The future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is bright, with a number of different projects in various stages of development. While fans wait to hear news on the official introduction of the X-Men and Deadpool to the MCU, one upcoming film that has found a director is Fantastic Four, with the Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts bringing Marvel’s First Family to big screens. If it were up to Eternals star Angelina Jolie, she would be the next person to take the reins of an MCU film.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Hollywood rolled out the red carpet for the cast and creatives behind Eternals on Monday night, with Jolie asked if she would ever direct an MCU movie. Not dismissing the notion, Jolie replied, “Maybe I’ll talk to Kevin [Feige] tonight, see if there’s a job for me.” Even though Jolie didn’t immediately leave to go find Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige to offer up her services for the next MCU project, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to eventually see her behind the camera in the future. Consider if Eternals turns out to be another hit for Marvel Studios, a sequel will most likely be greenlit, and Jolie could pull double duty as an actor (she plays Eternals character Thena) and director.
Jolie’s role in Eternals was originally going to be much smaller, with Marvel Studios considering reducing her to a cameo appearance. “When we first talked to her, I think she thought, well, I know she thought we wanted her for a very, very small cameo,” Eternals producer Nate Moore said during a press set visit last January. “So she was sort of surprised at the size of the role, and really threw herself into Thena and creating a movement style for Thena and a fighting style for Thena that was unique.”
Moore also talked at great length about Jolie’s previous starring roles, and how the actor approached Eternals to make Thena stand out from the rest of the characters on her resume.
“She’s been through it with Salt and with Tomb Raider and Gone in 60 Seconds, all these movies. So and we sort of collaborated with her and our stunt coordinator to create a movement style that did feel different because she has done so much,” Moore added. “She could say, ‘Well, I’ve done this before. What if we tried this other thing?’ And part of that was developing a weapon system that she could train and become sort of fluent in, because she hadn’t done a lot of swordplay and she hadn’t done a lot of staff fighting and things like that.”
Fans can catch Angelina Jolie in Eternals, directed by Chloe Zhao, when it arrives in theaters on Nov. 5.
