By Danielle Broadway

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -For director Nia DaCosta, adapting the acclaimed 19th century play “Hedda Gabler” into her 2025 film “Hedda” was like forging a “self-insert fanfiction.”

“What would it be like if I were there or like literally any Black woman?” DaCosta recalled asking herself.

Beyond the desire to see a lead actor who looked more like herself in the period story, DaCosta fell in love with the role of Hedda in the play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in 1890.

The “Candyman” director loved debating the character Hedda with her friends and interrogating the motives of the fictional literary woman.

“Hedda” is set in 1950s England and follows the titular character Hedda Gabler, played by Tessa Thompson, as she navigates dissatisfaction in her marria

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