Camera Guy Spotted in Marvel's Eternals Footage: Is it a Mistake?

Marvel Studios kicked off the week in impressive fashion releasing a brand new sizzle real on [...]

By Charlie Ridgely

Marvel Studios kicked off the week in impressive fashion releasing a brand new sizzle real on Monday morning to celebrate the return of movie theaters. The popular studio unveiled its theatrical plans for the next two years, revealing dates and titles for highly-anticipated films, as well as some footage from the movies making their way to theaters later this year. Included was the very first footage from Chloe Zhao's Eternals, and fans quickly noticed a potential mistake in one of the shots.

One of the shots from Eternals that gets the spotlight in this sizzle shows many of the film's characters walking forward, with a crowd of people behind them. On the left side of the screen, just behind the shoulder of Kumail Nanjiani, is a person holding a camera on their shoulder. Some fans were quick to point out that this could be a major error, not unlike the coffee cup in the final season of Game of Thrones. But upon further examination, that camera person might actually be a part of the film itself.

This wouldn't be the first time a major production forgot to edit out a camera operator, so it makes sense that fans automatically assumed this to be the case. But when you add a little context to the situation, it paints a different picture. Nanjiani's character could change how one looks at that camera behind him.

Nanjiani plays a character named Kingo, who is one of the Eternals and still loves on the Earth in the modern day. In the present age, Kingo is a major actor, having used his eons of training in martial arts to become a film star. He carries himself as a celebrity in the couple of shots where he's present. It seems reasonable to think that a camera crew would be following him around.

Speaking of camera crews, that shot isn't the only one featuring a camera and Kingo. A few seconds later in the sizzle reel, Nanjiani is seen on-screen in a desert, and there's a man carrying a handheld camcorder right next to him. Wherever Kingo goes, a camera seems to follow.

Now, go back and watch the first bit again. The camera doesn't seem to be shooting anything, as it's off of its operator's shoulder and aiming towards the ground. The operator is walking with the rest of the characters toward what or whomever just arrived. It really seems like that person is just another character, interacting with the on-screen world the same way everyone else is.

This could just be one Marvel fan digging in a little too deep, but all of the context provided by the identity of Nanjiani's character helps point to the fact that this isn't just some major oversight. We'll see what happens when Eternals comes out on November 5th.

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