Nia DaCosta is a Brooklyn-born writer-director whose features include debut Little Woods, the Jordan Peele–produced Candyman reboot she co-adapted and directed, Marvel’s The Marvels, the Ibsen reworking Hedda, and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. In 2026 she entered branded filmmaking with Verizon’s nearly five-minute short “Look Behind You” (also “Verizon Horror Story”), created with agency X&O and produced by De La Revolución and PRETTYBIRD. The genre-bending cabin thriller spoof stars Heated Rivalry breakout Connor Storrie: a smart-home unlock spirals through flickering lights, ringing phones, unknown-number threats, and a knife-to-the-door scare before a rideshare punchline reveals butt-dial chaos, closing on “Service so good, it’s scary.” Verizon’s CMO framed it as both Storrie’s and DaCosta’s first brand film. Trade coverage ran in LBB, Adweek, Variety, Ad Age, and The Drum. She is rostered with PRETTYBIRD (US/UK), with De La Revolución as production partner on the Verizon short. Feature craft includes ALEXA 35 anamorphic work and handheld camera movement; her commercial practice remains early-stage with one evidenced advertiser.