Eternals (2021)

[rmontro]

I kind of vaguely remember the Eternals from the comics back in the 70s.  My impression of them was that they were sort of a retread of the New Gods Jack Kirby had created for DC.  A somewhat similar theme.  

I've heard a lot of people say this is going to be Marvels first flop.  I hope it is successful, and that they've done something interesting with the characters, and made a good film.  If only because it would be nice to get Jack Kirby a little more notoriety (which sounds ridiculous, since he's such a giant in the industry).  

10 hours ago, Matt K said:

It's kind of neat to be introduced to a group I have little familiarity with (except Black Knight). 

 From what I've heard (which are only rumors), Dane Whitman is going to be in this movie, but he isn't going to become the Black Knight just yet.

[Pearson80]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

I've heard a lot of people say this is going to be Marvels first flop.  I hope it is successful, and that they've done something interesting with the characters, and made a good film.  If only because it would be nice to get Jack Kirby a little more notoriety (which sounds ridiculous, since he's such a giant in the industry).  

12 hours ago, Matt K said:

Why are people rooting  for it to fail?  They said the same thing about Black Panther and Captain Marvel.  The hatred for Captain Marvel was unbelievable and it has never made any sense, people were triggered and I was left scratching my head..

[Guest]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

I've heard a lot of people say this is going to be Marvels first flop. 

I remember seeing the exact same things said about Ant-Man, Guardians and Captain Marvel.  

At this point I don’t think it’s possible for a single Marvel movie to flop. They have too much goodwill built up. That would have to be damaged somewhat for a movie to truly flop. Now if Black Widow and Shang-Chi are subpar I could see Eternals possibly flopping. 

2 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

Why are people rooting  for it to fail?  They said the same thing about Black Panther and Captain Marvel.  The hatred for Captain Marvel was unbelievable and it has never made any sense, people were triggered and I was left scratching my head..

Because they desperately want to believe go woke, go broke is an actual thing. 

[tv echo]

Eternals comments from Part 2 of Rotten Tomatoes interview with Kevin Feige... 

Kevin Feige on MCU’s Phase 4 – Part 2: Shang-Chi, Eternals, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever & More
Rotten Tomatoes   Jul 12, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZZ_PWwbjb4

-- Kevin Feige: "Chloe [Zhao] had expressed interest in Marvel many years ago. Even when Brad Winderbaum, our producer on Black Widow, was looking for a filmmaker, her name came up. She'd done a great film called The Rider... She ended up not - not coming in on that film, I don't believe, and we're very lucky to get, uh, Cate Shortland to direct that movie at Scarlett's suggestion. But when - when we were working on Eternals and our producer Nate Moore was coming up with this pitch to really embrace one of Jack Kirby's greatest creations for Marvel, um, amongst all of his great creations, but the Eternals, this race of immortal beings who've been on Earth for millennial is one of his best, and he asked Chloe to come in and meet. And they really just clicked on this notion of a history of humanity and what it means to be human and the viewpoint of that through these characters, the Eternals. And she came in with a pitch that got into visuals, which was - which was beautiful, but more importantly into these characters. These are 10 new characters [introduced] into the - into the world, which is a very difficult thing to do, and she embraced that challenge and had a unique viewpoint for every single one of them. And I'm happy to say, from that initial pitch and meeting to the near final version of the film where we are now, um, she has both won a handful of Academy Awards in between and delivered on her promise of, uh, of what the Eternals could be. And I look forward to people seeing that one as well."

Edited July 13, 2021 by tv echo

[Bruinsfan]

On 6/1/2021 at 8:03 PM, Dani said:

Because they desperately want to believe go woke, go broke is an actual thing. 

Yep. Man-babies upset because the movie features non-white actors, and women who aren't just there to pose and look sexy.

Some of them might take consolation in the nominally straight white male lead being front-and-center, so I hope Madden brings Froy Gutierrez as his date to the premiere and it's splashed all over whatever news sources the ComicsGate types follow. (Harrington they can keep.)

[tv echo]

Chloe Zhao Says Gemma Chan’s ‘Eternals’ Character Will Make Viewers “Rethink What It Means to Be Heroic”
BY ABBEY WHITE    AUGUST 6, 2021
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/chloe-zhao-gemma-chan-marvel-eternals-sersi-hero-1234991215/ 

Quote

Eternals director Chloé Zhao and Sersi actress Gemma Chan are promising that the upcoming Marvel film’s female hero and “empath” will invite audiences to reevaluate their expectations around superheroes.

Speaking to Vogue UK, Zhao and Chan both alluded to Sersi, one of the ensemble’s million-year-old cosmic beings, as a new imagining of the Marvel superhero, with Zhao telling the magazine that it has been a personal passion to “create a nuanced female superhero,” especially one that is “rarely seen in this genre.”

While describing Chan not only as “a great actress” who is both intelligent and brave, the director shared that both of them shared in this desire to imagine a female hero in this way.
*  *  *
“Gemma was very interested in this idea as well and took on the challenge,” Zhao said. “She brought a beautiful sense of gentleness, compassion and vulnerability to Sersi that I believe will invite viewers to rethink what it means to be heroic.”
*  *  *
But with her big MCU return, the actress teased that with her character, Sersi, viewers should be ready to expect something outside what we’ve come to expect from cinematic superheros. “She’s not necessarily the best fighter, she doesn’t have the most obviously impressive powers,” Chan explained. “The main thing is she’s an empath. She has a connection with humans, and with the world and the earth. That is her strength, so I leant into that.”

Like all Marvel projects, details around the film are heavily guarded, but Chan was able to divulge not only a bit about her character, but Sersi’s relationship with fellow Eternal Ikaris, who is played by Game of Thrones and Bodyguard star Richard Madden. Chan, who screen-tested with Madden, described the two as “immortal soulmates,” before sharing what she thought was a fun challenge to representing their love story on screen, made slightly easier by the two’s established real-life relationship.

“That was a fun thing to play. Over a span of a thousand years, how do you play a normal relationship?” she said. “The good thing is, Richard and I have known each other for over 10 years.”

 

Edited August 7, 2021 by tv echo

[Morrigan2575]

2 hours ago, tv echo said:

She’s not necessarily the best fighter, she doesn’t have the most obviously impressive powers,” Chan explained. “The main thing is she’s an empath. She has a connection with humans, and with the world and the earth. That is her strength, so I leant into that.”

Uh, WTF?  Crap, that's not the Sersi I remember. The Sersi I remember was super powerful, like one of the most powerful Eternals. 

Ah well, I will wait and see but, they better not screw her up! 😬

Edited August 7, 2021 by Morrigan2575

[Bruinsfan]

Yeah, Sersi was the most skilled of all the Eternals at molecular rearrangement. She didn't have to be the best fighter when she could turn the air in someone's lungs to knock-out gas!

[tv echo]

Marvel's Eternals Will Not Get a Dual Theatrical/Streaming Release
BY BRIAN CRONIN    AUGUST 2, 2021
https://www.cbr.com/marvel-eternals-theatrical-release-no-simultaneous-streaming/ 

Quote

Amidst the controversy over its current releases of films like Black Widow, Cruella and Jungle Cruise into theaters at the same time that they are released as Premier Access titles on Disney+, Disney is revealing that the Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Eternals, will only be released into theaters when it comes out in November.

The news was revealed somewhat discreetly, as there was a new TV commercial for the upcoming film during the Summer Olympics on NBC. It was just a re-airing of the previously shared teaser trailer for the film, only now the commercial ends with "Only in theaters November 5."

 

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by tv echo

[blackwing]

On 8/7/2021 at 12:44 PM, Morrigan2575 said:

Uh, WTF?  Crap, that's not the Sersi I remember. The Sersi I remember was super powerful, like one of the most powerful Eternals. 

Ah well, I will wait and see but, they better not screw her up! 😬

Wait, Sersi in this movie is an empath?  Will be curious to see exactly how they interpret her powers then in the movie.  Mantis in the movies is an empath and was attuned to people's feelings.  The comic character Starfox I guess could be called an empath in some respect, he is able to stimulate/manipulate the pleasure centers in someone's brain, and from what I remember in the comics, this is how he could use this power usefully in a fight.  Wonder if this is how Sersi in the movies will be.  I guess molecular matter manipulation was too expensive and would need too much CGI?

[Morrigan2575]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

guess molecular matter manipulation was too expensive and would need too much CGI?

I can't imagine it would be more expensive than what they did with Wanda in WandaVision.  I'm guessing it's Story/Character driven. Maybe they're using her "empathy" to explain why the Eternals finally came back? 

[Bruinsfan]

I hope that they're going to adopt the backstory from that Neil Gaiman Eternals series. It would explain perfectly why none of them lifted a finger against Thanos or any of the other big threats to the world over recent years.

[blackwing]

https://ew.com/movies/eternals-character-guide/

Hmmm... this article says that Sersi has the ability to manipulate non-sentient matter and a quote from Gemma Chan about how she can "change things".  So maybe she is indeed the Sersi from the comics.  But then again, in the other quote, Chan said that Sersi's main power is that she is an empath.  Who knows at this point...

Also, I thought it was widely reported that Sersi was the leader of the Eternals.  There was a lot being made about the movie poster, about how Sersi is the leader and yet the poster puts Richard Madden's Ikaris in the prominent central position.  But in this article, now Salma Hayek's Ajak is identified as the leader.

It will be interesting to see how this movie does.  The media makes such a big deal out of "Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao's Marvel debut" but honestly, this is a comic book movie.  I don't think Chloe Zhao is nearly the draw that the media thinks she is.  People are going to come for the actors and the characters.  This movie suffers because 99% of moviegoers will have zero clue who any of these characters are.  At least Captain America, Spider Man, Iron Man, and Hulk might have been familiar or recognisable to even those who have never read comics.

I have been a comic fan for decades and have never heard of some of these characters.  The only Eternals I know are the ones that touched the Avengers - Sersi, Starfox, Gilgamesh.  And I know Ikaris for some reason.  The rest are blanks to me.  I don't think the characters are going to be the draws for this movie, but it does have some recognisable name stars - Angelina, Salma, Richard Madden, Kit Harrington - who may be able to draw people in.

[tv echo]

Hmm - Feige is still hedging...

Edited August 18, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

On 8/18/2021 at 9:40 AM, blackwing said:

Also, I thought it was widely reported that Sersi was the leader of the Eternals.  There was a lot being made about the movie poster, about how Sersi is the leader and yet the poster puts Richard Madden's Ikaris in the prominent central position.  But in this article, now Salma Hayek's Ajak is identified as the leader.

My understanding is that Gemma Chan is considered the lead actor among the ensemble cast, because her character, Sersi, is the lead (main) role in the movie, Eternals. But Sersi is not the leader of the team, Eternals, within the movie. From this April 28, 2021 Variety article:

Quote

[Kevin Feige:] When it came to casting, that also did affect it. There were some characters that we change from male to female, there were some characters that we knew how we were altering them from the books. But then also it came down to casting. So for Sersi, for instance — and if there was a lead in this ensemble, it is Sersi, it is Gemma Chan — we looked at and read all sorts of women for that part. And ended up really believing that Gemma was best for it. And thankfully, she’s proven that to be the case in the final movie.

As for the leader of the Eternals team, if the spoilers are correct (which I don't know if they are or not),

Spoiler

Ajak (Salma Hayek) was the original leader of the Eternals, but she dies and, I think, Ikaris  (Richard Madden) tries to become the new leader of the Eternals. 

Also, as far as I know, there's only been one official poster released by Marvel so far - here:
https://www.marvel.com/articles/movies/eternals-poster-new-super-heroes

FYI: EW did a series of features on Marvel's Eternals. In addition to their characters guide, here's their behind-the-scenes Eternals article:
Hope Springs: Go behind the scenes of Marvel's Eternals 

Quote

Eternals is largely a standalone story, focusing specifically on these 10 characters and their journeys together. But Moore teases that the film is "part of the fabric of the MCU," comparing it to the first Guardians movie, which was mostly self-contained but introduced characters and story lines that would later pop up in other films. Eternals picks up after the events of Avengers: Endgame, when half of the population has returned after being snapped out of existence. It'll also answer why the Eternals didn't volunteer to help go after Thanos — or help tackle any of the other various crises throughout history. (The short answer is that their mission is to focus on the Deviants and never interfere with human affairs. Still, the Avengers probably could've used the help.) That being said, Feige and Moore tease that the film will have major ripple effects on future stories, and it was a challenge at times to balance the MCU's more grounded tone with the mythic grandeur of Eternals.

Edited August 21, 2021 by tv echo

[arc]

New trailer

 

18 hours ago, tv echo said:

The short answer is that their mission is to focus on the Deviants and never interfere with human affairs.

Wack. This wasn’t a humans situation, it was a whole universe situation.

I wonder if Thanos killed half the Celestials or if he gave cosmic beings a pass on the universal halving.

[cambridgeguy]

20 hours ago, blackwing said:

Also, I thought it was widely reported that Sersi was the leader of the Eternals.  There was a lot being made about the movie poster, about how Sersi is the leader and yet the poster puts Richard Madden's Ikaris in the prominent central position.  But in this article, now Salma Hayek's Ajak is identified as the leader.

It will be interesting to see how this movie does.  The media makes such a big deal out of "Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao's Marvel debut" but honestly, this is a comic book movie.  I don't think Chloe Zhao is nearly the draw that the media thinks she is.  People are going to come for the actors and the characters.  This movie suffers because 99% of moviegoers will have zero clue who any of these characters are.  At least Captain America, Spider Man, Iron Man, and Hulk might have been familiar or recognisable to even those who have never read comics.

I have been a comic fan for decades and have never heard of some of these characters.  The only Eternals I know are the ones that touched the Avengers - Sersi, Starfox, Gilgamesh.  And I know Ikaris for some reason.  The rest are blanks to me.  I don't think the characters are going to be the draws for this movie, but it does have some recognisable name stars - Angelina, Salma, Richard Madden, Kit Harrington - who may be able to draw people in.

Anyone who doesn't think the main draw are the words Marvel Cinematic Universe is kidding themselves.  With all due respect to the actors and director, none of them are in that special group (Dwayne Johnson, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, etc.) who can draw in an audience solely based on their presence.

And being the leader of the team means nothing for how prominent you get to be.  Look at Cyclops in the original X-Men trilogy.

Edited August 19, 2021 by cambridgeguy

[tv echo]

I love the final trailer. Interesting that, unlike the previous trailer, it doesn't say "only in theaters" on November 5. I guess Disney/Marvel are now keeping their options open.

Edited August 19, 2021 by tv echo

[Sakura12]

Isn't Thanos a deviant? So they should've interfered when he showed up. 

[benteen]

It's hard to imagine a madman trying to wipe out half of all life in the universe not being an all hands on deck moment.

[Morrigan2575]

50 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

Isn't Thanos a deviant? So they should've interfered when he showed up. 

Comics Thanos is an Eternal or Deviant. I'm not sure, he was born to 2 Eternals but has a Deviant nature? 

MCU Thanos seemed to have a different background, at least that's what I took from his backstory in Infinity War and Endgame.

However, maybe they will tie it together with Eternals and that he was an Eternal born on Titan. Although, if that's the case , you're totally right, where the heck were they? 🤔

Edited August 19, 2021 by Morrigan2575

[blackwing]

I liked the trailer and I liked that this is introducing us to a new group of heroes and their world.  I'm going to approach this movie like I did with the Thor movies... I was never a Thor comics reader or fan so I didn't know who hardly any of the antagonists were except for Loki and Hela.  So everything will be new to me.

I think it's refreshing that all the actors get to keep their own accents.  Usually in movies like this involving a race of omnipotent beings, they all have English accents.  But here we have English, Scottish, Mexican, American, and whatever it is that Angie is trying to do.

25 minutes ago, benteen said:

It's hard to imagine a madman trying to wipe out half of all life in the universe not being an all hands on deck moment.

I agree... "instructed not to interfere unless a Deviant was involved"... but still, half the population disappeared instantly.  Not sure why they wouldn't have gotten involved.

[Jenniferbug]

"If you love something, you protect it"...except all those times you don't, I guess, according to the Eternals. What a weird line to include in the trailer while addressing that they didn't intervene at all. 

[Morrigan2575]

Final Trailer Thoughts

Like that we got to see some of their personalities coming into play. Like that we got some more backstory/details on Eternals, like that we got Deviants, LOVE that we got a Celestial.

Not happy by what appears to be a love triangle being setup with Ikaris/Sersi/Whitman (blah! 🤢). Don't do it Marvel!

[Anduin]

3 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Anyone who doesn't think the main draw are the words Marvel Cinematic Universe is kidding themselves.  With all due respect to the actors and director, none of them are in that special group (Dwayne Johnson, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, etc.) who can draw in an audience solely based on their presence.

And being the leader of the team means nothing for how prominent you get to be.  Look at Cyclops in the original X-Men trilogy.

I partially disagree. There are several MCU movies I haven't seen and don't plan to see. I'm not a completionist. If the trailer doesn't move me, why should I bother? But some people, I suppose, want to see it all.

[blackwing]

11 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

"If you love something, you protect it"...except all those times you don't, I guess, according to the Eternals. What a weird line to include in the trailer while addressing that they didn't intervene at all. 

"... and we have loved these people since the day we arrived."  Which according to Sersi, was 7,000 years ago.  Well then, where were they, particularly during the past five years?  I guess better late than never.

4 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Final Trailer Thoughts

Like that we got to see some of their personalities coming into play. Like that we got some more backstory/details on Eternals, like that we got Deviants, LOVE that we got a Celestial.

Not happy by what appears to be a love triangle being setup with Ikaris/Sersi/Whitman (blah! 🤢). Don't do it Marvel!

Is the Celestial the purple thing with the six eyes?

I have never liked Kit Harrington.  I think he's a terrible actor.  He was completely one-note in Game of Thrones.  I've seen him in other things like "Pompeii" and "Gunpowder" and he's terrible in those too.  In the comics Sersi and Black Knight were a couple at some point, so it seems that's what's going to happen here.

4 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Anyone who doesn't think the main draw are the words Marvel Cinematic Universe is kidding themselves.  With all due respect to the actors and director, none of them are in that special group (Dwayne Johnson, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, etc.) who can draw in an audience solely based on their presence.

I agree mostly, but if the upcoming "The Marvels" had been "Captain Marvel 2" and a sequel featuring only Brie Larson, you can bet that I would have passed on it.  They were smart to add fan-favourite Monica Rambeau and newcomer Kamala Khan (and perhaps more) to this movie given the sizeable backlash against Larson and her character.

[shantown]

On 8/18/2021 at 9:40 AM, blackwing said:

It will be interesting to see how this movie does.  The media makes such a big deal out of "Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao's Marvel debut" but honestly, this is a comic book movie.  I don't think Chloe Zhao is nearly the draw that the media thinks she is.  People are going to come for the actors and the characters.  This movie suffers because 99% of moviegoers will have zero clue who any of these characters are.  At least Captain America, Spider Man, Iron Man, and Hulk might have been familiar or recognisable to even those who have never read comics.

I have been a comic fan for decades and have never heard of some of these characters.  The only Eternals I know are the ones that touched the Avengers - Sersi, Starfox, Gilgamesh.  And I know Ikaris for some reason.  The rest are blanks to me.  I don't think the characters are going to be the draws for this movie, but it does have some recognisable name stars - Angelina, Salma, Richard Madden, Kit Harrington - who may be able to draw people in.

5 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Anyone who doesn't think the main draw are the words Marvel Cinematic Universe is kidding themselves.  With all due respect to the actors and director, none of them are in that special group (Dwayne Johnson, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, etc.) who can draw in an audience solely based on their presence.

I'm a casual Marvel fan at best - I like what they've done with the inner-connectedness of all the movies as a concept but I've never felt the need to watch all of them. So the draw here for me is mostly the cast - while they aren't all "Super A-listers" there are a lot of big names - Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie arguably the biggest, but Kit Harrington, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, and Gemma Chan are all well-known names. I think what Marvel does really well is disguising a "superhero movie" as another genre - comedy, coming of age, drama, spy thriller, and now fantasy. 

I don't know any Eternals or any comic backstory or even how this really ties in with the larger MCU, but I was like "oooh the costuming is nice" and "oooh big guy with too many glowing eyes, he's bad" and the trailer had just enough epic musical swells that I was like "Yes, I want to see that!" Though probably not enough to brave a theater in November...

 

[Enigma X]

I am getting the feeling many people will dislike this movie simply by who was cast and not how well they may or may not act or by what is in the script or how it is directed. Le sigh...

[stealinghome]

28 minutes ago, shantown said:

I'm a casual Marvel fan at best - I like what they've done with the inner-connectedness of all the movies as a concept but I've never felt the need to watch all of them. So the draw here for me is mostly the cast - while they aren't all "Super A-listers" there are a lot of big names - Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie arguably the biggest, but Kit Harrington, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, and Gemma Chan are all well-known names.

Agreed. I would put Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek in the tier of "name will draw some people to a movie they otherwise know nothing about" A-listers. The others, TV/movie fans will know, but they don't have that kind of drawing power (yet).

I'm not a Marvel completionist, but all the trailers for Eternals IMO have been compelling, and it's probably the Marvel movie coming out in the near future that I'm most interested in. It's just all going to depend on the Covid situation come November....

[Morrigan2575]

4 hours ago, blackwing said:

have never liked Kit Harrington.  I think he's a terrible actor.  He was completely one-note in Game of Thrones.  I've seen him in other things like "Pompeii" and "Gunpowder" and he's terrible in those too.  In the comics Sersi and Black Knight were a couple at some point, so it seems that's what's going to happen here.

I was so happy with trailer #1 because it seemed like it was all Ikaris/Sersi and I was totally down for it. Richard Madden is a much better actor than Kit Harrington and I hated that stupid love quadrangle in the comics with Sersi/Whitman/Crystal/Pietro 🤢

I'm going to try and reserve judgment on Kit Harrington but, I was not happy with him being cast. Although, I swear it's just straight up type casting to make Jon Snow/Dane Whitman 🤣😃

Granted, I have limited knowledge of the character since I only briefly read, basically up through the Proctor storyline ended with Sersi/Whitman going to a parallel World.

4 hours ago, blackwing said:

the Celestial the purple thing with the six eyes?

Yes, up to now we've only seen a dead Celestial (Nowhere in Guardians of the Galaxy).

3 hours ago, Enigma X said:

am getting the feeling many people will dislike this movie simply by who was cast and not how well they may or may not act or by what is in the script or how it is directed. Le sigh...

I seriously doubt Kit Harrington can stink up a whole movie. 😂

Dane fucking Whitman on the other hand! 😂 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Morrigan2575

[Guest]

10 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Anyone who doesn't think the main draw are the words Marvel Cinematic Universe is kidding themselves.  With all due respect to the actors and director, none of them are in that special group (Dwayne Johnson, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, etc.) who can draw in an audience solely based on their presence.

I think the time when actors are the main draw has mostly passed. Those names can make people pay attention but it’s not enough. This movie has several actors who will make people pay attention but more important is general audience goodwill which Marvel has in spades.

5 hours ago, blackwing said:

I agree mostly, but if the upcoming "The Marvels" had been "Captain Marvel 2" and a sequel featuring only Brie Larson, you can bet that I would have passed on it.  They were smart to add fan-favourite Monica Rambeau and newcomer Kamala Khan (and perhaps more) to this movie given the sizeable backlash against Larson and her character.

Captain Marvel made a billion dollars. There was no sizable backlash against Larson or the character. There was a small and very loud, toxic group who created a false narrative. She is a fan favorite even if not all the fans like her.

Adding Monica and Kamala isn’t going to do anything to quiet that group. It does help to engage with the portion of the general audience (female and POC) that Marvel is clearly trying to bring in. 

4 hours ago, Enigma X said:

I am getting the feeling many people will dislike this movie simply by who was cast and not how well they may or may not act or by what is in the script or how it is directed. Le sigh...

Yep. There is a definite trend about what movies face a immediate pessimistic reaction. It’s so frustrating to watch how deeply those views can permeate into the general audiences perception. 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Guest

[Bruinsfan]

4 hours ago, benteen said:

It's hard to imagine a madman trying to wipe out half of all life in the universe not being an all hands on deck moment.

I suppose it might be down to all his assaults on Earth happening too quickly and none of the heroes who were involved knowing any of the Eternals to inform them of the situation. They might have learned about those events after the fact via the news like the general populace, and only get immediate warnings from whatever they have in place to monitor the Deviants.

[Enigma X]

15 minutes ago, Dani said:

Yep. There is a definite trend about what movies face a immediate pessimistic reaction. It’s so frustrating to watch how deeply those views can permeate the general audiences perception. 

And no matter the outcome, it becomes a sword to fall on. Oh well...

[arc]

4 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Not happy by what appears to be a love triangle being setup with Ikaris/Sersi/Whitman

Honestly, it took me a second viewing, this time with closed captions, to get that Ikaris and Whitman were two different characters. Madden and Harrington look quite similar to me. Maybe Sersi has a type.

[Dandesun]

3 minutes ago, arc said:

Honestly, it took me a second viewing, this time with closed captions, to get that Ikaris and Whitman were two different characters. Madden and Harrington look quite similar to me. Maybe Sersi has a type.

Sersi digs those Northern Stark types apparently.

[Morrigan2575]

4 minutes ago, arc said:

Honestly, it took me a second viewing, this time with closed captions, to get that Ikaris and Whitman were two different characters. Madden and Harrington look quite similar to me. Maybe Sersi has a type.

The 2 accents threw me even more. I forgot that Madden was Scottish.

[starri]

One of the things this one has going for it is the cinematography. There’s a better comparison that I’m searching for and can’t find, so the best that I can say is that it looks a lot more Lord of the Rings than any other MCU movie. I’m into it.  
 

And I’m not even a huge Angelina Jolie fan, but Thena looks badass. 

[Raja]

18 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

I suppose it might be down to all his assaults on Earth happening too quickly and none of the heroes who were involved knowing any of the Eternals to inform them of the situation. They might have learned about those events after the fact via the news like the general populace, and only get immediate warnings from whatever they have in place to monitor the Deviants.

That is what I got from the final trailer. They were sent to guard against Deviants and nothing more so you look out for Deviants and in Star Trek terms Ultron or Thanos actions had a Prime Directive of "so be it, the cycle of life ignore it" applied to it. Even if some Eternals cheated like Captain Kirk here and there on small things over the centuries.

This is sort of like Guardians of the Galaxy for me. In that case I had only known about a Starlord from a black and white miniseries  who had been rebooted by the time the present version shown in the MCU showed up. Here no character means anything to me and the teaser did absolutely nothing for me so at least now some story that I can grasp seems to be in play.

If some with comics knowledge comes back with Thanos was a Deviant, well there are two sides in a fight and the intelligence of the Eternals just failed as they got lazy while standing guard over centuries, something that could happen to the best as well as the worst of us. If not history would never teach about any surprise attack..

[AimingforYoko]

11 hours ago, Raja said:

If some with comics knowledge comes back with Thanos was a Deviant

He's an Eternal in the comics (Born to two Eternals and cousin of Thena), but he has a Deviant gene.

Per wiki:

Quote

Thanos was born on Saturn's moon Titan as the son of Eternals A'lars and Sui-San

 

[tv echo]

Full pic:

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Marvel’s Eternals ‘Has The Same Thematic Resonance’ As Nomadland – Exclusive Image
By Ben Travis  August 30, 2021
https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/marvels-eternal-thematic-resonance-nomadland-exclusive-image/ 

Quote

Speaking to Empire in the new Celebration Of Edgar Wright issue, the film’s producer Nate Moore spoke about how Zhao’s 2021 releases aren’t quite as different as you’d first expect. “Chloé’s interested in telling stories about outsiders who find themselves adrift in new worlds. Nomadland and Eternals both share that DNA,” he explains. “Nomadland doesn’t have the same bells and whistles as Eternals, but it has the same thematic resonance.” What it does have is a filmmaker who now boasts major awards clout. “This is definitely a new one for all of us,” says Moore. “‘From the Academy Award-winning director of…’ isn’t a phrase you’re used to hearing before Marvel movies.”

‘Shang Chi’s’ Awkwafina and ‘Eternals’ star Kumail Nanjiani trade notes on their MCU debuts
BY JEN YAMATO   AUG. 29, 2021
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-08-29/shang-chi-eternals-awkwafina-kumail-nanjiani-marvel 

Quote

Kumail, on the other side of this Marvel universe, what’s Kingo up to?
Nanjiani: He’s an Eternal so he’s been here for thousands of years. He has these super powers and he’s become a Bollywood movie star. All the Eternals have been in human society to different degrees, but he’s the one who really immersed himself and falls in love with the trappings of modernity. And he loves being rich. He loves being famous. He loves being an Eternal. I’ve been in this industry for about a decade and I looked at the usual opportunities that the brown dudes get. We get to be nerdy. I wanted him to be the opposite of that — I wanted him to be cool. With nerdy goes “weakling,” and I wanted him to be the opposite of that and to be strong physically. Or we get to be terrorists, and I wanted him to be the opposite of that. I wanted him to be this character full of joy. In working with Chloé, we were like, let’s take every single thing that I haven’t gotten to do and make a character who’s the exact opposite of the way a lot of American pop culture see people from Pakistan or the Middle East.
*  *  *
Did either of you workshop any parts of your characters or dialogue, tapping into your comedy backgrounds?
...
Nanjiani: Obviously with exposition scenes and the more dramatic stuff you stick to the lines, but there were a lot of scenes where Chloé was like, “I want you to say something different every time or say it differently every time.” And weirdly, it is a challenge.
...
Nanjiani: There were a couple of scenes where it felt like jumping out of a plane without a parachute. But I find I’m at my best when I start talking and I don’t know fully what’s going to happen. That can be really exciting. You get your two or three alts, but we’re doing 15, 20 takes sometimes. And it’s like, “Let’s see what happens this time.” You were talking about the cameraman — that’s great. This is not a good goal, but I try and make my scene partner laugh and to ruin the take. I was always trying to make Barry Keoghan laugh. I love him so much but he always plays these really intense characters. I was like, “Oh man, I’m going to get you this time.”
*  *  *
How did you both celebrate the moment you landed these roles?
Nanjiani: I honestly don’t remember! I remember walking out of the meeting and first calling Emily, my wife, and being like, “Hey ... I’m going to be in a Marvel movie.” Everything after that until we started rolling cameras is a blur. One thing that Emily is always telling me that we are trying to work on, and Nora probably could relate to, is I don’t find myself ever celebrating or enjoying moments.
*  *  *
Reaching even this level of inclusivity in the MCU is something that didn’t seem possible when it began. Did you think that you would get the chance to play superhero or superhero-adjacent heroes in this kind of franchise?
...
Nanjiani: I could not imagine that at all, even though it was a few years ago that I thought, “I want to play a Marvel superhero.” I mean, I didn’t know how to go about doing it. I don’t know if you do this, but I sort of pick big goals in my head where I’m like, all right — that’s something I want to do. It’s not achievable right now, but that’s the finish line. You do that?
*  *  *
Nanjiani: There are two sides to it, because when there hasn’t been a lot of representation, getting to be the first group of people who get to represent can come with a lot of pressure. If you carry that it can be really tough. It’s two things that you have to hold together: I know I’m representing a thing that people haven’t seen and it might mean a lot to people [who were] like kids like me. On the other hand, you can’t really think of it because then you get flattened under the pressure. So you have to think of yourself as an individual while still understanding that it’s a massive responsibility.

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

'It was just physically f**king draining': Richard Madden details the strain of shooting Marvel's Eternals and confesses he's 'dying to do comedy' following legion of serious roles
By CIARA FARMER   Septermber 6, 2021
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9962073/Richard-Madden-details-strain-shooting-Marvels-Eternals.html 

Quote

Speaking about the exhaustion of filming, he said: 'There was a lot of time on wires because my character flies, which was just physically f**king draining'. 

'They're all very complicated people in Eternals, but hopefully that can also help us bring a lightness to some heavy subject matter in terms of the story because I think when you live that long you've got to have a bit of a smile to yourself...
*  *  *
'In Eternals, we tried to get moments of lightness all the way through it, being that we're dealing with the end of the world type feelings and atmospheres...

'It's hard to get that lightness but that's what's so important, to get these lighter moments when we can. I'd love to do some more comedies. I do feel like I end up playing a lot of serious things...
*  *  *
Speaking about Marvel humanising superheroes, he continued: 'Yeah, that's the whole thing. That's what we want. In this, you get to see me in these huge costumes and in this kind of mad, superhero detached way..,

'Then we get to play with the element of just being people who have known each other for a long time, who, when you've experienced everything in the world, what is it they can learn? That's what we found interesting and humanising... 

'Then we got dress up in there, the fun, which is real life isn't it?'
*  *  *
As a comic book fan, he confessed to being as excited as others, saying: 'I've always loved the Marvel universe and superhero movies so to be able to do it in the way that we did with this script and this film is really exciting...

'It isn't just pixels versus pixels, we went on location so much and really tried to find a depth to these characters and the joy of them....

'They're all thousands of years old so rather than just being like, "Hey, I'm a comic book hero and that's the thing", the film has a story and delves into the complexity of what happens if you're alive for thousands of years.

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

From Empire Magazine (October 2021 issue) - in this article, producer Nate Moore said that Eternals picks up post-Endgame "right around the same time as Spider-Man: Far From Home, with the world recovering from the attack of Thanos and the return of half the world population." Moore also said that the "script is built to deal with [the] issue [of where the Eternals were during that event]" and that the answer connects with a wider philosophical question in the movie: "Is human nature good, evil, or somewhere in-between?" ...

(source)

And from Fandango's 2021 Fall Movie Preview...

(source)

Edited September 9, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Disney Reportedly Decides Fate of Marvel's Eternals Release
By Richard Nebens     September 10, 2021
https://thedirect.com/article/marvel-eternals-disney-theaters-release 

Quote

Insider Matthew Belloni, a former Hollywood Reporter editor, revealed through his What I'm Hearing newsletter that Disney has decided to give Eternals an exclusive run in theaters following the Labor Day box office success of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings . As such, Eternals will premiere in theaters on November 5 with no initial availability on Disney+.
*  *  *
Eternals will premiere exclusively in theaters on November 5, 2021.

 

Edited September 10, 2021 by tv echo

[Raja]

On 9/10/2021 at 5:59 AM, tv echo said:

Disney Reportedly Decides Fate of Marvel's Eternals Release
By Richard Nebens     September 10, 2021
https://thedirect.com/article/marvel-eternals-disney-theaters-release 

 

I guess "the experiment" has provided the data

[tv echo]

Disney’s ‘Eternals’, ‘West Side Story’, ‘Encanto’, ‘Last Duel’ & More To Hit Theaters Ahead Of Streaming Bow
By Erik Pedersen, Jill Goldsmith   September 10, 2021 
https://deadline.com/2021/09/disney-release-dates-eternals-encanto-last-duel-west-side-story-kings-manj-last-duel-1234830827/ 

Quote

Disney said today that the remaining films on its 2021 slate will get an exclusive theatrical window before arriving in homes — major news for a studio that’s gotten endless flak and been hit with a very high-profile lawsuit for its day-and-date releases on Disney+. Blockbuster numbers last weekend for Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which wasn’t available to stream, likely sealed the deal, showing moviegoers are increasingly willing to return to cinemas.

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Encanto will bow November 24 with a 30-day exclusive theatrical window before appearing on Disney+. Five other pics will have a 45-day exclusive run in cinemas: The Last Duel (October 15), Ron’s Gone Wrong (October 22), Eternals (November 5), West Side Story (December 10) and The King’s Man (December 22).
*  *  *
“Following the tremendous box office success of our summer films which included five of the top eight domestic releases of the year, we are excited to update our theatrical plans for the remainder of 2021,” said Kareem Daniel, Chairman, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution. “As confidence in moviegoing continues to improve, we look forward to entertaining audiences in theaters, while maintaining the flexibility to give our Disney+ subscribers the gift of Encanto this holiday season.”
* *  *
Exhibitors cheered. “This is big!” tweeted Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment, the nation’s biggest theater chain.

The ‘Shang-Chi’ Effect: ‘Eternals’ and 4 Other Disney Films Will Have Minimum 45-Day Window, ‘Encanto’ with 30
Tom Brueggemann    Sep. 10, 2021
https://www.indiewire.com/2021/09/shang-chi-disney-gives-robust-theatrical-window-to-eternals-1234663776/ 

Quote

Five of their next six titles, including Marvel’s “Eternals,” all of which are set to open during the rest of 2021, will not reach Disney+ or Hulu until  at least 45 days after their theatrical release. Their animated “Encanto,” opening at Thanksgiving, will reach the streaming platform after 30 days.
*  *  *
45 Day Window before Disney+

10/15     The Last Duel
10/22     Ron’s Gone Wrong
11/5       Eternals
12/10     West Side Story
12/22     The King’s Man

 

 

Edited September 11, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Kumail Nanjiani Reveals How 'Eternals' Co-Star Angelina Jolie Was Like Behind the Scenes (Exclusive)
By Liz Calvario‍     September 11, 2021
https://www.etonline.com/kumail-nanjiani-reveals-how-eternals-co-star-angelina-jolie-was-like-behind-the-scenes-exclusive 

Quote

Kumail Nanjiani couldn't have been more impressed with his Eternals co-stars, especially Angelina Jolie.

The actor, who takes on the role of Kingo in the upcoming Marvel movie, opened up to ET's Rachel Smith about how the movie star was behind the scenes. He also dished on what he learned from Jolie and Salma Hayek while on the set.

"Angie, she would not go back to her trailer. She always hung out on set. She was always with everyone," Nanjiani shared while at the Saks Fifth Avenue New York Fashion Week party. "So I realized what you do on camera is only part of the job."

"Salma was the one who would always have dinners and people over," he continued. "They are amazing. I have learned so much from watching both of them. Just how to be a pro, you know? I was so impressed. They are always on time, they know all the words, they are very thoughtful about how they work and they really wanted to create a family."

Nanjiani added, "So much of it is how you are with people. You create a community, you create a family, you create a group. And both of them, they go on camera, they are movie stars. They are fantastic in the movie."
*  *  *
"I am so, so pumped. I am so excited. The movie is absolutely amazing. The movie is so, so good. I can't wait for everybody to see it," he expressed, adding, "The scale of it, it is so big, it is so epic. It spans thousands of years, it is all over the world, like truly, it is a global movie. It is very international. We go all over the world, so it's really like the scale of it. It is one of the biggest movies I have ever seen."

The actor admits that becoming a superhero has been "a dream of mine for a few years." "I really want to be a superhero in a Marvel movie, and then I was like, 'How do I do it?'" he recalled. "And then I just got very lucky."

 

Edited September 12, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Eternals "will have a very big effect on the future of the MCU", says director Chloé Zhao
By Matt Maytum, Jack Shepherd   September 13, 2021
https://www.gamesradar.com/eternals-will-have-a-very-big-effect-on-the-future-of-the-mcu-says-director-chloe-zhao/ 

Quote

"I think we stand alone as a film for sure," director Chloé Zhao tells Total Film in the upcoming issue of the magazine, featuring Eternals on the cover. "But I do think we will have a very big effect on the future of the MCU with what happens in this film. Which, you know, as a fan, is really satisfying for me! I geek out."

How will Eternals impact the MCU going forward? None of the actors are drawn on specifics. "The Marvel snipers will take me out if I say anything," deadpans Richard Madden, who plays Ikaris. However, one indisputable fact is that Eternals marks a powerful leap forward in terms of representation, comprising characters that are older, younger, gay, Deaf, and racially diverse.

Salma Hayek, who will appear as Ajak, calls Eternals "completely a game-changer" in that sense. "No one [normally] calls and says, 'I’ve been thinking about you for my next film. And it’s also a huge movie, and you are one of the leads. And you get to be a superhero in your fifties, when you’re Mexican Lebanese.' The Eternals were smarter than Hollywood. You see that they’ve got the essence of something. Our diversity goes beyond the geography. It’s just a group of unique individuals."

"I think that the comics give us hope and that is what the MCU does," says Lauren Ridloff. The Walking Dead actor is set to play the Deaf hero Makkari. "I feel that with more representation and diversity within the MCU, that sense of optimism and ‘can-do’ becomes more strong, more palpable. I hope that people who feel seen also feel empowered to dream bigger."

"It’s insane that it has taken this long, and that it’s not already regularly this form of representation, because it didn’t feel special – it just felt correct,” says Angelina Jolie, almost laughing in disbelief. She portrays the elite warrior Thena. "It just felt like an appropriate representation of the world we live in."

Eternals director Chloé Zhao says the movie explores the MCU "before Thanos was born, before anyone was born"
By Matt Maytum , Jack Shepherd   September 13, 2021
https://www.gamesradar.com/eternals-thanos-mcu-chloe-zhao-time-interview/ 

Quote

The Eternals themselves are alien beings that have lived for millennia. They are Earth’s protectors, yet the group did not interfere when Thanos was amassing Infinity Stones.

“[The audience] will understand why,” Zhao assures  Total Film in the upcoming issue of the magazine, featuring Eternals on the cover. "Not only why, but how complicated not interfering made them feel. We explore that. You’ll see that in the film. The Eternals were instructed not to interfere with any human conflict unless Deviants are involved. There’s a reason why that’s the case. And that was the instruction from the prime Celestial Arishem."
*  *  *
"What excited me is the idea of going back in time, and exploring [the time] before Thanos was born, before anyone was born," Zhao says. "Where does the MCU go back in time? And that brings us to the mythology of the Celestials. Anything involving the Celestials is going to be at a huge scale level of complication, let’s put it that way.”

Kit Harington teases secretive Eternals role: "I think this is the tip of the iceberg for my character"
By Matt Maytum , Jack Shepherd   September 13, 2021
https://www.gamesradar.com/eternals-kit-harington-character-interview-mcu/ 

Quote

Speaking with Total Film in the upcoming issue of the magazine, featuring Eternals on the cover, Harington says Sersi and Dane have a "special connection" but stops short of confirming a love triangle.

"I think there’s been a few things said about that in the press," he adds. “I wouldn’t say that a lot of it is accurate. But he has a connection with Sersi, as does Richard’s character."

As for Dane himself, Harington sums him up as "the human character of the story. He’s not an Eternal. He’s a character who works with the Natural History Museum in London. But he’s not an Eternal – that’s the main takeaway!"

"I’ve got no idea whether my character goes on or not,” he says. "I had read up on who he could be, or might be. So there’s the possibility for a longer trajectory. And hopefully, I think this is the tip of the iceberg for my character. I hope. But I just don’t know, you know? I’m as in the dark as anyone else. And I try not to live too far ahead in the future with anything. Even when I was in Game of Thrones, even on the sixth season, I presumed the seventh season wasn’t going to happen!"

 

Edited September 13, 2021 by tv echo

[Anduin]

34 minutes ago, tv echo said:

Eternals director Chloé Zhao says the movie explores the MCU "before Thanos was born, before anyone was born"

Hmm. Malekith might disagree. The Svartalvar existed before the creation of the universe, apparently. You think we'll get a retcon or will TDW just be ignored entirely?

[BlackberryJam]

Maybe I got spoiled by Captain Phasma, but Angelina’s armor is very much “hi, here are my boobs.”

I love Richard Madden and Gemma Chan, although I have no real interest in comic book films. I was going to see this and now…I don’t know if I can manage it.