‘The Marvels’ Director ‘Really Wanted’ the Film to Be ‘Under Two Hours’: ‘There’s No Need to Have It Long if You Don’t Need to’
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In the weeks leading up to the release of “The Marvels,” much of the buzz has been centered around the film’s runtime. At a reported 105 minutes, “The Marvels” is the shortest movie in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Given the increasingly bloated lengths of recent movies, the short “Marvels” runtime has become a recurring talking point about the film. The film’s director, Nia DaCosta, recently told Digital Spy that she always set out to make a Marvel movie under two hours.
“I really wanted it to be under two hours,” DaCosta said. “I always think about the runtime, actually, when I go into a film. I just feel like there’s no need to have it long if you don’t need to, because 1 hour 45 minutes is pretty average for a movie, so we were all really excited.”
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“I just think you do what’s right for the movie,” she added. “I didn’t even know about this runtime thing until I think it was reported on. You have to do what’s right for the movie.”
Even if it’s the shortest Marvel movie, DaCosta told the publication that doesn’t mean it goes light on the action front.
“We get to add to that history, that [Marvel is] starting to really dig into now, like women beating the shit out of each other,” DaCosta said. “We do a lot [of that] in this film, which is really exciting for me, because I love fight scenes. I was very excited to do it. I think the main fight scene, I’m really proud of. It’s something you haven’t seen before in the MCU, because of the nature of it, the switching.”
“The Marvels” features the return of Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel, whose 2019 standalone movie grossed $1.1 billion. “The Marvels” not only serves as a sequel to “Captain Marvel” but also to the Disney+ series “WandaVision,” “Ms. Marvel” and “Secret Invasion.” Larson’s Carol Danvers is forced to team up with Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) after they begin swapping places when they use their light-based powers. The trio link up with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to stop a Kree warrior hellbent on finding a new home for her people.
“The Marvels” is set to open in theaters Nov. 10 from Disney.
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