Eternals Star Salma Hayek Says Marvel Wouldn't Let Her Read the Script Before Signing On

All things considered Marvel's Eternals has one of their biggest ensembles by Hollywood standards since many of its characters are played by iconic actors who were very famous long before the house of ideas came calling. Academy Award nominees Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek are among the cast members of the new film but even their star power as A-listers in Hollywood wasn't enough for them to surpass the iron clad secrecy practices of Marvel Studios. Speaking in a new interview, Hayek revealed that she wasn't given the script for the movie until she agreed to sign on for the part, luckily for her it turned out to be a good read.

"Nothing. I didn't know anything about it," Hayek told Variety about her knowledge of the property. "I'm very lucky. I have a Mexican friend and she's a female, who's the biggest Marvel geek that you can imagine. My problem was, I was sworn to secrecy because I was one of the first people that they hired, but I had to keep it in a secret for a long, long time. So, when I had the call, I said to them, 'I confess. Eventually I will know everything that there is to know, but what are the Eternals? Do they exist in comics? I don't know who's Ajax.' And then they explained everything to me. They explained me the script. They didn't give me the script. I had to sign the contract without reading the script. They wouldn't let me see the script until I signed. That was very unsettling."

When asked how not reading the script effected her when she showed up on set, Hayek added:

"I was scared. But it doesn't matter because I'm going to tell you why I didn't care. I love the director (Chloé Zhao). She's brilliant. And then I like that [Ajax] is kind of the leader. She's the only one that can talk to the Celestials. And I said, 'I'll get to be bossy on this one, too. I can play that.' Giving instructions, telling people what to do, I can do that. Then I was afraid of the outfit. I'm claustrophobic. I was very afraid that I was going to feel like I couldn't move."

Luckily Hayek says that she loved her costume and found her first fitting in it "empowering."

The Eternals cast will also 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 genius inventor Phastos, Lia McHugh as the eternally young, old-soul Sprite, Don Lee as the powerful Gilgamesh, Barry Keoghan as the aloof longer Druig, and Angelina Jolie as the fierce warrior Thena. Kit Harrington will also appear as Dane Whitman aka The Black Knight.

Eternals arrives in theaters on November 5, 2021.

(Cover Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)