ETERNALS Director Chloe Zhao Explains Including The Superman Reference in The MCU
Last week, Marvel released a featurette for the upcoming film Eternals that included a Superman reference. This is the first time ever that a DC character has been mentioned in a Marvel movie. In the clip shown, a child refers to the Eternal character, Ikarus, as “Superman.” And with that, the fans went crazy discussing and speculating what it means.
In a recent interview with Variety, director Chloe Zhao talked about including the Superman reference in the MCU film and explains what it means. When asked about it, she said with a laugh:
“I take responsibility for that. You write it on the page, show it to Kevin, if he doesn’t say anything, that’s a go. I don’t think there was a conversation. Not really, except, he goes, ‘Oh, that’s cool.'”
So, there wasn’t really any conversation that went with the inclusion, it was just a little something to put in that made sense, a way to pay tribute to the influence of the Man of Steel. Zhao went on to say:
“We’re playing on a genre that draws so much from mythology, and Superman, for example, was created in the comics and also by these brilliant filmmakers along the way — they’re modern reinterpretations of a mythical characters that exist in different cultures. Ikaris is our interpretation of it. It doesn’t mean we can’t pay tribute to the really iconic version that we’ve all grown to love and has influenced us.”
The filmmaker wants fans to know that the references to DC characters in the film come from a place of respect. She shared:
“Everything that’s referenced in this film, whether it’s in words or visually, is a tribute. It’s out of love and our admiration for these characters.”
It’s pretty cool that Marvel is having fun playing with these DC references in Eternals. The mentions are clearly pop-culture references, so don’t expect Superman to come flying into the MCU some day.
Superman isn’t the only DC character to get a shoutout in “Eternals,” either. When Gilgamesh reunites with Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) and meets Kingo’s (human) valet, Karun (Karish Patel), Gilgamesh calls him “Alfred” — i.e. Batman’s butler.
In explaining why, Zhao was also clear that these DC characters are just that in the MCU: fictional characters, designed to delight audiences and readers.
“Gilgamesh and Phastos, they all got into certain aspects of human life, whether it’s cooking, pop culture, movie loving,” Zhao said. “So they pick out the things about humans that they love the most — aspect of us that are quite extraordinary. And for Gilgamesh, he watches ‘Batman.’ So when he sees someone’s valet, he goes, ‘Ah, I know!’ Because he loves Batman, like so many of us.”
The Eternals are “a race of immortal beings who lived on Earth and shaped its history and civilizations. After an unexpected tragedy following the events of Avengers: Endgame, the Eternals—an immortal alien race created by the Celestials who have secretly lived on Earth for over 7,000 years—reunite to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the Deviants.”
It’s also explained that the story takes place across two time periods. “One storyline is set in the past when they operated as a formidable team and a close family unit. The second storyline is in the present, when the group has fractured and split apart, content to live among humans, hiding in plain sight. The prevailing threat of the Deviants, which once again threatens the existence of mankind, means the Eternals need to put their differences aside and regroup."
The cast for the film includes Angelina Jolie as Thena, 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 and Gilgamesh, with Kit Harington as Dane Whitman, and Salma Hayek as the wise and spiritual leader Ajak.
Eternals will be released in theaters on November 5th, 2021.