The Walking Dead’s Lauren Ridloff Races Into Action as Marvel’s Makkari in Eternals First Footage

The Walking Dead star Lauren Ridloff races into action as Makkari, a super-speedster and Marvel’s debut Deaf superhero, in the first footage from Eternals. The cosmic superhero ensemble from Academy Award-winning Nomadland director Chloe Zhao reveals Ridloff’s Makkari as one of the ancient aliens who have been secretly living on Earth for thousands of years, part of a race that includes Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Druig (Barry Keoghan), their leader Ajak (Salma Hayek), and Thena (Angelina Jolie).

New footage revealed during a Marvel Studios Phase 4 sizzle reel released on Monday shows Ridloff’s Makkari zooming into frame with a burst of cosmic super-speed, offering the first official look at a character that brings Deaf representation to the Marvel Cinematic Universe:

“I am more thrilled than overwhelmed about being given the opportunity to represent the deaf community,” Ridloff, who is Deaf, previously told HeyUGuys. “I’m very thrilled about that — just to bring in that storyline within the MCU. I think there’s plenty of room for more stories like that.”

Ridloff has played Connie, the first Deaf survivor to appear on The Walking Dead, since the zombie drama’s ninth season in 2018. In a 2020 episode of Walking Dead after-show Talking Dead, Ridloff revealed Makkari is a lot like Connie because they’re both “kick-ass women”:

“It’s so exciting! I really love how the characters have this parallel,” Ridloff said with the assistance of an American Sign Language interpreter. “Both of them are such strong women, they’re kick-ass women. And working within the bigger ensemble, they’re not working alone. They’re part of ensemble groups and communities, so I love the parallels between [Connie and] my Eternals character Makkari.”

Marvel Studios’ The 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 outstanding ensemble cast includes 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.

Marvel’s Eternals releases only in theaters on November 5.