Eternals Trailer Shows Why Film Is Marvel's Riskiest Move Yet

At long last, the first teaser for Eternals has arrived, introducing fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a whole new corner of the world that has yet to be explored. The teaser has already generated plenty of discourse online, already living up to the promise it's one of Marvel's riskiest projects to date.

Before we get too ahead — risk isn't our choice of words, it's been a common talking point with the studio and filmmakers behind the movie. Two years ago, Kevin Feige called the project "an expensive, massive, and necessary risk." Chloé Zhao then followed that up with a similar sentiment, saying Marvel Studios "took a big risk" with her own movie.

That said, what makes the project such a big risk?

Despite Zhao herself saying Jack Kirby's fingerprint is all over the movie, one could argue outside the name of the film itself, it would be hard to find many Kirbian references in what's been teased. Gone are Kirby's vibrant colors and intricate cosmic line art and in its place, a more naturalistic look. Ikaris' costume has been altered from blue and scarlet to a flat navy and old gold, and the characters are often seen against desert backgrounds or other dreary set pieces.

Even if we place comic accuracy aside, Eternals still has an uphill battle ahead of itself. If not uphill, certainly much more a slope than these kinds of movies typically get.

Weeks ago, Feige found himself in hot water on social media after he expressed surprise that much of the film was shot practically as compared to the studio's standard CGI fare. Film Twitter meme aside, the alterations seen in the teaser could result in the movie being more grounded than anticipated, especially as it's released after other Marvel projects like Endgame, WandaVision, Loki, and Shang-Chi. Taking all that, and comparing it to a colorful space epic like Thor: Ragnarok — another movie heavily influenced by Kirby's artwork — and you'll see quite the divisive debate.

The sentiment online has been far more divided than what you see with a typical Marvel teaser release, and that's reason enough to see why this film is Marvel's riskiest project yet.

What'd you think of the first look at Chloe Zhao's Eternals? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!