The Marvel Mystery: Why Eternals Fell Short of Expectations
In a recent podcast interview, Chloé Zhao, the talented director behind Marvel's Eternals, shed light on the film's journey and its somewhat surprising lack of priority within the Marvel Studios realm.
Zhao, a two-time Academy Award nominee, discussed her experience with the divisive superhero epic during the latest episode of Awards Chatter. Despite her pride in the final product, the filmmaker revealed a crucial insight: Eternals simply wasn't at the top of Marvel's to-do list.
"Eternals wasn't a priority for them," Zhao explained. "It's a unique IP, just one of many potential projects on their radar. Marvel's approach is to find the right director first, and then decide on the IP."
But here's where it gets intriguing: Kevin Feige, the mastermind behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, saw Zhao's passion for the project and trusted her with a film that, at the time, seemed like a hard sell - "literally no one in the world was interested in it."
And this is the part most people miss: Zhao had initially been in talks to direct another MCU film, Black Widow. A scheduling conflict led her to Eternals, where she embraced the challenge of bringing these immortal androids to life.
"I was drawn to the idea of exploring humanity through these immortal characters, like a Greek tragedy. And then, creating monsters and space gods? It should've scared me, but I jumped in without knowing how to swim."
The rumors of an Eternals sequel have been circulating for years, but at this point, it seems less likely. While Eternals has its defenders, Marvel's lack of urgency to revisit these characters is understandable. The 2021 film not only became the first Marvel Studios movie to receive a "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes but also had a disappointing domestic box office performance, earning one of the lowest hauls in the MCU.
Despite Tiamut's brief appearance in Captain America: Brave New World, it's hard to envision Marvel completely disregarding the Eternals universe. However, the question remains: which projects would make sense to bring these characters back into the spotlight?
Would you like to see the Eternals return to the MCU? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Marvel Studios' Eternals introduces us to a diverse group of heroes from outer space who have been Earth's guardians since ancient times. When the Deviants, monstrous creatures believed lost to history, make a surprising return, the Eternals must reunite to defend humanity once more.
The star-studded cast includes Gemma Chan as the compassionate Sersi, Richard Madden as the all-powerful Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as the cosmic-powered Kingo, and many more talented actors bringing these unique characters to life.
