'Captain Marvel' Directors Reveal What Advice 'Black Panther's Ryan Coogler Gave Them

Captain Marvel directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck faced a sizable challenge when they joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the duo had experience directing highly successful drama films, they were entering a totally different universe with the superhero franchise.

But instead of being overconfident, the two contacted a fellow MCU director for some important advice. Ryan Coogler, who directed Black Panther, was in a familiar position as Boden and Fleck before the film's release, as a director who never worked on a superhero film and was expected to make a game-changing film.

Coogler advised the directing duo that they must be all-in on the film and its hero. “When we were first circling this movie we got a great piece of advice from Ryan Coogler,” Fleck told TotalFilm. “He said, ‘It’s multi-years of your life. You better damn well like this character. And you better be telling a story you want to tell.’”

Luckily for Boden and Fleck, once Captain Marvel was complete, they definitely knew they loved their main character.

"There have been a lot of moments where we’ve been driven to sheer exhaustion,” Boden stated. “Just being able to be like, ‘Phew. We love this movie and we love this character’ has been really important.”

It's unlikely Captain Marvel will have the record-shattering success that Black Panther had, but the fact Boden and Fleck believe in the movie and its title character is what's important.

Captain Marvel is set for a March 8 theatrical release.