The MCU's 5 Most Exciting New Directors (& 5 Returning Directors) For Phases 4 & 5 - Screen Rant

Kevin Feige, the mastermind behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has a knack for finding the right director for each installment in the franchise. Instead of finding filmmakers who are experienced in big budgets and visual effects, Feige often looks for those who tell intimate human stories and have a personal connection to the material and lets them figure out the technology along the way.

In the next two “Phases” of the MCU, whose slate was filled out at Disney’s recent Investor Day, a ton of exciting new filmmakers are joining the franchise – and a handful of Marvel’s best directors are returning to helm new movies for the studio, too.

10 New Director: Cate Shortland

When Marvel finally gave Black Widow her own movie, which was supposed to hit theaters earlier this summer, Scarlett Johansson became heavily involved in pre-production. Specifically, she was personally involved in the search for the right director.

They ended up settling on Cate Shortland, the director of Berlin Syndrome, a psychological thriller about a woman who’s held hostage after a one-night stand. Based on the trailers for Black Widow, Shortland has done a great job of rounding out Natasha’s characterization in a Marvel-verse spy thriller.

9 Returning Director: Taika Waititi

Taika Waititi and Jeff Goldblum on the set of Thor Ragnarok

The zany comedic tone of Taika Waititi movies like What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople initially didn’t seem like the right fit for a Thor movie, but Thor: Ragnarok ended up saving the God of Thunder’s solo franchise.

Naturally, Marvel has brought Waititi back for another Thor movie, Thor: Love and Thunder, in which Jane Foster will take on the mantle of Thor and Valkyrie will search for a queen to help her run New Asgard.

8 New Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

The filmmaker that Marvel has hired to bring the Master of Kung Fu to the big screen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and introduce the real Mandarin after Iron Man 3’s controversial twist is Destin Daniel Cretton.

Cretton has had a close working relationship with Captain Marvel actor Brie Larson throughout his career, as she appeared in his acclaimed works Short Term 12, The Glass Castle, and Just Mercy.

7 Returning Director: Ryan Coogler

Ryan-Coogler-and-Boseman-on-the-set-of-Black-Panther

The first Black Panther movie was a cultural landmark, smashing every box office record in its path and breaking all kinds of new ground in terms of representation. With Fruitvale Station, Creed, and Black Panther to his name, Ryan Coogler currently has a spotless track record.

Coogler has been recruited to write and direct Black Panther II, one of the MCU’s most highly anticipated upcoming releases. It’s unclear how the sequel will deal with the tragic passing of franchise star Chadwick Boseman, but Marvel has confirmed that it won’t be recasting Boseman or recreating him with CGI.

6 New Director: Nia DaCosta

Back in August, it was announced that Nia DaCosta had been hired to helm the sequel to Captain Marvel. At Disney’s recent Investor Day, this was officially confirmed. DaCosta first made a name for herself with the crime thriller Little Woods, for which she won the Nora Ephron Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Her next directorial effort is a reboot of the Candyman franchise produced by Jordan Peele, whose release was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Directing Captain Marvel 2 will make DaCosta both the first Black woman to direct an MCU movie and the youngest director to helm a Marvel movie.

5 Returning Director: James Gunn

After some old tweets resurfaced, Disney fired James Gunn from directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Then, following months of outcry from fans and cast members like Dave Bautista, the Mouse House rehired Gunn – but only after he’d taken a job with Marvel’s biggest rival, DC.

So, the good news is, Marvel fans will get to see the Guardians trilogy completed by the filmmaker who made it his own. The bad news is there will be a long wait. Gunn is also helming The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which will be released on Disney+ in 2022.

4 New Director: Adil & Bilall

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are among the directors who have been hired to helm episodes of the Ms. Marvel series for Disney+, along with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Meera Menon.

Credited as Adil & Bilall, Arbi and Fallah made themselves known this year with Bad Boys for Life, a surprisingly satisfying threequel that recaptured Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s unique energy some years down the line. They’re also attached to shoot Beverly Hills Cop 4 with Eddie Murphy for Netflix.

3 Returning Director: Jon Watts

Jon Watts Likely to Return for Spider-Man: Homecoming 2

After making a name for himself on the indie scene with small movies like Cop Car, Jon Watts was whisked into the Hollywood elite when Marvel hired him to define the tone and visual style of the MCU’s Spider-Man solo series. With Homecoming and Far From Home, Watts has imbued Tom Holland’s standalone adventures with the style of John Hughes’ high school comedies.

He’ll be returning to direct the third Spider-Man movie, which is set to feature just about every actor who’s ever been in a Marvel movie, and he’s also been tapped to helm the MCU’s Fantastic Four reboot.

2 New Director: Chloé Zhao

While Eternals will be her first big-budget effort, Chloé Zhao has a proven track record as a great filmmaker. Her features Songs My Brother Taught Me, The Rider, and Nomadland have all been widely praised by critics. Interestingly, Zhao was the one who reached out to Marvel about making a movie together; it wasn’t the other way around.

The director explained, “I have been a fan of the MCU for the last decade. So, I put the word out there I wanted to make a Marvel movie and the right project came to me.”

1 Returning Director: Sam Raimi

Technically, Sam Raimi is “returning” from a different Marvel franchise. He’s never helmed an MCU movie before, but his Tobey Maguire led Spider-Man trilogy did pave the way for it by setting the template for superhero origin movies and their sequels and trilogy closers.

After Scott Derrickson, the director of the first Doctor Strange movie, dropped out of helming the second one, Marvel tapped Raimi to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

NEXT: 5 Recent Comic Book Movies That Were Better Than The MCU's Offerings (& 5 That Were Worse)

Paul Rudd Halloween and Avengers Endgame

Next Paul Rudd: His Best And Worst Movies, Ranked (According To IMDb)

Related Topics

About The Author

Ben Sherlock (2203 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, and independent filmmaker, and he's good at at least two of those things. In addition to writing for Screen Rant and Comic Book Resources, covering everything from Scorsese to Spider-Man, Ben directs independent films and does standup comedy. He's currently in pre-production on his first feature film, Hunting Trip, and has been for a while because filmmaking is expensive. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema and BabbleTop.