Chloé Zhao's star is on the rise; early reviews for Nomadland have been overwhelmingly positive, and Eternals looks set to put her on the map as a blockbuster filmmaker. Recently, Rolling Stone shared a profile on the director (it's worth a read), and caught up with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige.
The executive shared his thoughts on Zhao, and he had high praise indeed for the Eternals helmer. "Not only does Chloe make remarkable, small, personal movies in a remarkable, small, personal way, but she thinks in grand, cosmic, gigantic terms, which fit perfectly with what we wanted to do. Eternals is a very big, sweeping, multimillennial-spanning story. And she just got it."
Eternals is clearly going to be a very important addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so Feige must have seen something special in Zhao to talk her with telling this particular story.
The site goes on to not that Feige told them he thought "Zhao’s pitch for the movie [was] the best he’d ever heard," so the filmmaker clearly knocked those early meetings out of the park. You need only look at Eternals' cast to see that the project is going to be something special, and it's hard to imagine someone like Angelina Jolie signing up if she wasn't convinced it would be a hit.
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10. The Most Powerful Eternal
The heroes who make up the Eternals are a powerful bunch, and could have easily turned the tide against villains like Loki and Thanos. Instead, they've remained hidden in the shadows, and that's likely a decision made by the team's leader, Ikaris.
Described as the "tactical leader" and "most powerful Eternal," the hero "takes pride in keeping the other Eternals safe." While Ikaris has stayed out of human affairs for centuries, the return of the Deviants sees "Ikaris [lead] the charge to unite the scattered Eternals to stop the new threat."
Interestingly, it's also been revealed that Ajak is the "spiritual leader" of the Eternals whose "wisdom has helped guide the team since they arrived here from their home planet."
9. The Team's Spaceship
It appears this version of the Eternals weren't created on Earth, because a LEGO set reveals that they have a spaceship. We know better than to trust this particular brand of toy when it comes to plot spoilers, but there's no way LEGO would make up this detailed a mode of transportation for the team!
This actually ties into that description for Ajak in the previous slide, and Makkari's points out that she uses her powers to "scout planets for the Eternals."
Clearly, they've been on Earth for a long time, but that wasn't necessarily always the case. Have they been trapped here or were they tasked with protecting this planet, in particular? Whatever the case may be, there's clearly going to be a noteworthy cosmic element to this Marvel Studios movie.
8. Move Over, Quicksilver
Poor Quicksilver only made two appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first came in Captain America: The Winter Soldier's post-credits scene, while the second was obviously in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Initially siding with Ultron, he saw the error of his ways and later sacrificed himself to save Hawkeye.
Since then, the MCU has been without a Speedster, and while we're pretty sure we'll meet Speed in WandaVision, not even he will seemingly be a match for Makkari.
Described as the "fastest woman in the universe," the hero has "cosmically powered super-speed." It's pointed out that Makkari is deaf, something that's beneficial as it means "the sonic boom that accompanies her cosmic running does not affect her."
7. An Unlikely Pairing
Played by Angelina Jolie, Thena is a character who has been mostly overlooked up until now. Part of the reason for that is because we know so little about this member of the Eternals, but that recently changed thanks to a description of this "fierce warrior more comfortable in battle than any other place."
While she's described as "surly and aloof," it sounds a lot like we can look forward to an unexpected friendship with her fellow Eternal, Gilgamesh.
That spans centuries, and as his description reveals, "He becomes Thena's de factor partner when the events of the past exile them from the rest of the team." Is it possible they've spent hundreds of years locked up or in hiding? There's clearly a big story to tell here regardless.
6. A Celebrity Superhero
Here's something a little different.
In the comic books, Kingo spent centuries in Japan learning the ways of the Samurai, only to later use that to become a major movie star in the country. This version will be a Bollywood star, and unlike his fellow Eternals, he hasn't exactly been hiding from the public. Instead, he's "become enamoured with the idea of fame" over the centuries, but likely keeps his powers under wraps.
It's the emergence of the Deviants which leads to him leaving "his life of wealth and celebrity" behind in order to help his fellow teammates repel the threat they pose to Earth.
5. Monstrous Deviants
An action figure leak from some time ago confirmed that Kro will have a monstrous, inhuman appearance. However, with the Deviants kept under wraps for the most part, we don't know what to expect.
Based on what we've seen in the aforementioned LEGO sets, they'll all be quite animalistic, a blue-like colour, and definitely not like anything we've seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe up until now.
They all have such varied appearances in the comic books, we can't even really look there for clues. However, Kro is bound to be voiced by an A-Lister, but that casting amazingly still hasn't leaked online.
4. Arishem Vs. The Eternals
The Celestials being part of Eternals is no great surprise, and it sounds a lot like they're returning to Earth in this movie for the first time in thousands of years (no doubt due to the Infinity Stones).
Whether they're friend or foe remains to be seen, but one of the leaked LEGO sets confirmed that we'll see Arishem, the same Celestial we first met in Guardians of the Galaxy's flashback scenes. This confirms a similarly leaked Funko Pop listing from last year, and it sounds like the ancient Celestial will, at least at some point, lend a helping hand to the Eternals.
LEGO describes Arishem as the team's leader, so time will tell how he's portrayed on screen.
3. Sprite's Curse
In the comic books, Sprite looks like a child, but is just as old as his fellow Eternals. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he is a she, but suffers from the same tragic affliction.
Sprite looks like a 12-year-old, and has the power to cast lifelike illusions. She's good friends with Sersi, but "hides a world-weary sadness because she's been treated like a child by humanity for centuries." Despite that, Sprite is said to be "much stronger and cleverer than she appears."
However, what we'd like to know is how Marvel Studios will address the fact that actress Lia McHugh is obviously growing up fast, and is already quite a bit older than when she was first cast.
2. Love Triangle
We've never really had a good 'ol fashioned love triangle in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that looks set to change with Eternals. So far, we've seen and heard nothing of Kit Harington's Black Knight, though set photos have confirmed that he'll become close with Gemma Chan's Sersi.
Sersi's character description mentions that "she's been in love with Ikaris for centuries, and helps him recruit the Eternals for one last mission." Does he not feel the same way or is her head about to be turned by the human Dane Whitman? At this stage, it's simply way too soon to say for sure.
Sersi has clearly embraced her human side, and works as a museum curator when the movie begins.
1. Some Amazing Costumes
If there's one thing we can now say for sure, it's that the Eternals will be decked out in some undeniably incredible costumes. Set photos taken from a distance confirmed that they're practical rather than CGI, and while the promo art and action figures probably don't do them justice, they look epic.
That's evident from the Marvel Legends figures, while recent promo art leaks have shown us the colourful, vibrant costumes that Ikaris and Sersi are set to head into battle wearing.
Needless to say, this movie really can't get here soon enough, and we can only hope that an official first look will be shared in the coming weeks. For now, though, these leaks offer a great idea of what to expect from what might be Marvel Studios' riskiest venture since Guardians of the Galaxy.