Can We Talk About How Nia DaCosta Has Made Five Movies, And They're All Amazing?

Can we take a second to talk about Nia DaCosta? The 36-year-old writer and director has been making waves ever since she blasted onto the scene with 2018’s Little Woods, and she hasn’t looked back since, including directing 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on the 2026 movie schedule.

And, the thing is, no genre really defines her. While one of her contemporaries, Jordan Peele, has carved out quite a niche for himself in the realm of horror, DaCosta has shown in her brief but wondrous career that she can do horror, sure, but also dramas, and even a superhero flick, all of which I will get into later.

So, let’s talk a bit about Nia DaCosta, shall we?

She Has Made 5 Feature Length Films, And They’re All Amazing

For me, my first Nia DaCosta film was Candyman, which we called “so tense, it’s numbing” in our review. And, I agree! As somebody who loves the Candyman series (especially the first one), DaCosta’s approach to the franchise somehow revitalized the franchise, while also being a spiritual sequel to the original. It was intelligent, confident filmmaking, and I had no idea that DaCosta’s debut picture was actually a film called Little Woods.

Would you believe I was even MORE impressed with this movie? Here, we had a crime drama about people truly struggling. Tessa Thompson and Lily James star as two sisters just trying to survive in rural America. Thompson plays a woman in trouble with the law, but she’s doing everything in her power to help her pregnant sister. However, Thompson’s character, who has a history of distributing pills, gets involved with the wrong person, and things go awry.

What impresses me the most about this film, though, is just how audacious and honest it is. Lily James’ character, Deb, eventually decides she wants an abortion, and I was impressed by DaCosta’s approach to the subject matter, both as a writer and as a filmmaker.

We once did an article about 32 directors who made a really good movie on their first try, and I would like to add Nia DaCosta to that list, as this is definitely one of the greats. But she made four other excellent films after this, and I want to talk about all of them.

I Know People Loved Candyman, But I Just Want To Gush About It Some More

I brought it up earlier, but I want to talk about Nia DaCosta’s Candyman again, because this is the film that introduced me to the talented director. Now, what impressed me the most about this film is that it’s definitely Candyman, but it also carves its own path, very much unlike the other two sequels, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, and Candyman 3: Day of the Dead.

Initially, I went into this movie thinking that Jordan Peele had a major influence on it, since his name was attached as producer. But, as soon as I started watching it, I noticed that it had a much slower, more methodical approach to storytelling than Peele’s work. His trademark humor was also noticeably absent.

Instead, we got a creepy tale of gentrification, generational trauma, and police brutality. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played a visual artist who became deeply devoted to the legend of Candyman. So much so that he intentionally had people call upon his name to bring him back to life. It’s a film that’s more creepy than scary.

That’s what makes it so special. It’s a modern horror classic that takes its time and wants you to think about how a landscape can change, but the bones of the past will never be silent. Not as long as somebody still remembers. It’s a daring sequel to a genre-bending series. Not only that, but the film was a massive success. DaCosta was the first Black female director to have a movie debut at number 1. But, it wouldn’t be her last.

The Marvels, Despite Its Reputation, Is Still The Highest Grossing Movie From A Black Woman

DaCosta’s next movie, The Marvels, also debuted at number one, and I really enjoyed it. That said, it still annoys me that it wasn’t a bigger hit at the box office, because I actually thought it was superior to the first Captain Marvel, and that film crossed a billion. However, it seems like the biggest story is not that it is one of the highest-grossing movies from a black female director, but rather that it was a box office flop for a Marvel movie.

Again, this troubles me, since if it had come out prior to Avengers: Endgame, just like the first Captain Marvel, then it certainly would have crossed the billion-dollar mark, just like the original. Unlike that film, I think it actually would have deserved it (Sorry, not sorry). Like Candyman, The Marvels takes established characters like Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau and puts them on an adventure together.

The Marvels astounds me since it’s the complete opposite of Little Woods and Candyman, in that it’s big, loud, and propulsive. In one regard, it feels like other MCU movies, and in another, it doesn’t. The constantly fluctuating dynamic between the three leads makes the film light and fun.

It’s unlike any other film in DaCosta’s filmography, and is just further proof that she can do pretty much anything, which is made all the more evident with her latest two films.

Hedda And 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Back To Back, Shows Her Exceptional Range

One of my all-time favorite playwrights is Henrik Ibsen. A Doll’s House, The Wild Duck, The Master Builder, if Ibsen wrote it, I'd likely read it. And, one such play that I’m intimately familiar with is Hedda Gabler. Usually, I’m a purist when it comes to Ibsen, but DaCosta is just so talented that I can openly get on board with a queer version of the famous play.

Tessa Thompson returns again to work with DaCosta, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more interesting, conniving version of the character. Her Hedda will do whatever it takes to live the life that she wants, and it’s an interesting take on the character, and further proof that DaCosta can do anything.

And then, she directed 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Though it was written by Alex Garland, the same writer of the other films, 28 Years Later has a totally different vibe than the previous film directed by Danny Boyle. The Bone Temple is completely unpredictable, all the way up to its ending, and it both adds to the previous film, but also takes it in strange new directions, making it one of the most unique horror movies in a long time (and distinctly different from Candyman).

I’m telling you, DaCosta has never made a bad movie, which leads me to my final point.

Plus, She’s Still So Young! I Can’t Wait To Watch The Rest Of Her Career Unfold

I don’t know what DaCosta’s next movie will be, but I’m also glad I don’t know. That’s because DaCosta is constantly surprising, making her one of my favorite modern directors.

She likely won’t do anything else superhero-related, at least not for Marvel, since she apparently didn’t like the direction that The Marvels took. And, since The Bone Temple didn’t do too well, she might want to give horror a break for a little while.

But honestly, I’m just guessing, because as I’ve said throughout this whole article, DaCosta can seemingly do whatever she wants, and it will still turn out engaging and wonderful.