By Vegafi [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
Chloé Zhao may not be a particularly famous name, having directed eight films since 2008, but she sure is an exciting one. Her 2017 feature, The Rider, was universally acclaimed and received two nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards, but her resumé alone isn't the sole reason to be excited by her involvement in the upcoming project.
The fact that Marvel are looking at more independent talent is great to hear, but so is the fact the studio are diversifying production behind the scenes. To this day, only Anna Boden has helmed a Marvel feature on the big screen, but in 2020, two more will join her, with Cate Shortland presiding over Black Widow, and Zhao tackling The Eternals.
Sure, the director may not be accustomed to mainstream success, but her appointment signals a positive change from Marvel Studios, as they attempt to take the company's motto of reflecting the world outside our windows by showcasing diversity in front of and behind the camera.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
