Eternals Star Angelina Jolie Rejected Superhero Role Before Joining Marvel

By Jamie Jirak

Eternals is the next Marvel Cinematic Universe movie on 2021's line-up, and it's set to feature a star-studded cast of franchise newcomers. Many big names will be seen in the film, including some folks who have turned town superhero roles in the past. Kit Harington, who is best known for playing Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, recently revealed that he turned down a superhero role before accepting his part in Eternals. Turns out, something similar happened with Angelina Jolie. While speaking with @CreamOrScream (via The Direct), the star revealed she turned down a famous superhero role in the past, but would not reveal which one. She also explained why she decided to give it a shot with Eternals. 

"I don't usually lean towards superhero or sci-fi films. It's not usually what I'm looking to do. It felt like something else was happening in this film, though. It was very character-driven," Jolie shared. "These guys aren't Spider-Man or Captain America or the Hulk. A lot of hardcore fans won't know who the Eternals are. Introducing them all at once, that isn't easy."

Recently, Jolie spoke with Total Film and stayed silent on her future with the franchise. "I don't think I can say that," Jolie replied when asked about her plans to return down the line. "Good try, though." During that interview, she also explained her character Thena's powers. "I was given the 'could manifest weapons in my hands' [power]. A lot of my training was really fun, to try to figure out how to fight that way," Jolie explained when talking about preparing to be Thena.

Eternals, which was helmed by Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao, stars Gemma Chan as Sersi, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Salma Hayek as Ajak, and Kit Harington as Dane Whitman.

Recently, Ridloff had a chat with The New York Times about Eternals and shared some insights into what it's like being a deaf performer on a film set, and provided a story about Jolie. 

"In some scenes, I had to face a wall. As a deaf person, how do you cue me? At one point, I was sharing my frustration with Angie - Angelina Jolie - at a holiday party after a day of shooting. And she immediately made a suggestion - why don't we use a laser pen that special effects can easily erase? It was an 'Aha, wow' moment. Whenever I'm looking at a wall, the interpreters would use a laser pen to make a circle on the wall - 'rolling, rolling, rolling' - and once it went away that meant, 'Action!,'" Ridloff explained.

Eternals is currently scheduled to hit on theatres on November 5th.

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