The Marvels director Nia DaCosta revealed what it was like to work on set with professional cat actors playing the Flerkens.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, DaCosta shared what she learned in getting the on-set cats to give the desired performance in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel.
“I learned that cats love chicken and that’s really how you get them to do what you want them to do,” DaCosta said.
DaCosta praised the on-set animal wranglers who worked closely with the cats and how impressed she was with the final result: “We have the best cat trainer and her team was really amazing. And it was really cool. I honestly didn’t think cats can be trained. Let alone orange cats were notoriously insane. So it was really great to see them like pressing buttons and jumping up on cue and walking a path and hitting their mark. It was really awesome.”
Who plays Carol Danvers’ sidekick Goose in The Marvels?
The cat actors in The Marvels are headlined by Carol Danvers’ (Brie Larson) Flerken sidekick Goose, who was the comedic scene-stealer in the previous MCU installment. While he proved to be a deadly force of nature in Captain Marvel and appears to do the same in The Marvels, Goose’s real-life cat actors Nemo and Tango alongside other cats made the set more fun, according to Marvel Studios producer Mary Livanos.
“The crew was delighted whenever the kittens were around,” Livanos said. “It was like Christmas when we had our bigger kitten scenes. Everyone had their own favorite.”
Directed by DaCosta, The Marvels continues the story of the events from Captain Marvel and 2022’s Ms. Marvel series on Disney Plus. Its premise sees Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) investigating an intergalactic wormhole when her powers become entangled with those of Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani). The film co-stars Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, and Samuel L. Jackson.
The Marvels hits theaters on November 10.
