Following the casting announcement of Brie Larson as Captain Marvel at last month's San Diego Comic Con International, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was asked about how the search for the movie's director is progressing. In response, he revealed that they’ve already made a shortlist of contenders to helm Carol Danvers' standalone flick, and that they expect to reach to a decision by the end of this summer.
Now, The Hollywood Reporter claims that they have a list with just three names, from which the studio will announce one as worthy of sitting in the director's chair for Captain Marvel.
However, their sources suggest that the final decision won't be made "anytime soon" as the studio is "being very deliberate" in their search for the right person for the job. And they also caution that additional names may yet surface.
Niki Caro is among the three directors that Marvel is considering for Captain Marvel. The Kiwi director earned widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards for directing the 2002 flick Whale Rider.
She has also helmed movies like North Country (2005), A Heavenly Vintage (2009), and McFarland, USA (2015). The Jessica Chastain and Daniel Brühl starrer The Zookeeper's Wife is her next project, scheduled for a March 31, 2017 release.
Lesli Linka Glatter is another name that Marvel has included in their shortlist of directors for Captain Marvel. She has been behind the cameras for several television movies like Into the Homeland (1987), The Big House (2001), and In My Life (2002), and for episodes of numerous television series, including Homeland, The Mentalist, NYPD Blue, Mad Men, and Grey's Anatomy.
Glatter has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations in the category of Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. She also bagged an Academy Award nomination in the Live Action Short Film category for Tales of Meeting and Parting (1984).
Lorene Scafaria is the third and final contender for the Captain Marvel director's post. She is best known for writing and directing big screen ventures like Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) and this year's The Meddler.
According to the website, these three directors will be offered “a treatment and documents” in the next stage, so they can prepare “a detailed presentation”. There were a number of directors who lost to these three, including The Babadook director Jennifer Kent and Kung Fu Panda 2 director Jennifer Yuh.
Whoever is hired will helm the March 8, 2019 release from a script penned by Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve.