Eternals (2021)

[paigow]

Is one of the lessons that AI created by a god eventually "failed"? By extension, human created AI inevitably ends up the same?? 

[Morrigan2575]

1 hour ago, arc said:

He’s known the truth of the mission for millennia and committed the whole time

I thought he said he found out after that final flashback, where they all went their separate ways?  I remember something about him knowing the truth and not being able to lie to Sersi prompting him to leave her. Seems like he only found out a few hundred years ago...which yeah still a long time.

[arc]

Hmm. I thought he said Ajak told him much earlier than that, like in Babylon or something. I might be misremembering.

Didn’t he only break up with Sersi about one hundred years ago?

Edited November 30, 2021 by arc

[Bruinsfan]

If I recall correctly, Ajak told him after she thought they had wiped out the last of the Deviants, shortly after the Spanish-Aztec war in the 16th century.

[arc]

Also, I think the Celestials were wrong to hide the mission from their "human shepherds". If the Eternals had known the whole time, they would never have formed a deep emotional connection to humanity. Don't get me wrong, I'm on Team Human, but as far as accomplishing their own goals, feels like the Celestials got in their own way here.

[shrewd.buddha]

The original Kirby version of the Eternals comics was a mess in terms of story and characters (by today's standards).  It wasn't around very long and didn't provide the 50+ years worth of stories for the MCU brain-trust to cherry-pick from. 

The Neil Gaiman Eternals comic miniseries, and the one that came after, was interesting, but still had problems making the characters relevant and interesting. Gaiman's ideas would have easily explained why the Eternals were inactive during the Thanos crisis. 
 The major conflicts always seem to boil down to infighting amongst the Eternals -- maybe because Marvel cannot get past the point of introducing, and re-introducing the characters. 

Ikaris dying and resurrecting rebooting has become somewhat of a regular thing in the comics. 

I was excited when the movie was first announced because the concept of the Eternals was still basically a blank slate.  But now I am beginning to think that Marvel might slowly back away from the concept and characters. 
Kirby and the MCU decided to build on top of the myth of Ancient Aliens -- and the more you pick at that concept the messier things get.  Ignoring the ethical quandary altogether,  the MCU may have to retcon a lot of things to explain why so many god-level and mystical characters seem to be oblivious to the existence of one another. 

[tv echo]

Edited December 10, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Eternals will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Feb. 15, 2022 - Best Buy has a limited-edition collectible steelbook, while Walmart is including a limited-edition enamel pin (go to articles to see pics)...

Eternals Blu-ray Gets Limited Edition Collectible Steelbook [EXCLUSIVE]
BY GRANT HERMANNS  DECEMBER 15, 2021
https://screenrant.com/marvel-eternals-blu-ray-release-date-details/ 

Quote

Screen Rant has the exclusive first look at the Eternals Blu-ray limited edition collectible steelbook going on sale at Best Buy in February. The latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe hails from Oscar winner Chloé Zhao, who co-wrote the script with Patrick Burleigh and Ryan and Kaz Firpo on a story treatment from the latter duo. Zhao assembled an ensemble cast for Eternals including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Barry Keoghan, Lia McHugh, Don Lee, Lauren Ridloff, Kit Harington, and Salma Hayek.

Exclusive: 'Eternals' 4K + Blu-ray Walmart Artwork for Home Release Revealed
BY MARCO VITO ODDO  DECEMBER 15, 2021
https://collider.com/eternals-4k-blu-ray-box-art-walmart-exclusive/ 

Quote

Marvel’s Eternals is coming to home release, and Collider can exclusively reveal Walmart’s exclusive artwork for their edition of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest chapter. Besides featuring exclusive cover art, Walmart’s version of Eternals’ disc release also comes with a limited-edition enamel pin of the Immortal Warriors of Olympia.

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary – View the film with audio commentary by Chloé Zhao, Stephane Ceretti and Mårten Larsson
• Immortalized – Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe launches into the cosmos with the Eternals. In this behind-the-scenes documentary, dive deep into the reasons why Marvel wanted to immortalize these superheroes for the MCU.
• Walks of Life – Eternals unveils Marvel's biggest and most diverse lineup of Super Heroes in one film. Hear reactions from the cast on being involved in the film and the instant sense of camaraderie that was felt on the day they all joined each other in their costumes.
• Gag Reel – Watch some of the hilarious mishaps of the charming cast and crew.
• Deleted Scenes:

1. Gravity – Phastos and Jack have a conversation that leads to a breakthrough.
2. Nostalgia – Sprite and Makkari reminisce about humankind while overlooking the ruins of Babylon.
3. Movies – Gilgamesh and Kingo connect over movies while crossing the Amazon River with the rest of the team.
4. Small Talk – Sprite confronts Dane in the museum about his interactions with Sersi.

Edited December 16, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Interview contains movie spoilers...

Eternals Spoiler Special: Chloé Zhao On Faith, The Original Ending And [OMITTED NAME]
By Chris Hewitt   December 28, 2021
Empire article link

Quote

Perhaps the biggest theme of the movie is about faith and belief and dogma, and how doggedly people will cling to that. Can you talk about approaching that theme and filtering it through those characters in that way?
I appreciate you picking up on that, because this is one of the main reasons that drew me to this story when I first read the treatment. I think of the moment when human civilization has shifted from deism to humanism, when many of us were starting to question the existence of Gods. We started to ask ourselves, "Are we responsible to give meaning to the cosmos now? It's a lot of responsibility." In modern society, there's a lot of anxiety. And for better or for worse, we're asking this question, "Is there a bigger plan out there? Is there a higher power? Are we part of this grand design? And if so, do we have the right to break out of it?" This is a question that I asked myself a lot. To be able to explore these themes in a genre that kind of was born out of that...I think we've asked this question since the dawn of time. Each character represents some population in terms of how they view their relationship with God, or this grand design and, and how they might evolve and change.

Ajak [Hayek], Kingo [Nanjiani] and Ikaris; those three have faith in our film. They do believe that human beings have no right to break out of the natural order, because so many more are going to be created. Ajak made a mistake; she had to believe the people on this planet are her children. And she decided to choose love. Ikaris held on to his beliefs and killed her. And Kingo has confirmed the beliefs, but he refused to hurt people for it. That's a very difficult thing for a superhero to do in Act Three of a superhero film – to step back and not fight and not hurt anybody.
*  *  *

Spoiler

There's probably a version of this movie where the last 20 minutes is the Celestials battling and special effects all over the place, but it's not that. The end of the movie is the creation of the of the 'uni-mind', with compassion and love overcoming that sense of destiny; overcoming violence.
I remember reading the treatments thinking to myself, 'Oh man, this is gonna be... really? So the climax moment of a superhero film is two people looking at each other, remembering that they love each other?'' I thought, 'This is the most exciting thing ever, and boy, am I gonna get myself in trouble.' But I just give a lot of props to Marvel and also to the actors. It's a very brave thing to do in today's climate – for Gemma to come in to the superhero genre as a woman, an Asian woman, who is not afraid to remain gentle and vulnerable, and not feel like she has to punch and be loud. That's a brave thing to do.

*  *  *

Spoiler

You end the film with several of our heroes being whisked away to God knows where, to face God knows what, and the final shot is of Dane Whitman [Harrington] looking a little bit bereft, but also determined to do something about it. Was that always how the film ended for you?
No. I have never made a film where the ending is what I wrote! You find it in the edit. Editing is a third of the filmmaking process, and when you show it to people, that's when you find the ending. I don't think I've made a single film where the opening and ending stay the same as the script, just because the scenes are fluid as we shoot. And we actually had another ending that is really bleak. Bleak. I didn't hate it, because I'm used to films that are more melancholy. But I don't think it went down well with audiences.

How bleak are we talking here?
It used to end with everybody back on the ship, minds erased and just going on to another planet, like The Twilight Zone. I remember when it goes to black, everyone was like, "I don't know what to do." And also, it's the MCU, and you want to be excited for what's next.

*  *  *

Spoiler

So I have to ask about the post-credit stings, and a certain Harry Styles. Can you talk about his casting as Eros? And why, even though he's a brother of Thanos, he's not purple and massive?
I can tell you why! Long story short, with that depressing ending, at some point he was going to be one of the Eternals on that ship. And that didn't quite work out. But I had been wanting to bring Eros into the MCU. So I kept mentioning it to Kevin [Feige] at every chance I had in the hallway, because I love the idea of Eros being another Eternal, another Ajak. He's an Eternal, and he was stationed on Titan – 10 of them were, just like the 10 Eternals on Earth, assuming Titan is also a host planet at some point. Now, if you think about that, what influence could Eros have had on the inhabitants of Titan, the way Ajak has influenced people on Earth? And how that has affected Thanos?

If you go to the comics, there's some quite beautiful, heartbreaking influence Eros has had on Thanos. And how much does Thanos know? I love him as a character. It makes my imagination go crazy thinking, 'Why does Thanos think this way? Why is he worried about overpopulation and destroying his planet?' Think about the emergence – does Eros know about it? Maybe if he's an advisor, the way Ajak advised kings and queens on Earth? It gets my imagination going. For me, the backstory of Eros is that he deserted, he said, "I'm not doing this anymore." So he somehow got that sphere, which you saw in his hand, and he ran off and made Pip the troll. They're like Han Solo and Chewie. Arishem's been looking for him, and he's just been a space outlaw. That's the character I had in my mind. But I never said once to Kevin, "Here's the character. Let's find an actor." For me, it was a package deal. It's got to be Harry. That's how I pitched it to Kevin.

Spoiler

I have to ask about that voice we hear at the end.
You know who that voice is, right? Everybody knows! It's Mr. Blade himself!

 

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Disney Spotlights Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek & More Actors for Eternals Oscars Campaign
By Richard Nebens    Jan 6, 2022
https://thedirect.com/article/eternals-angelina-jolie-salma-hayek-oscars-campaign

Quote

Disney has officially published its "For Your Consideration" page for Marvel Studios' Eternals during the 2022 awards campaign.

The list features names in nearly every Oscars category, including Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige as producer for Best Picture and Chloé Zhao for Best Director. Also listed are stars like Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek for Best Supporting Actress and Richard Madden for Best Actor.

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

How Scanline VFX helped shape a number of pivotal scenes in Eternals (interview with Scanline visual effects supervisor Jelmer Boskma)...

'Wow, that’s a lot of ownership. That is rare for us in visual effects.’
Ian Failes   January 6, 2022
https://beforesandafters.com/2022/01/06/wow-thats-a-lot-of-ownership-that-is-rare-for-us-in-visual-effects/ 

[tv echo]

Promo for Eternals' Wednesday streaming debut on Disney+...

Newest Heroes | Marvel Studios’ Eternals | Disney+
Marvel Entertainment    Jan 10, 2022

Also, two exclusive deleted scenes have been released...

Marvel's Eternals - Exclusive Official Deleted Scene (2021) Kit Harington, Lia McHugh
IGN   Jan 10, 2022

Lia McHugh's Sprite Gets Nostalgic in This Exclusive 'Eternals' Deleted Scene
Gil Macias    1/10/2022
https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/marvel-exclusive-eternals-deleted-scene

Quote

In the exclusive clip below, simply titled “Nostalgia,” it seems the eternally youthful Sprite (Lia McHugh) is feeling a little homesick as she gazes upon the ruins of the Babylon—the ill-fated ancient civilization the Eternals not only once protected, but also a place they called home. As she ponders whether humankind is worthy of being saved, Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) is quick to remind her about how the human race ultimately persevered and defeated a purple big bad named Thanos.

(T-Virus Terrance)

Edited January 10, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

'Eternals': Watch Harry Styles, Angelina Jolie and Cast in Hilarious Outtakes (Exclusive) 
By Liz Calvario‍ 10:14 AM PST, January 11, 2022
https://www.etonline.com/eternals-watch-harry-styles-angelina-jolie-and-cast-in-hilarious-outtakes-exclusive-177577

Quote

This gag reel shows the cast flubbing their lines, having laughing attacks, missing their mark, and Richard Madden overeating Twinkies in the backseat of a car. What fans will enjoy is seeing their favorite stars, including Styles, break out in dance while on the celestial set. Check out the "Watermelon Sugar" singer bust out his moves near the 0:36 mark, as well as Jolie, Gemma Chan, Don Lee, Kumail Nanjiani and more, in the video above.

Video: https://www.etonline.com/media/videos/watch-angelina-jolie-salma-hayek-and-cast-in-hilarious-eternals-outtakes-exclusive

Choose Your Eternal | Marvel Studios’ Eternals | Disney+
Marvel Entertainment   Jan 11, 2022

Gemma Chan Creates Her Own Good Work
Interview by Lynn Hirschberg    01.11.22
https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/gemma-chan-eternals-sersi-marvel-interview

Quote

Will you play Sersi again?
Yes. Marvel owns us for life. [Laughs]

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by tv echo

[dwmarch]

On 11/28/2021 at 10:37 AM, paigow said:

The Celestials can solve all their problems by making a new batch of Eternals with no emotion chip... They would eradicate all Deviants AND earlier model Eternals.

My thoughts as well. There was a scene where Sersi is talking to the big boss and for some reason he feels chatty and he takes her on a tour of the Skynet factory where Terminators are made. Except for some reason this factory only sends out the warm fuzzy Terminators like Uncle Bob, Pops and Carl and it gives them a mission that contradicts itself. They also seemed to have a squishy version of the Prime Directive where they pledged not to interfere except kinda-sorta here and there depending on scale. So Celestials, here's what you do. Create some new Eternals, blank slate. Have them understand that the population of the planet is food for the baby Celestial growing within. Order the Eternals not to play with their food and program them in such a way that they are not inclined to do so. 

Plot holes aside it was a big, beautiful movie and I wish I had seen it in the theater. I didn't feel as though it was very connected to the larger MCU and I am not sure if that is a bug or a feature. On the one hand I think the MCU should be a big universe where characters aren't always bumping into each other but on the other hand, I was fully expecting Nick Fury to show up at the end beside Game of Thrones dude.

I was a little dismayed that Sersi didn't turn Ikarus into a tree at the end. I was yelling at the screen for her to do it. "Turn him into a tree. TURN HIM INTO A GODDAMN TREE. He'll be the only tree out there, it will be beautiful." But I guess she didn't have enough juice left.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 11/30/2021 at 6:22 AM, arc said:

 The way I saw it, Ikaris is a true believer. He’s known the truth of the mission for millennia and committed the whole time.

It would be closer to the truth to call Ikaris a fanatic. He tells Ajak in her final scene that he'd trusted her for nearly ten thousand years, but he'd never questioned his duty to the Celestials. That he kills her, or lets her be killed, because she changed her mind makes his tears over her body some bullshit. The only reason the group broke up at all is because Thena had become unstable and dangerous. If she hadn't started to crack up, necessitating her departure with Gilgamesh as her unofficial guardian, would Ajak have taken the opportunity to look at the world through the eyes of someone witnessing the aftermath of the Snap? Ikaris decided that Ajak had abandoned the faith (the mission), and so he causes her death. That's a fanatic.

[Spartan Girl]

Finally watched this on Disney+ last night, and while I didn’t like it as much as Shang-Chi and No Way Home, it was pretty good. Followed it better than I thought I would, since I wasn’t familiar with Eternals.

Kingo’s Bollywood sequence was my favorite part of the movie. Kumail’s facial expressions as he danced were priceless.

LOL at Phastos’ son calling Ikaris Superman. There is a resemblance…

Love Dane. Though I couldn’t help yelling “You still know nothing, Jon Snow!” at my screen at the beginning (damn you GOT).

I started to get suspicious of Ikaris halfway through. Man, there’s always a turncoat in these movies. EVERY FREAKING TIME. And I wanted to smack Sprite upside the head.

18 hours ago, dwmarch said:

I was a little dismayed that Sersi didn't turn Ikarus into a tree at the end. I was yelling at the screen for her to do it. "Turn him into a tree. TURN HIM INTO A GODDAMN TREE. He'll be the only tree out there, it will be beautiful." But I guess she didn't have enough juice left.

Well, he had to live up to his name and fly too close to the sun, didn’t he?

That cliffhanger! Worst one since Infinity War! I may have to see the next one.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[tv echo]

This video includes 4 deleted scenes (the first 2 are the ones previously posted above in this thread, but the last 2 are new)...

MARVEL ETERNALS ALL DELETED SCENES
Adi gaming   Jan 13, 2022

And here's another promo...

Action | Marvel Studios’ Eternals | Disney+
Marvel Entertainment    Jan 12, 2022

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by tv echo

[AnimeMania]

The thing I didn't like about the movie was when they introduced the new Eternals at the end they were God like deities that we were familiar with, we have legends of an Eros and Leprechauns why not choose some powerful characters that felt like we hadn't encountered them before. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

8 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

And I wanted to smack Sprite upside the head.

Kind of? Where Sprite had my sympathy and Ikaris didn't is that Sprite had been stuck in the body of an adolescent/teenager for millennia, but with all of the knowledge and adult yearnings she couldn't fulfill. In the beginning of the film, she meets up with Dane and Sersi at the party they were attending with a snarky, "It's past my bedtime," but that would have had to sting when she was just as old as Sersi and had spent as many years believing she was a protector. She went with Ikaris partly because she really did want the world to end, just so it would be over, but also because she wanted what Sersi, and Makkari and Druig for that matter, had; to be seen as a grown up and not the young girl she presented as.
 

3 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

The thing I didn't like about the movie was when they introduced the new Eternals at the end they were God like deities that we were familiar with, we have legends of an Eros and Leprechauns why not choose some powerful characters that felt like we hadn't encountered them before. 

Think of them as extensions of Sprite's stories, if that helps. Thena isn't actually Athena, the goddess of war, as she tells Phastos' son near the end of the movie. Similarly, there's no reason to believe that Eros/Starfox is that Eros, or that his drunken herald is a leprechaun. If he's Thanos' brother, he must have been born on Titan before it was rendered uninhabitable, so he's an alien, not a god. I'm not sure of what to think of Harry Styles being cast yet, since this is only his second "real" acting job, but his face didn't automatically annoy me, so there's that.

[festivus]

Y'all, my husband had to tell me that was Harry Styles. What is this world coming to? I can't say I'm happy trading him for Richard Madden. 

I think I actually really liked it but I'm not sure of the rewatch factor. I will say I'm still thinking about it today so that's something. I did like that with so many actors, they did feel like a family.

[tv echo]

Fandango shared the first 9 minutes of Eternals...

W Magazine's Best Performances:
Lauren Ridloff Steps Into Her Power
Interview by Lynn Hirschberg  01.14.22
https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/lauren-ridloff-eternals-interview-2022 

Quote

So how did you end up in Eternals?
It's a really funny story, actually. I was taking my son to an audition. It was for him. And in that audition, the casting director saw me, and she said, "I would like to see you in a Marvel movie." And I didn't take it very seriously because I mean, really? A few months later I found myself sitting in a meeting with Chloé Zhao and [producer] Nate Moore.
*  *  *
Did you have to do a lot of physical training to get into character for Eternals?
One of the nice things about working with Chloé, especially for Eternals, is that she tailored each character to meet the actor who was representing that character. And so when I was cast for the role of Makkari, it wasn't a huge life change for me. I've been running ever since I was in high school. I'm not as fast as Makkari. I've always kind of been a lazy runner, but I ran. I considered myself a runner, and it was a very natural first step for me. But the training was really more focused on developing my core strength. Whenever I run like Makkari, I run while being on wires, and you have to wear this really tight harness. My superhero suit was very comfortable—I made sure of that. But wearing the harness was like running with a corset on. That was one of the most physically challenging things about being in Eternals. And I was supposed to make it look easy.

Also:

Behind the Tech | Eternals: AR Story Experience
Marvel Entertainment    Jan 13, 2022

 

Edited January 14, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Chloé Zhao on IMAX | Marvel Studios’ Eternals | Disney+
Marvel Entertainment   Jan 14, 2022

 

[Frost]

I don't read the comics so I really don't know how Eternals meshes with the rest of the MCU.  I am confused about Earth being the celestial "egg".  Why would Ego have planted Earth with his "seeds" in the 1970's if there was already a celestial incubating here?  In cosmic time, the few decades between the 70's and the Tiamut hatching would be nothing.  Would Ego really not know Tiamut was there?

[Racj82]

Woo boy.

Nope. Not great.

Too many new characters to introduce.

The mission is too muddled. We also spend most of the running time trying to get back together a group we barely saw together in the first place.

Gemma Chan was so fucking bland. I still don't who she is as a character. As a person. 

It wasn't horrible. I don't think any marvel has actually been terrible. But, this is in the  i don't care/already forgot about it bin. For me.

[absnow54]

Caught this on Disney+ and it was... fine? It definitely dragged, which was weird, because the movie was so densely packed. If they were going to set up a sequel anyway, they should have ended the movie with the reveal that the emergence would destroy Earth, and that Ikaris killed Ajax. Then they could have focused the first movie on the original conflicts that broke the Eternals up in the past, juxtaposed against them getting the band back together to battle the last remaining deviants.

I feel like there were a ton of character beats missing. They set up the conflict between Ajax and Ikaris, but there seemed to be a lot of animosity towards Ikaris from the rest of the members that would have been nice to explore. Also, I agree with others who complained that they didn't fold them into the MCU much. I don't need character cameos, but I would have liked some flashbacks to major MCU events to see the Eternals react to them. I imagine the blip would have been devastating for them to witness after thousands of years nurturing civilization. (Side note: since they're technically robots, I don't think any of them would have been blipped. I thought only living creatures were dusted.) Or the blip could have been used as a trigger to bring the Eternals back together, since their objective was to reach a certain amount of life to trigger the emergence, and encountered a HUGE set back, but that probably would have been difficult to weave the plot around why they didn't show up in Endgame.

This movie also suffered from having far more interesting background characters. The relationship between Druig and Makkari was far more endearing than Sersi and Ikaris. And I feel like the group only started to jive once Phastos showed up. Kit Harrington as Dane was also promising. I hope he shows up in Blade and is given more to do.

[Bill1978]

I honestly didn't know what to expect from this movie. Based on a property I have no idea about, a movie with a large cast of main characters and then tepid reviews so I waited until it was out on home release because I convinced myself it wasn't worth the risk of seeing in the cinema. I'm kinda regretting not seeing it in the cinema now.

I really enjoyed it. I think the appeal to me is that except for a couple of throw away lines it really didn't link to the MCU, it felt like its very own movie that could be enjoyed on its own. Someone who has never watched a single Marvel movie could easily watch this and know what is happening. While based on a Marvel property it just felt like a new science fiction/fantasy movie. And the movie somehow made me enjoy Angelina Jolie for the first time in years.

As an Aussie I may have let out a little yay to see Australia finally appear in the MCU and was so grateful no kangaroos were shown.

I thought my favourite moment was going to be the short Robb Stark/Jon Snow reunion but that was eclipsed by Phastos' little tender moment with Ben. 

I'm definitely keen to see a sequel that's for sure. Probably my favourite Phase 4 content so far (I've haven't seen the new Spiderman yet)

I've tried to google the answer but not having much luck but are all the Eternals based on gods from different cultures? Their names anyway?

[Anduin]

1 hour ago, Bill1978 said:

As an Aussie I may have let out a little yay to see Australia finally appear in the MCU and was so grateful no kangaroos were shown.

Yeah, but they also used the old name for Uluru. You win some, you lose some.

[Bill1978]

7 hours ago, Anduin said:

eah, but they also used the old name for Uluru. You win some, you lose some.

Did they really? I missed that. Must have been right at that moment my brain was either cheering the MCU was visiting Australia or realising they didn't physically film in Australaia.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Anduin said:

Yeah, but they also used the old name for Uluru. You win some, you lose some.

They did? I watched yesterday and didn’t see that. That section was just labeled Australia. 

[Anduin]

4 hours ago, Bill1978 said:

Did they really? I missed that. Must have been right at that moment my brain was either cheering the MCU was visiting Australia or realising they didn't physically film in Australaia.

 

3 hours ago, Dani said:

They did? I watched yesterday and didn’t see that. That section was just labeled Australia. 

It's listed on the wiki movie page as both names. The page for the actual location has the old name. I've never edited a wiki before, anyone else know what needs doing in terms of changing a page name?

[arc]

18 hours ago, absnow54 said:

If they were going to set up a sequel anyway, they should have ended the movie with the reveal that the emergence would destroy Earth, and that Ikaris killed Ajax.

That kind of looming threat would be fine in a standalone franchse, but as part of the larger MCU, leaving it open would overshadow every subsequent MCU film that didn't address it.

11 hours ago, Bill1978 said:

I've tried to google the answer but not having much luck but are all the Eternals based on gods from different cultures? Their names anyway?

I think back when they were originally conceived Jack Kirby was really into both ancient aliens and mythology. I mean, he'd also already co-created Thor and Hercules for Marvel by that point, and their associated Norse and Greek pantheons, which honestly makes the Eternals mirroring the Greek pantheon a clunky retcon. I just learned right now that in the comics, there were 100 Eternals, not 10.

It's not just names either; to some extent the power sets -- or power specializations -- reflect their mythology-inspired names too, most obviously with Zuras being the lead in the comics and also kinda like Olympia's Zeus, and Makkari being a speedster like the Roman god Mercury.

[Jediknight]

This should have been a Disney+ show.

It was like they took a season of a show and compressed it to 2 and a half hours, while keeping all the characters, all the plotlines, and the pacing of a show.  It would have worked better as a show.  We could have been introduced to the characters, built up the plotlines, and the slow pacing would have made sense.

[Bill1978]

38 minutes ago, Anduin said:

It's listed on the wiki movie page as both names.

The place is officially gazetted as Uluru/Ayers Rock as of 2003. Although I would like to think most of us Aussies now just call it Uluru.

[Anduin]

2 hours ago, Bill1978 said:

The place is officially gazetted as Uluru/Ayers Rock as of 2003. Although I would like to think most of us Aussies now just call it Uluru.

Ah. Looks like I'm either behind or in front of the times. Either way, I can't remember the last time I heard an Aussie call it Ayer's Rock. It's been Uluru as long as I can recall, and that's the name I prefer.

[Bruinsfan]

Aside from the respect owed to the people who have held it as a sacred place for thousands and thousands of years, Uluru just SOUNDS so much cooler than Ayers Rock!

[Bill1978]

9 hours ago, Anduin said:

Ah. Looks like I'm either behind or in front of the times. Either way, I can't remember the last time I heard an Aussie call it Ayer's Rock. It's been Uluru as long as I can recall, and that's the name I prefer.

In 1993, the government passed some act or something which renamed Ayer's Rock to Ayer's Rock/Uluru on all signage and documentation etc. Then in 2003 out of respect to the traditional owners it was swapped around to Uluru/Ayer's Rock.

From memory it was around the 1993 renaming that the media started referring to the rock as solely Uluru and I don't think I've come across anybody in Australia who says Ayer's Rock or asks what's Uluru?

I did some digging and it seems the Eternals/Uluru dilemma actually stems from the Monopoly game where the square is labelled Ayer's Rock and not Uluru.

[Racj82]

On 1/18/2022 at 4:48 AM, Jediknight said:

This should have been a Disney+ show.

It was like they took a season of a show and compressed it to 2 and a half hours, while keeping all the characters, all the plotlines, and the pacing of a show.  It would have worked better as a show.  We could have been introduced to the characters, built up the plotlines, and the slow pacing would have made sense.

Also, they did a lets get the band back together story for a group we just met and it took them 80 percent of the run time to reform said band. Also, by that point, two of them are dead. I mean...come on.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Racj82

[tv echo]

Marvel Studios: Assembled - The Making of Eternals will premiere on Feb. 16 on Disney+...

What’s Coming To Disney+ In February 2022 (US)
Jan 18, 2022
https://whatsondisneyplus.com/whats-coming-to-disney-in-february-2022-us/ 

Quote

Wednesday 16th February 2022

Marvel Studios: Assembled – The Making of “Eternals”
An in-depth look at the making of “Eternals” that takes viewers behind-the-scenes with on-set footage, conversations with stars and filmmakers, and more. See how “Eternals” came to life in this fascinating, exclusive examination of the production.

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Eternals Just Broke the MCU's Disney+ Viewership Record
By Nathan Johnson    January 18, 2022
https://thedirect.com/article/eternals-mcu-disney-plus-viewership-record 

Quote

According to a report from Samba TV via Twitter, Marvel's Eternals was streamed by 2 million households during its first five days on Disney+.

It was also reported by Luis Fernando that the film broke the record for most streams by a Marvel Studios movie in the first five days after release, surpassing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which held the previous record.

For comparison, Shang-Chi was watched by 1.8 million households in its first five days on the streaming service, and Black Widow amassed 1.1 million views.

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by tv echo

[Bruinsfan]

Note to self: Get as much scheduled work requiring internet connection as possible done BEFORE No Way Home debuts on Disney+.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Bruinsfan said:

Note to self: Get as much scheduled work requiring internet connection as possible done BEFORE No Way Home debuts on Disney+.

You have some time. The Sony/Disney streaming deal is for new releases starting in 2022. No Way Home has to go through their old distribution deals with Starz and others first. 

[caracas1914]

Mixed bag, not as bad as the fanboys claimed but neither a genuinely cinematic breakthrough for the genre.

The  Eternals film never resolved the dilemma the comic book also had; how to fit it in with the rest of the MCU.  

Even making them artificial beings seems like a weaselly way to exclude them from the effects of Thano's snap (ie robots are not living beings) while depriving them a genuine sense of self or history.

Another issue bleeded over from the comics: Celestials are  these huge unimaginably powerful beings (forces of nature?) who are responsible for the physical creation of the Universe but are dull as dishrags as far as characters.   So they are in a sense the villains but almost nothing you can connect to, and the Deviants who at least in the comics were intelligent beings (one was Thena's lover) are reduced to generic  movie monsters.

The ambition was there:  a storyline encompassing 5000 years of mankind's history, and Marvel's first genuinely international and diverse cast (Agreed that the Bollywood Eternal movie star storyline was such fun) and the conflict between duty and what is the greater good.   So I liked flashes of it that was different from the Marvel movie formula , and some of the self mocking humor was welcome, but at the same time the film couldn't shake a sense of  ennui hanging over the Eternals  that made things seem so depressing.  Try to survive centuries of passive non interference when you have the power to change things.

One final vent;  it annoys me no end that these Eternals that stood by while billions of beings over millions of years were sacrificed for the Eternals grand design ( basically all a planet's inhabitants were fodder for a celestial's birth) would only have their consciousness awaken by mankind.   Yes, the world's humans are *that* special from everyone else.   Rolling eyeballs.  

Edited January 20, 2022 by caracas1914

[Cobalt Stargazer]

11 minutes ago, caracas1914 said:

One final vent;  it annoys me no end that these Eternals that passively stood by while billions of beings over millions of years were sacrificed for the Eternals grand design ( basically all a planet's inhabitants were fodder for a celestial's birth) would only have their consciousness awaken by mankind.   Yes, the world's humans are *that* special from everyone else.   Rolling eyeballs.  

To some extent, we've already encountered this. Not standing by passively, but not even knowing that very large threats exist. Supposedly, Stephen Strange kept a watch list of people/beings who could put the world in jeopardy, and Loki was on it, but he had no idea Thanos was out there until Bruce Banner destroyed his skylight.

Come to that, the trailer for his upcoming movie makes it clear he knows what Wanda did in Westview, though it's not stated how, and yet either he didn't find out until after the fact or he just couldn't be bothered to contact her until he needed something from her, but that's a separate conversation.

Ego was mentioned upthread. Did Arishem know that Ego existed, and if so was Arishem aware that Ego had already meant for the earth to be part of his rebirth? It's not as if they'd have drawn lots to see who got what, and that's not even bringing Thanos into it, who is the reason the Celestial planted inside the earth didn't wake up five years previously in canon. It's the uber-powered equivalent of all the human groups who run around doing things and yet somehow never really encounter one another. Here, only Ajak and Ikaris knew the full extent of what the plan was. Phastos and Druig had doubts, particularly Phastos after Hiroshima, but it's only Ajak who consciously changes her mind. And Ikaris killed her for it. It's never made clear why Arishem himself didn't intercede when Thanos was gathering the Infinity Stones, bypass the group entirely and shut him down before all those human lives went up in clouds of ash. He's so powerful he can create immortal robots, but he can't deal with one lunatic with a plan that isn't even a permanent solution?

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Supposedly, Stephen Strange kept a watch list of people/beings who could put the world in jeopardy, and Loki was on it, but he had no idea Thanos was out there until Bruce Banner destroyed his skylight.

Why would Strange know about a threat in the universe when he had no way to get information from other planets? He knew about Loki because Loki had already tried to conquest Earth. His sphere of influence in the universe is pretty small.

[caracas1914]

2 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

To some extent, we've already encountered this. Not standing by passively, but not even knowing that very large threats exist. Supposedly, Stephen Strange kept a watch list of people/beings who could put the world in jeopardy, and Loki was on it, but he had no idea Thanos was out there until Bruce Banner destroyed his skylight.

  Hide contents

Come to that, the trailer for his upcoming movie makes it clear he knows what Wanda did in Westview, though it's not stated how, and yet either he didn't find out until after the fact or he just couldn't be bothered to contact her until he needed something from her, but that's a separate conversation.

Ego was mentioned upthread. Did Arishem know that Ego existed, and if so was Arishem aware that Ego had already meant for the earth to be part of his rebirth? It's not as if they'd have drawn lots to see who got what, and that's not even bringing Thanos into it, who is the reason the Celestial planted inside the earth didn't wake up five years previously in canon. It's the uber-powered equivalent of all the human groups who run around doing things and yet somehow never really encounter one another. Here, only Ajak and Ikaris knew the full extent of what the plan was. Phastos and Druig had doubts, particularly Phastos after Hiroshima, but it's only Ajak who consciously changes her mind. And Ikaris killed her for it. It's never made clear why Arishem himself didn't intercede when Thanos was gathering the Infinity Stones, bypass the group entirely and shut him down before all those human lives went up in clouds of ash. He's so powerful he can create immortal robots, but he can't deal with one lunatic with a plan that isn't even a permanent solution?

That's why the Celestials are tough to use as actual  characters,  Ego, Thanos, etc have relatable emotions/feelings/ to bounce off of.   The Celestials: nada, zip.   Sentient Lives mean nothing to them if it's stands in the way of their "projects".  How the Eternals are treated, rebooted and recycled by the Celestial shows they don't even consider their loyal minions in anything.  

The  best rationale I can think of regarding the Celestials is that they are  the general building contractors hired  to build/renovate the Universe, they have their "methods" they've used forever and that's just the way things are.   Ever  tried arguing with a building contractor??  You  get nowhere.    It's not even whether the Celestials  are a force of good or evil, they are almost presented as beyond that.    (Tear down an existing  wall to build up a new building in its stead, kill a few billion to create a new galaxy).

The conundrum per the Celestials creating the Eternals to destroy the Deviants is that the Deviants are presented as potentially delaying  the population of host worlds increasing to the desired limit to create the energy needed to birth a Celestial.  So it is shown that the timetable is important to stick to. 

Well, Thanos blew that up  across the whole frigging universe, so that would delay their construction timetable far more than the Deviants could dream to accomplish.  

Again, maybe they could have introduced the Celestials as this late date somewhat plausibly, but IMO  the way they presented them on screen in this movie makes no  sense. 

 

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by caracas1914

[tv echo]

Eternals Director Teases Major Implications of Kit Harington's Post-Credits Scene
By Richard Nebens    January 21, 2022
https://thedirect.com/article/eternals-kit-harington-post-credits-scene-implications 

Quote

In the recently released Eternals Audio Commentary, director Chloé Zhao teased where star Kit Harington is set to go with his Dane Whitman after the movie's second post-credits scene.

Speaking with production visual effects supervisor Stephane Ceretti and additional visual effects supervisor Mårten Larsson, Zhao shared how exciting it was to see Whitman's interaction with the Ebony Blade as he heard Mahershala Ali's MCU introduction as Blade. Specifically,  Zhao noted that the scene"sets up so much" for the MCU's future.
*  *  *
Chloé Zhao: "Ebony Blade, who would have thought. I definitely geek out quite a bit, especially when the voice that comes in the end."

Mårten Larsson: "It's just a cool post-credits scene. Simple, but sets up so much."

Chloé Zhao: "Sets up so much... And, I love this effect they use on the sword so much. Did we use... Was it sand magnets?

Stephane Ceretti: "It was magnetic ferrite... I think it's cool."

Chloé Zhao: "Yeah, the idea of a blood curse, how to show that."
*  *  *
Harington's Dane Whitman came into possession of the Ebony Blade in the second post-credits scene, a weapon forged by Merlin and imbued with magical powers such as near-immortality and the ability to cut through any object in its way. That magic started to show itself as the magnetic ferrite described in the quotes put the VFX to the big screen, all while the brooding voice of Blade warned Whitman of the dangers involved with the weapon.

 

Edited January 22, 2022 by tv echo

[Kel Varnsen]

Watched it with my kids today and yesterday. It was ok I guess. Easily in the bottom half of MCU movies. Better than Iron Man 2 for sure but not sure if better than Age of Ultron. A big problem is there was so much information to dump on people right from the start (it's hard to pull off a wall of text at the beginning of your movie and still make it good). And then to top it off, half way through they tell you that all their information is actually not th true story. But I get that they were setting up a whole new world so it would be hard to find a way to explain things. The movie was also really slow.

I did like Cersi though and am interested in seeing more of her story. And the whole thing where Sprite lived for 1000's of years trapped in a teenager's body sounds like torture, since you can basically never have friends. So I liked that that was her motivation. I kind of liked Thena, but probably more than any other MCU actor it was hard to watch her and not think "it's Angelina Jolie".

Also for people who know more about Celestials than me, now that we know their origin and how they are formed, how does that line up with Knowhere being the skull of a dead celestial?

[Bruinsfan]

About the Sprite thing, wouldn't she have appeared to be of prime marrying age throughout much of human history? She wouldn't have had a shot at Ikaris while he and Sersi were involved regardless, but she could have sought out romantic relationships with humans at any point. I'm pretty sure there are still cultures today where that might be an option for her.

[Kel Varnsen]

22 minutes ago, Bruinsfan said:

About the Sprite thing, wouldn't she have appeared to be of prime marrying age throughout much of human history? She wouldn't have had a shot at Ikaris while he and Sersi were involved regardless, but she could have sought out romantic relationships with humans at any point. I'm pretty sure there are still cultures today where that might be an option for her.

I think when you are someone who looks that young it is going to become apparent a lot quicker to people that you aren't aging. While if you are someone in your 20's or 30's (or older) people would probably figure it is a Paul Rudd kind of thing (or Samuel L Jackson thing) as that would be a much more logical explanation.

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I think when you are someone who looks that young it is going to become apparent a lot quicker to people that you aren't aging. While if you are someone in your 20's or 30's (or older) people would probably figure it is a Paul Rudd kind of thing (or Samuel L Jackson thing) as that would be a much more logical explanation.

This. When Sprite confronted Kingo about abandoning her he talked about being tired of having to move every 5 years. 

50 minutes ago, Bruinsfan said:

About the Sprite thing, wouldn't she have appeared to be of prime marrying age throughout much of human history? She wouldn't have had a shot at Ikaris while he and Sersi were involved regardless, but she could have sought out romantic relationships with humans at any point. I'm pretty sure there are still cultures today where that might be an option for her.

Probably but would she want any of them. The Eternals are shown to have a modern sensibility and viewed each other has equals. That’s certainly not the way she would be viewed by others for much of history.