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'Mississippi Grind' directors will reportedly helm 'Captain Marvel'

Rick Marshall
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More than six months ago, an unconfirmed report indicated that Marvel Studios had narrowed its search for a director for Captain Marvel — the upcoming superhero film set to star Brie Larson — to a trio of female filmmakers responsible for a wide range of big- and small-screen projects.

A lot can change in that time, though, and now a new report suggests the studio has decided on a different director to helm the project — two directors, in fact.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, which also reported on the three contenders back in August 2016, the directing duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck will helm Captain Marvel. The pair previously directed the 2015 drama Mississippi Grind, which cast Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn as a pair of gamblers who embark on a high-stakes road trip down the Mississippi River. Boden and Fleck also co-wrote the critically praised 2006 drama Half Nelson, which Fleck directed and earned star Ryan Gosling an Academy Award nomination.

The outlet previously reported that the studio’s shortlist of contenders for the Captain Marvel director’s chair included Whale Rider director Niki Caro, as well as The Walking Dead and Homeland television series director Lesli Linka Glatter, and The Meddler and Seeking A Friend For the End of the World director Lorene Scafaria.

Guardians of the Galaxy writer Nicole Perlman and Inside Out writer Meg LeFauve penned the script for Captain Marvel, which will be the first Marvel Studios movie led by a female character and directed by a female filmmaker.

Set to star Academy Award winner Larson in the title role, Captain Marvel will be preceded by May 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, which is expected to feature the character’s big-screen debut.

Little is known about the plot of Captain Marvel at this point, but Larson was confirmed to be playing the Carol Danvers version of the character from the Marvel Comics universe (rather than the other iterations of the character that have been introduced over the years).

Captain Marvel is scheduled to hit theaters March 8, 2019.

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