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Nigerian American filmmaker Julius Onah will direct the fourth installment of the Captain America franchise. Onah is best known for directing The Cloverfield Paradox.
A native of Markurdi, Nigeria, Onah grew up around the world. His parents were diplomats, bringing Onah on their worldwide career travels.
He first attracted the attention of famed director Spike Lee as a student at New York University. Lee saw Onah’s senior thesis film and became executive producer of that movie.
Later, Onah was tapped by another famous director, JJ Abrams, to direct a movie in the Cloverfield franchise. While that movie was not a critical success, it attracted further attention.
Onah’s next project, an independent film called Luce, was another hit for the filmmaker. The movie brought about three Indie Spirit nominations, including one for best director.
Captain America to get a new lead and new director
Onah joins a select group of Black directors, who make up just a small portion of those who helm movies. In fact, in 2021 just 2.5% of directors in competitive festival filmmaking were Black.
Black entertainers are underrepresented across all forms of media. Of festival films in 2021, only eight out of 242 were directed by Black men or women.
But with the Captain Marvel series, that statistic is likely to change. One of the movie’s stars is multi-hyphenate entertainer, Anthony Mackie, who will continue in his role as Sam Wilson, although this casting leaves fans questioning who will play the role of Falcon.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported confusion about Chris Evans’ role in the new film. However, the actor himself responded, tweeting that Sam Wilson is Captain America.
There has been no official start date mentioned for filming the fourth installment of Captain America.
Link to Black Wall Street Times>