ETERNALS Director Chloe Zhao Says She Sought Out a Film She Could Make in the Marvel Universe
The upcoming Marvel movie Eternals is poised to open up a whole new world for the MCU, picking up after the events that tied together the 23 movies that made the Infinity Saga. We will have a brand new cast to usher in a new story, and it’s so exciting to look forward to.
One surprise in the making of the film was when they hired Chloe Zhao to direct the movie. She is an accomplished filmmaker, but has only made three feature films so far, all with much more intimate stories that take place across sprawling landscapes. Most recently she directed the upcoming film Nomadland, starring Frances McDormand, which is getting a lot of Oscar buzz.
This is definitely a different project for Zhao, but it turns out that she sought out the gig, as she was searching for the perfect Marvel project to work on.
In a recent interview with Variety alongside Moonlight director Barry Jenkins, Zhao talked about her roots and what brought her to Marvel:
“I grew up with manga. I have to just say, we didn’t have movies when I was growing up, not the same way that you guys had access to films, but I did have just cabinets and cabinets of Japanese manga. I just devoured them. That was my first love. I wanted to be a manga artist, but I was not very good at drawing. I have been a fan of the MCU for the last decade. So, I put the word out there I wanted to make a Marvel movie and the right project came to me. I just wanted to work with that team. Again, back to world-building. It is my favorite thing. That’s why I love Star Wars. There is a world that is so rich. I wanted to enter it and see what I can do…can I put a spin on it while still being true to the essence of it? That’s exciting to me. It’s not that different than me going to the world of rodeo cowboys and saying, ‘My spin on that is going to be this,’ and it’s a collaboration. The chemistry of that, when it’s right, it could be very exciting.”
I am excited to see a brand new story with a unique vision and perspective. I think Zhao is kind of a badass to put a feeler out to a company like Marvel and say she is throwing her hat in the ring. That confidence gets me even more excited for this next ensemble Marvel flick.
Eternals stars Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Awkwafina, Brian Tyree Henry, Kit Harington, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Don Lee, Barry Keoghan, and Lauren Ridloff.
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.
Eternals will be released in theaters on November 5th, 2021. Are you excited?