2009–2017 After finishing school, DaCosta began working as a television production assistant, for filmmakers such as Scorsese,
Steve McQueen, and
Steven Soderbergh. After working as a crew member on sets, she began writing short films like
Livelihood and
Celeste (both 2014). Soon DaCosta wrote the script for
Little Woods. It was one of the 12 projects chosen for the 2015
Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs. There she became friends with
Tessa Thompson, who would be cast in the role of Ollie. She funded a short film version of what would eventually become her first feature film released through
Neon and
Kickstarter with the help of 72 backers, who eventually raised $5,100.
Little Woods premiered at the
Tribeca Film Festival in 2018, and was given the
Nora Ephron award for "excellence in storytelling by a female writer or director". The film's distribution rights were bought by
Neon and was released in theaters in the United States on April 19, 2019. Its production took place in the winter of 2017 and 2018, in North Dakota and Austin, Texas. Filming occurred over January and February when the weather was "extreme". DaCosta further remarked on the production aspect of the film, "It's very difficult for a woman to just pop up in the studio system. But I think the same systemic issues that affect how much work women get to make is also inside the indie space. While there are more women working, we definitely get less money". DaCosta cites
Debra Granik's ''
Winter's Bone'' and
Courtney Hunt's
Frozen River as sources of inspiration for her script. She related the importance to her of telling stories of "women who are active" rather than passive figures in movies led by men. Little Woods, inspired by the political debates around the Affordable Care Act in 2014, explored the, "actual lives," of women facing immense obstacles to basic healthcare, a theme she explored in the fictional town of Little Woods. After finishing
Little Woods, DaCosta directed two episodes of the third season of the British crime-drama
Top Boy. Afterward, DaCosta fulfilled a dream of hers when she began working with
Jordan Peele, who later became her mentor, while working on the 2021 film
Candyman.
2018–2023 DaCosta was chosen to helm what was described as a
spiritual sequel to the original
Candyman (1992) in 2018. The film returned to the Chicago neighborhood of the first film. The film was produced by
Jordan Peele through
Monkeypaw Productions, with Peele citing the original as "a landmark film for Black representation in the horror genre".
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II starred in the film, with
Tony Todd returning as the film's
titular villain, and
Teyonah Parris, and
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett co-starring. Production began in the spring of 2019, and wrapped the following September. The original teaser trailer was released on June 17, 2021.
Universal Pictures released the film theatrically on August 27, 2021, and received positive reviews. DaCosta was intent on not depicting the everyday horrors committed against Black people. Her priority was to inflict psychological terror and steer clear of current event depictions.
Candyman (2021) was set to be released during the
Black Lives Matter movement. In August 2020, DaCosta was hired to direct the
Marvel Studios film
The Marvels, the sequel to
Captain Marvel (2019), after having initially approached them with a
Fantastic Four /
X-Men crossover movie. It was released on November 10, 2023. She is the fourth woman to direct a Marvel film behind
Anna Boden,
Cate Shortland, and
Chloé Zhao. She is the youngest director and first African American woman to have directed a Marvel film.
The Marvels debuted to $46.1 million, topping the box office and marking the best opening figure ever for a black female director, but also marked the lowest opening weekend total ever for an
MCU film. It is the first
box-office bomb and the lowest-grossing film of the MCU franchise, falling short of an estimated
break-even point of $439.6 million.
Deadline Hollywood calculated the net losses of the film to be $237million, when factoring together expenses and revenues. The film received mixed reviews. In contrast, James Mottram of
NME felt that the film "never musters the same level of engagement" as DaCosta's
Candyman even with "a script that is chock full of good lines and a cast of willing participants".
2024–present DaCosta wrote and directed
Hedda, an adaptation of
Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 play
Hedda Gabler. The film reunited her with Tessa Thompson, who plays the title character and co-produced, and was released in October 2025 through Amazon MGM Studios. Additionally, DaCosta was hired to direct
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which is part of the
28 Days Later film series. The film was released in January 2026. DaCosta commented that "making the
28 Years Later sequel was one of the best filmmaking experiences I've had. One of the issues I had with
Candyman and
Marvels was the lack of a really solid script, which is always gonna just wreak havoc on the whole process". She called
Alex Garland script "amazing" and that her main change was asking "for more infected". == Filmography ==