Kumail Nanjiani responds to his haters in comedy special
Saw that nobody mentioned his special, but since his interviews are getting lots of attention, I thought it was worth posting here.
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Just watched his latest comedy special on Hulu / Disney+ ‘Night Thoughts’ and really enjoyed it. In the last part of the show he talks how he dealt with the toxic fandom surrounding The Eternals.
It reminded me about how toxic the situation was with the Star Wars prequels with all the hate directed at young (Jake Lloyd) and older Anakin (Hayden Christensen).
For me personally The Eternals is one of my most watched MCU movies of the Multiverse Saga, with only Shang-Chi topping it.
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Just watched his latest comedy special on Hulu / Disney+ ‘Night Thoughts’ and really enjoyed it. In the last part of the show he talks how he dealt with the toxic fandom surrounding The Eternals.
It reminded me about how toxic the situation was with the Star Wars prequels with all the hate directed at young (Jake Lloyd) and older Anakin (Hayden Christensen).
For me personally The Eternals is one of my most watched MCU movies of the Multiverse Saga, with only Shang-Chi topping it.
Commentaires
Like he is finally saying what he wants to say about it instead of what media posts about him for clicks.
IMO it felt really cathartic! 😅
But I gotta say I thought he was one of the best parts of Eternals and the issues I had with that movie came more from the pacing and script (way too much back story to cram alongside a current plot) and a lack of chemistry between Sersi and Ikaris, who were supposed to be in a centuries-long relationship.
Then elaborates why he went in to therapy and that from the thousands of people attacking him you can categorize the comments in 5 groups.
He is basically responding what the whole situation did to him and pointing out hypocrisy within the fandom.
marvel movie but it was a fun ride
All that being said I still think it was enjoyable. It was a great ensemble, we got an A+ speedster character, some great lore. My kids actuality love it. I watched Kumail's special with my oldest kid and she was pissed off that he got grief over it.
The support cast was way better than the two leads. What they should have done with Gemma Chan's character was show how emphatic she was to humankind in the time period the Eternals disbanded. It would have directly contrasted Barry Keoghan's character's viewpoint on how they should have impacted humanity.
That being said the cast did a fantastic job with relationships amongst themselves. They felt like a family and also represented every way that their purpose in life was lied about.
He mentions that his parents never really commented on his movie and he says "I mean I don't want them to *love* it. Actually, fuck, I *do* want them to love it! If your kid is in a show and you don't love it, fucking love it!"
It's a funny moment, but it's funny while acknowledging the pain you can clearly hear in his voice. I love Kumail, and have for years, and I think he needs and deserves a quality script because he's got passion more powerful than the roles he's been given.
I've been a fan of Kumail's for nearly 15 years, and it was so awesome when he was cast in a Marvel movie. So, I'm certainly disappointed *for* him.
>But, i thought that was to no fault of Kumail.
His character and his performance as Kingo was my favorite part tbh
It's like training for a sport. "My dad's Michael Jordan and Lebron James is my trainer, so I don't have to practice."
People were making fun of him for it before the movie came out. Then when the movie didn't do well, they piled on some more, when they learned it was causing him anguish. Huge difference.
Also, I don't care what the reason is. Body shaming people, man or woman, isn't ok. Full stop.
He has a point and it’s true. Asian and South Asian men are rarely given masculine roles like Kumail and Simu Liu were and when they do they still face unfair standards that white counterparts don’t.
Like Kingo just casually going "Hey, I convinced Arishem not to destroy humanity by turning on a little charm, I _think_ I can get us out of this one" wouldn't be standard issue MCU writing at this point ...
It was a great special overall.
He's upset that people like me thought it was bland
Kingo and Gilgamesh are not problems. I would love more of those 2. But thats the whole list and there were like 10 people on that team
I don't know the movie has problems but I can't help but find it neat even after all this time.
God, that's so oddly relatable. Being healthy out of absolute spite is one of the most consistent, enduring ways to keep healthy habits going lmao.
No one likes an Adonis court jester.
I submit Joe Piscopo as exhibit A and Carrot Top as exhibit B. Both received scorn when they got buff.
He makes a trendline.
Our kitchen is carb and fat heavy. Lots of vegetarian meals so not that much protein options. 🤣
Cottage cheese is delicious but more fat than protein. So just gotta watch how much oil/ghee go into the other dishes.
Obviously it's waay more convenient if you can have some chicken/eggs/fish lol but if you're vegetarian just gotta have more beans and balance out the rice so you keep your carbs in check.
Just check the macros on the back of your food packets and log what you eat on one of those food tracking apps. You can play around with a lot of recipes that way. I'm no expert btw lol. Just what's worked for me.
I do eat some chicken and eggs. But not much. I indeed use powder, but after months of use I’m also looking into substitutes.
Edit:
My kitchen is a mix match of Indian and Indonesian food. Some influences also from South America and Africa. And since I live in the Netherlands also European 🤣😅
But I’m a picky eater, which makes it more difficult compared to the usual meat, broccoli and rice to bulk 😇
Later on he talks about how it was his nerd dream to be part of this and then after the movie flopped it compounded on to him. Talking about that he felt good if audience gave his work praise and he felt shitty of audience hated his work.
Basically the last part of the special he address the various comments he gets and how he now deals with it. Valuing himself.
And yeah, he can buff up as much as he wants, but it doesn’t matter if he never changes his face. Same dumb smirk, same punchable expression, same vibe of a guy who knows he’s in on the joke and won’t let you forget it. Post-apocalypse, power armor, nuclear wasteland—and there he is, looking like he wandered in from a Marvel gym montage.
He plays the exact same character every time: Kumail Nanjiani being impressed with himself. No transformation, no disappearing into the role, just him standing there breaking the illusion like a neon sign that says *celebrity cameo*. Took me straight out of the world and dumped me back on the couch thinking, “Well, there goes the atmosphere.”
However, I think it’s shameful for Marvel to just completely drop the Eternals as a response.
First for the reasons Kumail says here, imagine being promised to be employed and well paid for a decade then you get laid off after a year and the company tries to erase the fact you ever worked there.
Secondly, there was still a lot of potential there. Kingo, Makkari, and Thena were my favorites. Sersi is a classic Avenger. They don’t have to particularly continue the Eternals story but they didn’t have to completely drop the characters.