At San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige revealed that Brie Larson was confirmed to play the title role of Captain Marvel. At the time, the film, written by Meg LaFavue and Nicole Perlman, didn’t have a director, but there was a sense that the origins film would be a “reinvention” in order to avoid any comparisons to Green Lantern. Now it looks like Marvel is closing in on a director.

According to new reports, they have set their sights on Niki Caro (Whale Rider, MacFarland, USA), Lesli Linka Glatter (TV’s Mad Men), and Lorene Scafaria (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World). Check more on the story below.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studios are being “very deliberate” in their search, and we shouldn’t be expecting an announcement anytime soon. In fact, there is a possibility that even more names could be added to the shortlist. However, this is a start, and Marvel is making finding a female director to helm Captain Marvel a top priority.

As for the names, one of them has already been on the shortlist. Back in June, there were reports that the studio was eyeing MacFarland, USA director Caro to helm Captain Marvel. That film was under the Disney banner, so she does have a slight advantage in a sense. The filmmaker was also behind the Academy Award-nominated Whale Rider. Her next project, The Zookeeper’s Wife, starring Jessica Chastain and Daniel Brühl, hits theaters next year.

Scafaria is behind two indie comedies. She wrote Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and followed that up with her directorial debut of 2012’s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

Glatter has directed a handful of episodes of Homeland, True Blood, Mad Men, The West Wing, Freaks and Geeks, and Twin Peaks, just to name a few. In addition to her TV credits, she also was behind the lens for short film Tales of Meeting and Parting.

The three mentioned names were apparently from a much larger list that also included the likes of Jennifer Kent – who was also a possible candidate back in June – the helmer of the indie horror hit The Babadook, and Jennifer Yuh, the director of Kung Fu Panda 2 and 3.

As aforementioned, the film will still be an origins story, but will be a rewritten in a way that doesn’t follow the comic book origins story to the letter. Just what parts will be kept and what will be left out remains to be seen.

Captain Marvel is set to open in theaters on March 8, 2019.

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]