Marvel Boss Kevin Feige Reveals Who Is the True Star of Chloe Zhao’s Eternals

There’s been an increased amount of hype surrounding Marvel’s Eternals this week, especially following the multiple Oscar wins of its director, Chloe Zhao. The film, which will bring to life the Jack Kirby-created cosmic group, has captured a lot of fans’ attention, even as nearly no official photos or footage of the film have been released yet. Still, with an all-star ensemble cast signed on to the project, there’s already a lot for fans to look forward to — and according to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, one of those characters will play an especially key role in the project. In a recent interview about Eternals with Variety, Feige spoke about the choice to diversify the film’s ensemble from their comic counterparts — and also revealed that Sersi (Gemma Chan) will be the “lead” of the film.

“Well, the notion of switching up the genders, sexualities and ethnicities of the characters from the comics, was baked in initially — that was part of what [producer] Nate Moore was really advocating for in moving “Eternals” to the top of the list for us to start working on,” Feige explained. “What exactly the makeup was between when Nate put together his internal discussion document, which is how we always start on all of our projects, and what she came in and did, I don’t recall exactly. When it came to casting, that also did affect it. There were some characters that we change from male to female, there were some characters that we knew how we were altering them from the books. But then also it came down to casting. So for Sersi, for instance — and if there was a lead in this ensemble, it is Sersi, it is Gemma Chan — we looked at and read all sorts of women for that part. And ended up really believing that Gemma was best for it. And thankfully, she’s proven that to be the case in the final movie.”

This comment from Feige will surely delight fans of Sersi as a character, especially given her extended role within the Marvel Comics universe. Whether or not the events of Eternals could ultimately lead to Sersi having a similarly significant role in the MCU — maybe even as a member of the Avengers, as she is in the comics — remains to be seen.

What do you think of Sersi being the “lead” in Marvel’s Eternals? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Eternals is expected to be released in theaters on November 5th.