ETERNALS Director Chloé Zhao Shares How DUNE Director Denis Villeneuve Helped Her with The Marvel Movie
One of the things that I was really hoping to see in Marvel’s Eternals was the same huge epic scale that I saw in director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. Eternals had that potential, but it didn’t quite get there. Regardless, it did tell a good story.
It turns out that Eternals director Chloé Zhao did get a little help from Villeneuve in bringing Eternals to the big screen. In a recent interview with THR, she shared:
"I gotta say that I’m a big fan of Denis; he’s a friend. We got pushed and shifted because of the pandemic. We got pulled apart and now we’re back together again at the same time.
"Even when I was working on IMAX for Eternals, I asked him if it was okay for me to watch Dune. I knew he did incredible things in IMAX, so I knew I could learn from him. He was so generous; he was like, 'Yes.' He also gave me other references to look at. So I actually find a lot of strength in our films coming out at the same time and to have a colleague who I respect and love and to be able to go through this together and to hug each other at Venice [International Film Festival] when Dune came out."
I’m very curious to see what Marvel fans think of Eternals. I did ultimately like it, but I do take issue with a few things.
The story follows a group of heroes from beyond the stars who had protected the Earth since the dawn of man. When monstrous creatures called the Deviants, long thought lost to history, mysteriously return, the Eternals are forced to reunite in order to defend humanity once again.
The cast for the film includes Gemma Chan as humankind-loving Sersi, Richard Madden as the all-powerful Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as cosmic-powered Kingo, Lia McHugh as the eternally young, old-soul Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as the intelligent inventor Phastos, Lauren Ridloff as the super-fast Makkari, Barry Keoghan as aloof loner Druig, Don Lee as the powerful Gilgamesh, with Kit Harington as Dane Whitman, with Salma Hayek as the wise and spiritual leader Ajak, and Angelina Jolie as the fierce warrior Thena.
The movie is out now, so if you want to watch it, go check it out!