As fans know, when Marvel Studios begins to develop a new project at a certain point they start to hear pitches from directors and narrow it down until they sign someone on to helm one of their movies. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has been very open about the process, revealing the work he put into his pitch for landing that film, and even Peyton Reed has spoken about how he pitched Marvel on movies that he didn’t get before eventually landing the Ant-Man job. All that in mind it was surprising to hear today that Eternals director Chloe Zhao didn’t wait around for Marvel to come knocking and instead sough out an MCU project!
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“I have been a fan of the MCU for the last decade. So, I put the word out there I wanted to make a Marvel movie and the right project came to me,” Zhao said while speaking with director Barry Jenkins in a discussion for Variety. “I just wanted to work with that team. Again, back to world-building. It is my favorite thing. That’s why I love “Star Wars.” There is a world that is so rich. I wanted to enter it and see what I can do. It’s the same as what you’re saying. Can I put a spin on it while still being true to the essence of it? That’s exciting to me. It’s not that different than me going to the world of rodeo cowboys and saying, ‘My spin on that is going to be this,’ and it’s a collaboration. The chemistry of that, when it’s right, it could be very exciting.”
Zhao’s film will take the MCU into some exciting places when it premieres next week, bringing the Jack Kirby-created characters to life and a vast and inclusive ensemble cast. Marvel Studios’ synopsis for the feature can be found below.
“Marvel Studios’ Eternals features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, The Deviants,” the synopsis explains.
It adds, “The outstanding ensemble cast include Richard Madden as the all-powerful Ikaris, Gemma Chan as humankind-loving Sersi, Kumail Nanjiani as the cosmic-powered Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as the super-fast Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as the intelligent inventor Phastos, Salma Hayak as the wise and spiritual leader Ajak, Lia McHugh as the eternally young, old-coul Sprite, Don Lee as the powerful Gilgamesh, Barry Keoghan as the aloof longer Druig, and Angelina Jolie as the fierce warrior Thena. Kit Harrington was cast as Dane Whitman.”
Eternals is now set for release on November 5, 2021.
