‘I fell in love with Korean pop culture’: DaCosta discusses Marvel, Park Seo-jun’s casting

It was the talk of the town when news broke about two years ago that Korean actor Park Seo-jun had been cast in a Marvel Studios film. Shining light on the reason why Park was chosen, director Nia DaCosta, who participated in an online group interview with local reporters on Tuesday, said she is an avid fan of K-dramas and films.

“When I was younger, I was really into Korean dramas and Korean films, and I fell in love with Korean pop culture,” DaCosta said.

In fact, she said her favorite Korean star is comedian Yoo Jae-suk. But she knew that it would be impossible to cast him in “The Marvels.” She was then reminded of Park, whom she saw in JTBC’s hit drama series “Itaewon Class” a few months before she got the directing gig.

“I reached out to see if [casting Park] would work out, and it did,” she said.

In “The Marvels,” Park plays Prince Yan, a character who is closely linked with the past of Carol Danvers, or Captain Marvel, played by Brie Larson. Not much has been revealed about Park’s character other than this, which is just the way DaCosta wanted it to be, according to the director.

“We very purposefully didn’t give much information [about Prince Yan],” DaCosta said. “He is the sovereign ruler of a foreign planet, and he and Carol have a deep history. They both care a lot about the people that they are protecting, and that’s where they connect.”

 

“The Marvels” is the sequel to the 2019 Marvel film “Captain Marvel,” and the second installment featuring the character Captain Marvel, considered one of the strongest superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). DaCosta said that it was a challenge taking on such an important sequel, but she said she saw the project as a continuation of not just “Captain Marvel” but many other MCU films.

“It was amazing to find out that I would be directing this film because I am such a big fan of the Marvel universe, and I didn’t think of it as just a sequel to ‘Captain Marvel,’ but a sequel to all of the Marvel films including ‘Infinity War,’” DaCosta said. “It was a challenge for me and the studio to wrap up the stories together.”

Iman Vellani plays Ms. Marvel and Teyonah Parris plays Monica Rambeau alongside Larson as Captain Marvel in “The Marvels.” DaCosta focused on striking the balance with these three women characters and making the combination work.

“Balance was really important because it’s a continuation of Captain Marvel’s story, but we have two new characters,” DaCosta said. “Part of that journey to make these characters are to have individual stories [for them.] Resolving the tension of the relationships between the three women was also important.”

DaCosta, who at 33 is the youngest director to helm a Marvel Studios film, previously made indie films such as “Little Woods” (2018) and “Candyman” (2021) before taking on the task of making the next Marvel Studios installment. The director said that the action scenes were a challenge that she spent a lot of time on.

“It was definitely a journey figuring out how to make all of this work,” DaCosta said. “It was a fun challenge, however, because I like action scenes. Getting together with my stunt coordinator and VFX director and figuring out how to get all the elements we need was enjoyable.”

“The Marvels” opens in Korean theaters on Wednesday.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]