Who is Nia DaCosta? Filmmaker announced as director of 'Captain Marvel 2'

DaCosta will become the first black woman to helm a Marvel film

'Little Woods' writer and director Nia DaCosta is set to direct the upcoming 'Captain Marvel' sequel. Getty Images 

Nia DaCosta has been announced as the director for the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel.

She takes over from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who also wrote the screenplay for the first movie.

Little has been confirmed about the second iteration of the 2019 Marvel hit, but Brie Larson will return as Carol Danvers, better known as the title character, Captain Marvel. The script has been written by Megan McDonnell.

After Boden, Cate Shortland (Black Widow) and Chloe Zhao (The Eternals), DaCosta is the fourth woman to direct a Marvel movie. She is also the first black woman to do so.

The film is currently slated for release in July 2022.

Who is Nia DaCosta? 

New York-born director DaCosta is best known for her work on crime thriller Little Woods (2017), which stars Tessa Thompson, Lily James and Luke Kirby.

She has also directed upcoming horror film Candyman, a "spiritual sequel" to the 1992 film of the same name, which has been written by Get Out and Us director, Jordan Peele. Candyman is due for to be released in October 2020.

DaCosta, who studied at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, has also directed two episodes of British crime drama Top Boy, which stars rapper Kano and actor Ashley Walters.

While working on Little Woods, she spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the difficulties she has faced in the film industry.

"It’s very difficult for a woman to just pop up in the studio system," she said. "But I think the same systemic issues that affect how much work women get to make is also inside the indie space. While there are more women working, we definitely get less money."

Speaking to Jezebel in 2018, DaCosta expanded on the topics of gender and race, saying: "I think there are a lot of narratives that get imposed on female filmmakers and also filmmakers of colour.

"I know that I personally get asked 'oh do you want to read this script about this black person or this script about [the] oppression of black people?'"