marvel Studios might be at the point where those rare test screenings and the laissez-faire approach the studio has taken to supervising their creatives might become a thing of the past, similar to the company’s changes to more traditional methods for Disney Plus shows. The switch might even coincide witha potential leadership shakeup by Kevin Feige at Marvel Studios, but fans can only speculate asThe Marvelstakes its theatrical lap.
The Marvels
Cast
Carol Danvers teams up with Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan in The Marvels. As the three heroes find their powers entangled, they must work together to stop Dar-Benn from enacting her evil plan.
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