Captain Marvel 2 calls on Candyman's Nia DaCosta to direct

Captain Marvel 2 is poised to go even higher, further, faster — especially now that the upcoming Brie Larson-led Marvel film has a director attached.

Deadline is reporting, and The Hollywood Reporter confirms, that director Nia DaCosta, who's been generating plenty of buzz thanks to her highly anticipated reboot of Candyman (co-written with Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld), will be helming the sequel to the '90s-set Marvel movie –– making her the first Black female to direct a film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).  

DaCosta will be taking over from previous directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. This isn't the first time that Marvel's chosen to go with a different director for a hero's second outing, having famously tapped the Russo Brothers to direct Captain America: Winter Soldier after Joe Johnston directed the previous film, Captain America: The First Avenger.

Neither is it the first time they've chosen a horror director for a sequel, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness now being directed by Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead), after Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson stepped back for creative reasons. 

WandaVision writer Megan McDonnell will be writing the script for the next Captain Marvel movie. While no details are available as of yet beyond it being reportedly set in the present day, it's safe to say the movie will have to contend with the events of Avengers: Endgame, which saw Larson's Carol Danvers having to deal not only with the fallout of Thanos' snap, but also returning back to Earth to help the rest of the heroes go up against him in a final battle. 

While Captain Marvel 2 already has a release date scheduled in 2022, there is no news of when production is slated to begin, with most upcoming MCU movies and the three Marvel-set Disney+ series (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki) all having halted their productions earlier this year due to the global pandemic.  

Candyman has also faced a COVID-19-related delay, with the film's opening having been postponed a few times. It's currently set to premiere on Oct. 16, though there's no news of whether this will take place in theaters or on a VOD service.

Captain Marvel 2, directed by Nia DaCosta, is still scheduled to hit theaters July 8, 2022.

SYFY WIRE has reached out to Disney/Marvel for comment.