Chloé Zhao Says ‘Eternals' Wasn’t High On Marvel’s Priority List; Kevin Feige Says She Was The Only One “Passionate” About It

Commentaires

eBICgamer20102026-01-30 15:15

And according to Zhao, Kevin Feige basically told her he trusted her for one specific reason: she wanted it and expressed a passion for it that no one else had. Zhao recalled Feige saying, “I know that no one, no one told you to make that film,” she remembered. “Literally no one in the world was interested in it or told you to do it, but you wanted to do it.”

MikeTheDude232026-01-30 15:19

Seems like a good example of "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should".

IniNew2026-01-30 15:22

Seems like a good example of letting people make things they’re passionate about.

I liked the movie quite a bit, personally.

Linnus422026-01-30 15:24

Eh seems sub optimal when budgets are 150-200 mil and you are doing a connected universe.

Big_Life_9472026-01-30 15:27

It was a gamble but honestly studios should take risks occasionally. They won with James Gunn doing GOTG and hoped for another success like that. Didn’t pay off but I am happy they try things at least.

Universe_Nut2026-01-30 15:31

Yes! My favorite George Lucas quote of all time will be "Hollywood is one big gambling den. Producers hire directors to go play the tables for them. They have to trust the director to know how to gamble. But now they come in and say "our market research says don't bet on red, or even numbers. Our research says those are bad gambles."" - paraphrased

Big_Life_9472026-01-30 15:55

Yeah it’s weird to think about it now that the MCU is so huge but honestly the whole concept was a giant gamble. Before 2008 mainstream audiences didn’t care about Iron Man or Thor, many predicted The Avengers would be a complete mess. Gambling and taking big swings is what built the MCU.

Lincoln6242026-01-30 15:39

It paid off beautifully. Eternals is one of the very best Marvel films. When new people watch the MCU in its entirety and don’t have fans telling them what to think all the time, they will love it. Promise.

Nightwing_in_a_Flash2026-01-30 15:24

It looks even better now compared to some of the mediocre movies that came out in phases 4/5 after Eternals.

countofmontycrisco2026-01-30 15:26

This! 💯 A thousand times this.

AnOnlineHandle2026-01-30 15:32

Yeah it at least took itself seriously, so I can rewatch it, even if it's not great. Whereas stuff like Thor 4 are unwatchable.

lottolser2026-01-30 15:33

Yeah, if you watched it today as a first timer id say your probably going to like it more than when it came out as a first timer. Fair assessment.

DeKosterIsNietDom2026-01-30 15:28

Meh, personally I'm happy it got made. Together with Shang-Chi, GOTG3 and Thunderbolts it's one of my favourite MCU movies since Endgame.

I thought the characters were great and wouldn't be opposed to seeing some of them return. Kit Harrington didn't get a lot to play with, but I would be excited if he returned in something like a Midnight Sons movie.

Dycoth2026-01-30 15:32

What ? The movie is great.

BatmanForever232026-01-30 15:34

Not in the slightest. If someone has a good pitch and a lot of passion, I'd rather they run with that and swing for the hills than fall back on another safe formula. It won't hit every time, but you can't live in fear of taking a shot.

[deleted]2026-01-30 15:20

[deleted]

Crimkam2026-01-30 15:22

There are dozens of us that are interested!

UchihaSukuna12026-01-30 15:21

😂 That and the title response of Feige sounds like a compliment which years later you realize wasn't

palk0n2026-01-30 15:54

"nobody will watch this movie, but suits yourself"

HawkeyeGild2026-01-30 15:56

And here is $1b to make it...I guess if you want..I really don't care

Eccohawk2026-01-30 16:32

More people watched it than will watch the Melania documentary.

cuckingfomputer2026-01-30 16:36

That's just a low bar exceeding another lower bar lmao

Emm_withoutha_L-882026-01-30 18:27

Easy to beat 0

xyzsomething2026-01-30 15:28

I mean Kevin wasn’t wrong, no one asked for it or wanted it

AnOnlineHandle2026-01-30 15:33

Same with captain america and guardians and yet they're favourites, so it's not a good or a bad thing.

xyzsomething2026-01-30 15:35

I think Captain America had people excited about it, even then

erscloud2026-01-30 15:37

I was not excited for that or Thor. Thought they were pointless fillers so they could do avengers. Love them both (admittedly Thor less than captain america)

Doneuter2026-01-30 15:47

Once I discovered The MCU it took me forever to actually sit down and watch any Captain America movies, because I didn't think I would be interested.

The first two are two of my favorite movies in the entire MCU.

MambaSaidKnockYouOut2026-01-30 15:53

To each his own but not being excited for Captain America seems crazy to me. Like how is establishing a main character’s entire backstory filler for Avengers? Avengers doesn’t work nearly as well if you just drop the main characters into the movie with almost no background information.

CalmGiraffe13732026-01-30 16:00

I would assume that the prevailing sentiment was that Iron Man was *the* main character, and that anything he wasn’t in was filler by default.

Exzqairi2026-01-30 16:09

How is it crazy, when it was the general consensus when the movie came out?

Just because you like the movie now or see the character as the leader of the Avengers that doesn’t change the past

At that point the MCU focus was mostly on Iron Man, who himself was also a B-tier character with little hype before the first movie

MambaSaidKnockYouOut2026-01-30 16:10

That wasn’t the general consensus.

xyzsomething2026-01-30 15:54

Speak for yourself, I was very excited about Thor

Lincoln6242026-01-30 15:36

Or Iron Man.

And just like those, Eternals is one of the best Marvel films.

Cursed_694202026-01-30 15:39

"one of the best" LMFAO

whensmahvelFGC2026-01-30 15:47

you must be fun at parties

Adorable_Ad_34782026-01-30 15:51

I find it hilarious how people try to rewrite history. Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man were B-List heroes before the MCU.

Eternals? E-List is being generous. GOTG is the only possible comparison.

Iron Man, CA and Thor were on the same tier as Green Lantern, Aquaman or Flash. People knew about them, but they weren't THAT popular.

Eternals and GOTG? The DC equivalent was Omega Men or Challengers of the Unknown (and yes, 99% of you will have to Google them).

Dry-Indication-24552026-01-30 16:00

Eternals were Z-List lets be real

Snoo_464732026-01-30 15:43

Guardians were directed by James Gunn who is one of the best superhero directors around with Russo bros

xCaptainVictory2026-01-30 15:49

He wasn't prior to Guardians 1. He had to earn that title.

TheAsian1nvasion2026-01-30 15:44

I mean, I see it as a good thing that Feige is willing to let Oscar-winning directors see out their visions even if it doesn’t always work out.

DuckyHornet2026-01-30 15:44

I mean, there wasn't exactly a known audience for Iron Man at the time. He wasn't as obscure as the Eternals, granted, but it was a big gamble at the time. A comic book movie from the guy who made Swingers and Elf, starring a guy famous for ruining his own career, about a rich guy who fights terrorists in the desert? But he was passionate about the project so they ran with it and it spawned a whole universe

And then Guardians, nobody was asking for a movie disconnected from everything else about a bunch of obscure shitheads in space written and directed by the guy who did Slither and was a protégé of Lloyd Kaufman from Troma. But that was another huge success

So deciding to roll the dice again on another passionate director wanting to do a less known IP, it wasn't a completely unhinged decision. That same gamble had paid off before

makeithurtmore2026-01-30 16:00

Genuinely I don’t think it could have worked without rdj’s charisma.

benignwords2026-01-30 16:06

I'm sure it would've had the same success with Jared Leto.

makeithurtmore2026-01-30 16:15

Lol, it’s ironin’ time.

DuckyHornet2026-01-30 16:14

Yeah, he was absolutely brilliant casting for the role

Same with Chris Evans as Cap, like there must have been some concern about grabbing a guy who'd famously starred in two other Marvel films which were derided and doing a period piece in a well-worn era, but it turned out incredible because he has such good-natured earnesty and humility that Cap felt *real* like this dude makes sense now as someone who could exist

AdolescentThug2026-01-30 16:47

It's double crazy when you realize before he did his thing in the MCU, Chris Evans was straight up typecasted and exclusively plays douchebag jock type of roles (and honestly after like with Gray Man and Knives Out). Dude's bread and butter is douchey, he can act that in his sleep.

Steve Rogers is the antithesis to that and he nailed it better than anyone else possibly can.

DuckyHornet2026-01-30 19:27

That's true, he was in... American Pie? Not Another Teen Movie? And Scott Pilgrim, yeah. So even disregarding him as Johnny Storm, a very unexpected casting

wishiwascryingrn2026-01-30 17:27

I'd say that Iron Man himself still isn't really all that popular a character, Iron Man played by RDJ is.

zoosha2curtaincall2026-01-30 16:41

All great points, and also don't forget this was the first Marvel Studios movie. Now that name carries weight, but at the time it was along the lines of "hey, guess what, Hasbro thinks it can make its own movie without the studios."

Adding the B-tier status of Iron Man at the time, and I specifically remember having to convince people who had all gone to see Spider-Man and Batman Begins that this one was actually really good.

topheavyhookjaws2026-01-30 15:52

I thought it was pretty great. Thoroughly enjoyed it, so I'd say I wanted it.

BKWhitty2026-01-30 15:54

I mean, no one *asked* for Guardians of the Galaxy either and I remember there being a lot of skepticism following its announcement. Being an unknown property wasn't tbe issue. GoG worked, I think, because it was much quirkier and had a bit more levity to it that Eternals lacked. Eternals was imperfect and was more of a drama which is less exciting to a general audience than a fun space adventure. Then add in that it was following in the wake of Endgame and it was just perfectly set up to disappoint.

I'll always maintain that Eternals could have worked if they'd made it a series instead of a movie. At least then, there'd be more time to unpack all the new lore, characters and their dynamics.

srfrosky2026-01-30 15:54

No one asked for Andor either

LOSS352026-01-30 17:57

I was super skeptical about a spinoff featuring one of the guys who died at the end of Rogue One.

Turns out it was the best Star Wars media yet.

Justifiably_Bad_Take2026-01-30 18:23

Or Guardians of the Galaxy

The problem is, those projects were really good. Eternals wasn't.

srfrosky2026-01-30 18:25

I loved it. Saw it in theaters and a week later at home, and other than not liking the design of the deviants and a couple plot details, overall loved the tone, style, and characters.
I guess I’m of the few that wish we got the next chapter

But more importantly I like that marvel tried it.

ShawshankException2026-01-30 15:58

This entire franchise was built on movies that nobody asked for or wanted

jojopojo642026-01-30 18:03

They literally built the MCU with a box of scraps. And I mean literally: the scripts for Iron Man were changed so many times, right down to the now infamous "I am Iron Man" line.

Eternals is not on my top 10 I admit (I'm still on the line that it would have made an amazing series, there was just too much to pack in one movie), but I appreciate that Marvel was and is still continuing to take chances.

AsteroidMike2026-01-30 16:41

No one asked for a Guardians of the Galaxy or Ant-Man movie either, or even a Thor movie going further back, yet herę we arę with all of those not only being successful but getting multiple sequels too.

Dycoth2026-01-30 15:32

And yet it's one of the best Marvel movie.

AstroBtz2026-01-30 15:37

It definitely isn't. It's better than most recent stuff but it pales in comparison to TWS, Civil War, Guardians 1&3, infinity war, iron man, Ragnarok, the first avengers movie, the entirety of the Spider-Man home trilogy ( maybe not NWH) Hell id even say thunderbolts was better than it.

Not NEARLY as bad as some make it out to be, but it's firmly in the middle of the pack IMO

oorza2026-01-30 15:46

Thunderbolts is only well received because of recency bias, I’ll eat the hate for saying so. It’s surface level analysis and empty platitudes about mental illness that aren’t much deeper than a Bluey episode, and if you accept that, there’s not much else there. It’s going to be anti-AoU where it is received worse and worse as time goes on, not better, because the points it makes about depression are so immature and incomplete. It’s not a movie that holds up well to mature analysis, and as audiences age, they will feel less fondly about it.

AstroBtz2026-01-30 15:49

Recency for sure plays a part, and you're entitled to feel that way, and I'm certainly not one to think it's PEAK MCU, hence my "hell id argue it's better", it's a good movie.

it came at the right time to steer marvel back towards quality over quantity but it does have flaws, like a majority of the MCU.

It could also be argued that eternals is only being looked at with such high regard BECAUSE of the dip in quality from the MCU

No hate from me my friend!

leoleo6782026-01-30 15:56

I was surprised it was so well-received. I thought the way it handled depression too was very sanitized and found a power of hug ending, condescending. Even toying with John Walker’s suicide attempt but making it such a quick cut like that annoyed me, since it undermines the gravity of that situation. If you’ve seen the recent Avatar, it handles the same theme with much more care and depth and it reminded me why I couldn’t care for Thunderbolts. Heck, I think Falcon and the Winter Solider did a better job at portraying realistic trauma responses and depression with Bucky than this did.

SmallFatHands2026-01-30 15:38

Lmao found the "watched the eternals and actually liked" post maker.

jlmurph22026-01-30 15:39

Wait what? Lol I mean its okay but one of the best? Theres over 30 of em

Dycoth2026-01-30 15:42

I maintain what I said : in my opinion, it's one of the best (well, excluding the Avengers movies)

Loganp8122026-01-30 15:41

I like it, and I think it deserved more praise than it got, but it’s definitely not one of the best.

The MCU is almost at 40 movies now, and Eternals doesn’t even come close to making the top 10 imo.

ShawshankException2026-01-30 15:59

Great movie for people who don't need subway surfers taking up half the screen to pay attention

ChemicalExperiment2026-01-30 15:48

Despite it being a flop, I appreciate Feige's philosophy here. Sometimes you just have to let creatives do whatever they want despite no one asking for a certain project. Because sometimes you get Eternals, but sometimes you get Guardians of the Galaxy or Wonder Man. I love Marvel taking risks because even though you get some flops, you also get some of the most wildly creative projects of the studio.

Edit: I think I've seen more love for Eternals in this thread than I've seen over the entire 5 years since its release.

xeoron2026-01-30 16:39

I liked the film

simon38732026-01-30 16:47

I’ll be brave with you - me too. I really didn’t mind it at all. I thought it was entertaining and had some really cool scenes. I genuinely liked all the characters. Do I think it would have worked better as a TV series? Maybe. But I enjoyed what I saw and was excited to see them leaving breadcrumbs for the next movies with [Kit Harrington] and Blade at the end credits (little did I know that nothing would really connect though in Ph 4 or 5 and if it did, it wasn’t like it felt before).

NightlyWinter19992026-01-30 16:54

Same and it gave us the best depiction of a speedster without slow-motion

No_Power11212026-01-30 19:08

Absolutely agree. I think the Makkari-Ikarus was the absolute best depiction of a speedster from their POV in film to date. Combined with the first person POV of Quicksilver in X-Men DoFP and you have two of the most incredible juxtaposed viewpoints of a speedster in film. They are both so captivating in their own ways.

I must have rewatched both of those scenes dozens of times by now, love them!

thedaytoday892026-01-30 17:20

I'm going to be a super duper brave boy and say that I really liked the film as well. Genuinely may sneak into my top 10 MCU films.

TheBoBiZzLe2026-01-30 17:25

Looking back on it, it was way more entertaining than the other movies.

Problem was they didnt run with it. Introduced all these super power beings, giant space gods, space fighters, blade, and an ancient bloodline hero… and it went nowhere. Marvel showed they weren’t going to move forward. They chickened out and knew it would be too expensive to be 5 years into future. 5 years of advancements from all of the aliens races working with earth. Nope.

Just.. pretend it’s all back to normal.

afguy82026-01-30 17:44

Agreed that Marvel just put its story on the backburner. Either Feige could have said, "hey, change the script because we're not going to mention these events down the line" or state that it's in another marvel universe. Dont just ignore it until BNW.

People didnt like the big cast, I liked that and didn't think it was an issue. The only issue I found was that there wasnt a true sense of urgency. They knew something was happening at the beginning and then middle of the movie, found out that the celestial was to be born but there was no stated count down for the eternals or for the audience at the beginning of the movie that placed true stakes on their actions.

Fix that, and I think it would have been accepted as a better movie.

simon38732026-01-30 17:58

Yep! That’s I think my biggest complaint of this saga is they left us with too many loose strings. Honestly it would have been okay if it started to start to twine together at a close to Avengers level movie or multiple movies with big stakes (like what Kang should have felt like but across these other entities). And it doesn’t have to be all of them, it could be Marvels connecting with Guardians and Thor. Then Street Level stuff with Kingpin, Hawkeye, Daredevil and co., possibly Spider-Man if allowed… then maybe some bigger or magical threats for the new superhuman level guys like Moon Knight, Strange, Blade etc. Or even keep your budget low and don’t pair up, but have those same threats having bigger and bigger consequences that keep that continuity, like Kingpin coming into power (which they did with Hawkeye, Echo, Daredevil… possibly Spider-Man.. but make us really feel that “oh shit” moments when someone mentions NY). But it’s just like “oh that was HUGE… but you know, forget about that … for now anyways… maybe … we’ll see…”

CloseToMyActualName2026-01-30 20:28

It's one of the few that I'd actually be willing to rewatch.

A lot of the Marvel films, even some of the very successful early ones, are really single use and don't really have the depth to hold up on a second viewing.

Eternals does.

(I watched Agatha a second time and it might actually be better on rewatch).

Rare_Ad_38712026-01-30 17:07

The movie was actually really good.

Etienne10BR2026-01-30 18:25

I really liked it. I'm convinced it would have been much more popular if it had been released a few years later, after Covid and when theaters were more frequently open.

It was a very ambitious project, but with too many characters and background. She could have made two movies with everything she wanted to include. But as long as I breathe, I'll never consider it a bad or average movie.

LuckyPlaze2026-01-30 16:44

Thing is - it’s the best post-End Game movie precisely because it was a good director’s vision and cinematography while Marvel Execs stayed the f away.

Time will be kind to that movie.

The_Unknown_Dude2026-01-30 16:55

I remember an interview in Zhao when she mentionned Feige was stunned at the quality of cinematography and visuals. Asked her how she got them, she said she filmed on location, mostly based off sunlight.

Honestly I can't fault Feige much. He trusts creatives and visions more than a lot of producers give (Coogler was shocked at how often Feige asked him how he saw some scenes, unlike the usual producers he worked with who always gave their opinions and ideas), but Feige mostly worked on older superhero movies by Fox or Sony before producing.

Greenscreens were already in big use, and studio work for the stunts, a lot of spectacle effects. Zhao came in with an indie view of looking at the personal development, desires and failures of ancient space beings.

Also how many older superhero shows were shot at night now just thinking about it. Holy shit.

LuckyPlaze2026-01-30 20:19

The early MCU films used much less green screen; and the ones that used less like Iron Man typically were better received than ones that were heavy green screen like Thor. The Winter Soldier and even Civil War definitely used more gritty real environments and looks, than some of the latter MCU films. Avengers used a lot of real world sets, and looked far more believable than say Doctor Strange. Personally, I feel like it even dragged on a film like Black Panther, which was praised more for cultural significance than anything else.

But by Infinity War, it was basically a cartoon. Infinity War and End Game got away with it because the characters and the story had built themselves up strong enough to carry the films.

But that cartoon look definitely hurts the MCU films that don’t have the foundation that Infinity Saga had. But not Eternals. It looks great. And will whether time better for it.

Organic_Smile2026-01-30 17:31

Shang chi?

ScarsUnseen2026-01-30 18:21

Both good movies. Eternals had a better final showdown (IMO).

llamashakedown2026-01-30 16:49

It’s wild because looking back, of all the movies that Marvel has made since, I never counted Eternals as a bad one.

Their value has definitely declined since.

Wulphram2026-01-30 17:27

I think if it came out now it would be received a whole lot better. It came out during the come down from the most action focused part of Marvel, and to me it was more thoughtful than fighting. I see it closer to Moonknight, action packed but more psychological and person focused.

I have absolutely loved seeing that side of marvel, sprinkling in a Wonder Man and a She Hulk between your Captain America and your Spiderman. I saw they have started labeling those as Spotlights, where they're exploring the universe more than the plot, and I think Eternals fit right in that slot, just years too early for it.

immaownyou2026-01-30 17:48

Its real problem was it had twice as many characters to introduce and set up than every other movie

ew732026-01-30 18:08

It was a team up movie before we knew the team. I liked it, but I've also been a low key fan of the characters long before the movie.

natayaway2026-01-30 18:13

It also has the benefit of common pantheons/mythology, so despite it having a bunch of characters, some of them borrow from common knowledge so you can just basically turn your brain off for them.

Ikaris = Icarus

Thena = Athena

Gilgamesh = Gilgamesh

Sersi = Circe

It’s the Loki D.B. Cooper scene but not as a throwaway gag.

Sea-Equipment-3152026-01-30 19:03

I loved classical mythology as a kid but Athena is the only one of those that I'd anticipate the average person knows about, and even if they recognize someone like icarus, what's the connection to their characteristics? Ikarus can fly and shoot lasers. Icarus is famous for basically one single thing and it's the opposite of flight.

millertime83062026-01-30 19:31

Well, he was famous for flying for a little while anyway :)

natayaway2026-01-30 20:05

Gilgamesh has some osmotic, trickle down notoriety in weeb circles? Girugamesh the metal band and the pronunciation being Engrish turning into a meme.

RecklessDeliverance2026-01-30 22:01

We're showing our age here. Sakura-con 2009 was 17 years ago.

The modern weeb would moreso know Gilgamesh from the Fate franchise, but even then Heavens Feel was 5 years ago, and FGO isn't as ubiquitous as it once was.

There probably is some other modern anime Gilgamesh, but like I said I'm old, so I haven't kept up to know that.

WasabiSunshine2026-01-30 22:50

Gilgamesh is also a recurring character in Final Fantasy, so many may know the name from that.

Though honestly I thought most people woul have at least vaguely heard of the Epic of Gilgamesh in passing anyway, even if they don't actually know what its about

CaptHayfever2026-01-30 19:15

Sprite = a sprite

Makkari = Mercury

Phastos = Hephaestus, though this one's more of a verbal stretch

Kingo = the most engaging character in the film

PCofSHIELD2026-01-30 20:14

>Kingo = the most engaging character in the film

I think you mean Gilgamesh

Jebusk2026-01-30 20:43

Ma Dong-seok is always great. The roundup movies are a lot of fun.

GirllyGrll2026-01-30 19:30

Honestly, same. I thought it was one of the more interesting Marvel movies in just the way it tries to tell its story different than most of the other Marvel movies. Trying to be an epic taking place across multiple generations. Shooting naturalistically, etc.

If anything, my biggest problem with the movie is that near the end, it fell back into all the old Marvel tropes. Everyone punching the bad guys, world ending threat, a jokey tone, in characters who weren’t super relatable since most of them were gods. (If anything I wish Kit Harrington was in the movie more as the audience surrogate.) this movie failure is on a story really disheartening because we absolutely know that this movie is what caused Marvel to double down on It’s worst tropes. I do feel like Marvel is starting to do what eternal try to do with movies like Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four. Trying to tell the stories of these characters in vastly different ways they were told before. But they also aren’t doing well financially. Which an all due part is because of Marvel losing the faith of most of the public with their recent and less quality output. And unfortunately, will probably be seeing them double down once again with Avengers Doomsday…

itsmuddy2026-01-30 22:18

Sometimes I wonder if it would be viewed more positively if it were never an MCU film.

I actually really enjoyed the film and would have been nice if it had a bigger impact on MCU.

Rooney_722026-01-31 03:01

Eternals > BNW, imo

Possible-Rate-38332026-01-30 16:52

Yeah, this is also why fans (and me) loved Daredevil Born Again, Thunderbolts\* and Fantastic Four: First Steps. They felt like passion projects from the people who worked on it and they were fantastic.

I wish things were better for Chloe Zhao but i hope we see Marvel taking more risks on projects or let people do what they want while still feel that is a part of the MCU.

GodsChosenIdiot2026-01-30 17:15

[removed]

Chrindo2026-01-30 17:36

Hot take -- I did not like Born Again that much. The fights did not have the same weight as the original series, and the opening with DD vs Bullseye relied too much on CG in certain parts. It was great to see our boy back, but it didn't touch the prior seasons/series (how are we labeling it?)

danielsdesk2026-01-30 17:37

I loved Eternals… it meant a lot to me and my family

cousinokri2026-01-30 17:54

Not sure why Eternals gets the hate it does. I genuinely enjoyed it.

Nightthrasher6742026-01-30 17:54

There's definitely been some more love shown to it over the years. I recognize that it's flawed but still enjoyed it and the Chloe Zhao's direction, I felt it was beautifully shot and trying different things.

SpartanFishy2026-01-30 18:05

I so desperately want a sequel I loved that movie so much

Emm_withoutha_L-882026-01-30 18:20

It's just frustrating because they had potential gold if she had been reigned in more and kept closer to the comics ideas. Spent more time in the past, had the deviants be a race of basically sympathetic monsters/awfully mutated humans, and importantly kept the celestials neutral and not some kind of planetary parasite nonsense.

She got the vibe right about them being more than human but less than gods, but she really just created her own entirely different story with the eternals characters.

I'm not one saying it needs to be exactly like the comics but at least needs to be somewhat similar, otherwise why not just create your own thing instead of adapt a comic book?

Maybe you could just say the writer gets the blame, since it was probably the most beautiful marvel movie ever so she absolutely shot it well. But the story just didn't work and lost all the charm the comics had.

Butwhatif772026-01-30 20:05

Exactly, the most annoying thing to hear is "No one asked for this" when projects are getting developed. The fantastic feeling of getting something so cool that you didn't know you wanted is a treat. It is how we also stay out of rutts where they just tell the same story over and over or just keep doing remakes.

Taking big swings on lesser known characters is always a good sign, because it means they people are at least thinking.

Plus half the time we get something that was "asked for" it is a hack job that involves shoving in so much fan service that it is a hollow cash grab.

AlmostRandomNow2026-01-31 00:50

> I think I've seen more love for Eternals in this thread than I've seen over the entire 5 years since its release.

I liked it from the first time I saw it, it's a flawed film, but it's 100% Chloe Zhao making a Marvel film. I joke that it was made for an audience of 5 people, and all five of us will die on that hill.

I genuinely believe it will age like wine, because it really showed what an actual director would do in the late-stage MCU if given freedom. It's easily one of the best looking studio films of the past f
five years.

Master_Alligator8962026-01-30 15:17

Wow, okay, that pretty much explains why Eternals hasn’t really ever been acknowledged in the MCU with the exception of the celestial in Brave New World. This kind of confirms Marvel doesn’t really care for it, which sucks as someone who actually really enjoyed this movie.

TeddyGarbaldi2026-01-30 15:22

Kingo gets referenced a few times in other projects

Master_Alligator8962026-01-30 15:25

That’s right, thanks for the reminder. The Guardians Holiday Special has a great Kingo movie Easter egg. James Gunn is pretty good with his Easter eggs.

TeddyGarbaldi2026-01-30 15:27

Also in Ms Marvel Kamala and Bruno have a convo about who they prefer, Kingo Jnr or Kingo Snr

LockeAbout2026-01-30 16:36

And I think a poster in Wonder Man

CaptHayfever2026-01-30 19:20

Plus he gets a What If episode.

XMenJedi82026-01-30 20:03

He's also in a What If episode with Agatha.

countofmontycrisco2026-01-30 15:27

He was/is my favorite Eternal. Perfect casting as well.

TeddyGarbaldi2026-01-30 15:28

I really hope they bring him back for Doomsday

ChemicalExperiment2026-01-30 15:52

My fan plot is that they'll simultaneously get out of the cliffhanger from the end of Eternals AND establish Doom as a powerful villain by having Doom kill Arishem.

StabbingHoboReturns2026-01-30 16:08

I don't.

Such an insufferable character.

tommyblastfire2026-01-30 18:51

I was sad to not see a reference in wonderman

eagc72026-01-30 20:42

There was a poster for one of Kingo's movies in the theater where Simon and Trevor meet

-asimpleboy2026-01-30 15:32

It had potential to be soo good and they wasted it

disneylegospider12026-01-30 15:41

What’s there to reference? No one else on Earth knows about the Eternals (outside of Black Knight), and the only big thing to reference in terms of events is Tiamut.

IniNew2026-01-30 15:50

TBH, that's how a lot of early MCU films are. The cosmic cube from CA:TFA was never an infinity stone until it needed to be. The Ether from Thor was never an infinity stone until it needed to be. Captain Marvel was basically one giant retcon to connect tons of the early stuff and make it a "plan" all along. That's the, IMO, magic that marvel has lost. It's no longer thinking about the movies and seeing how they *could* be connected, but trying so hard to connect everything from the beginning that all the stories feel convoluted.

Butwhatif772026-01-30 20:13

Yea there is a fun technique where you write forwards and backwards, you start with a general plan develop it and as you write come up with new ideas and go back and change things from before to make it fit better, then write more and repeat.

That is what Marvel basically did initially. They told very good contained stories that made sense, then started looking for reasonable way to connect them so that on a rewatch they have more meaning to them.

It is always better to tell a good story first and add those connections second.

IniNew2026-01-30 21:05

Your line about "more meaning on rewatch" is really what I was getting at. You said it way better. It was fun to like a movie, and then later on, have those realization moments like "OMG, that was connected all along!!"

Now it's like: "Oh they mentioned adamantium, that probably means XYZ" which is way, **way** less fun IMO.

BartleBossy2026-01-30 15:55

When we look back 10 and 20 years later, it will be one of the movies that ages best.

N8CCRG2026-01-30 16:19

There's dozens of us!

The Eternals hate always makes me sad.

theysayimadreamer6662026-01-30 18:14

Same, I loved that movie.

ICumCoffee2026-01-30 15:18

Zhao:
> Eternals was not high on their priority list because it’s a quite unique IP and it [was] only on their list of potential players. You know, with Marvel, it’s very much a thing to find the right filmmaker before they say, 'That’s the IP we’re gonna go for'

> Zhao recalls Marvel boss Kevin Feige trusting her because she expressed a passion for the project, telling her, "Literally no one in the world was interested in it or told you to do it, but you wanted to do it."

She also said that she was in contention to direct Black Widow:
>Let me set the record straight. It doesn’t mean I had a job. I was in the running, But it didn’t feel like the right story for me, so I pulled myself out [of contention].

PhotoBonjour_bombs192026-01-30 15:30

So was he complimenting her while being sarcastic lol

Gemnist2026-01-30 15:22

Well, there goes Eternals 2.

Come-jive-with-me2026-01-30 15:27

I'll settle for them to eventually make an appearance again.....they did say theyvwill return at the end of the movie, was it a lie?

pje11282026-01-30 16:18

I'm sure they will return, but it'll be like Incredible Hulk characters and take years before we see them again.

Possible-Rate-38332026-01-30 16:55

I think they should be in a Thor movie, maybe one where Thor goes into space and ends up fighting Celestials and meeting the Eternals while that.

ConnorRoseSaiyan012026-01-30 15:48

Pretty sure that was already apparent from the reception of the 1st

JamesTiberiusCrunk2026-01-30 15:57

We haven't even gotten a Shang Chi 2 and the first one was really well liked.

blowyjoeyy2026-01-30 16:38

Yea what’s the deal with that

CaptHayfever2026-01-30 19:22

Overplanning the saga & lots of ensuing IRL issues causing production delays (covid, the strikes, Liu's injury, Boseman's death, Majors's conviction, Cretton's other jobs,....)

rustybutterindia2026-01-30 22:28

I think it was probably originally tied to The Kang Dynasty and planned for 2026. But Kang changed to Doom, Marvel buckled down on "risky" projects, DDC got put on Spider-Man, etc...

ImperialxWarlord2026-01-30 16:08

Such a shame, it was a fun movie!

heyheydance2026-01-30 16:58

Feige has already said there are no plans for a sequel lol. Eternals 2 has been gone

hitma-n2026-01-30 15:25

The cast, direction, visuals, action, cinematography and music kicked ass in Eternals. The thing that failed was the writing and the story.

BatmanNoPrep2026-01-30 15:34

The direction did not kick ass. It was just as bad as the writing. Zhao was bad and her film was bad. Needed more Francis McDormand relieving herself into a bucket in the back of a van imho.

AeroBlaze7772026-01-30 15:36

It was just trying to do too much. Introducing 9 brand new characters in a movie and explaining their complex backstories while also exploring what they are up to now. It is a character driven story that never had the time to develop its characters.

I still believe that if this movie was an 8-10 episode miniseries on Disney+ it would’ve been received much better.

PhortDruid2026-01-30 16:05

Agreed, it would have been much better as a show where they could build investment in the characters. Each episode in a different era with a different Eternal and an interweaving story about the Deviants, culminating in the S1 finale.

DefNotAShark2026-01-30 16:13

The complex part of their backstory was shared. It could have been three or sixteen characters and that part would have been the same.

The issue with Eternals is that it wastes time on meandering scenes (and even entire characters like Jon Snow and Kro) that ultimately aren’t important, or are inefficiently written. You can have a scene that on its surface seems meandering and unimportant but under the hood is doing heavy lifting for characterization and theme. Eternals sucks ass at that. It sucks ass at getting to the point of characters efficiently.

So I don’t think it needed to be a miniseries because all of the Eternals aren’t main characters. They aren’t equally important in the story. You have Ikaris, Sersi and Sprite who are the three that need the most attention. Following that, Athena. And then it’s everybody else that just need supporting character depth. That isn’t that crazy. I’ve seen shorter movies juggle more characters with better and more satisfying characterization. They were just written by more talented writers who were prepared for an ensemble cast and a layered plot.

Butwhatif772026-01-30 20:10

I think you are correct in context of what they gave us, but making it a miniseries could do a more complexed story where all the characters have more skin in the game allowing them to be more plot relevant and by extension more developed as well.

PNWCoug422026-01-30 16:18

Eternals would have been much better suited as a D+ series. We didn't get enough time with all the characters to really care about them or care about the Deviants.

happyplace282026-01-30 16:39

I fully believe that if they’d swapped release date and media strategy (movie vs series) for Eternals and FatWS both would have been much better received

robodrew2026-01-30 17:29

> Introducing 9 brand new characters in a movie and explaining their complex backstories while also exploring what they are up to now.

A lot of movies, I would dare say most movies, introduce most if not all of their characters for the first time when you first see the film. I think the notion that we can't become well attached to an ensemble cast in one film is a copout personally. I really do think the problem was the writing itself.

ateliercheezits2026-01-30 18:20

Every movie that isn't part of a franchise introduces the audience to new characters. This is just a complaint by marvel fans because they've only had the names of the OG avengers to remember. Lol.

Ezergill2026-01-30 15:38

Disagreed, I liked the story and the characters. I'll contend that the pacing is somewhat off, the events seem too crammed at times.

MartinKSmith2026-01-30 15:59

This was my issue with it, the beginning, going through the events of the past, showing that the eternals have always been here may have been somewhat necessary, but it dragged.

The story told, the characters, I enjoyed them all. And once it got to present day, it was well paced, imo.

Cut down or speed up some of the back story stuff and I think more people might have been on board.

Lincoln6242026-01-30 15:40

The writing and story also kicked ass.

All around great film. One of the MCU’s best.

_________FU_________2026-01-30 15:41

I actually like the writing.

Aglj19982026-01-30 15:43

The dumbest decisions of the movie were:
1: making the Eternals nothing but robots;
2: that the earth is basically just an egg;
3: doing absolutely nothing with the Deviants.

Adorable_Ad_34782026-01-30 15:52

Written by Chloe Zhao. Story by Chloe Zhao.

indigoblackestnight2026-01-30 16:05

I think people are confusing "the writing" with "the story." Eternals had solid dialogue. But the story was empty- no danger, nothing the characters wanted, nothing driving us to keep watching from one scene to the next.

Jlx_272026-01-30 15:27

Thats what you get for turning Eternals into a movie instead of a series.

RussellNorrisPiastri2026-01-30 17:10

I do wonder if they would ever get the go ahead for a series.

Jlx_272026-01-30 21:34

In my opinion the Hawkeye and Eternals should have been flipped, with Hawkeye being the movie.

____mynameis____2026-01-30 15:27

When u look at it, Feige tried to address all the complaints cinephiles/Non MCU fans had about MCU during Infinity Saga and it all backfired to prove that those very "restrictions" is what mcu THE MCU.

Letting a critically acclaimed director do a movie she wants and giving her full creative control was one of it....

WiseAdhesiveness66722026-01-30 15:28

Honestly, fuck Kevin. Everything I hear from him makes him.jist sound like an asshole.

Anyway, eternals was amazing. Wish we got more, buy Kevin just wants to keep jizzing on RDJ and Chris Evans.

PhotoBonjour_bombs192026-01-30 15:31

Guy upset cuz he fav film is not liked

PhotoBonjour_bombs192026-01-30 15:29

Bruh Kevin has made some questionable choices recently

matty_nice2026-01-30 15:47

At least since Endgame, and maybe going slightly back until post Infinity War.

Grand-PapI-Purp2026-01-30 15:29

Funny cause she easily had the worst performance in the movie.

HalfMoon_892026-01-30 15:30

Having a story that's so fundamental to the narrative, and then just ignoring it seems...bad from a longform storytelling perspective.

But then again, they completely sidelined the Council of Kangs after the bullshit with his actor, so...yeah.

Senshado2026-01-30 16:38

Eternals isn't fundamental to a narrative in any way...

You mean that big metal statue? Could've been replaced with the a random meteor, making no difference.

3verythingEverywher32026-01-30 18:10

Aside from that, the massive celestial showing up for everyone on earth to see and leaving. That's blip level panic - everyone has PTSD from that event. There should and would be a huge reaction.

REDeyeJEDI852026-01-30 15:30

I loved Eternals

netherlanddwarf2026-01-30 15:30

I personally think it was one of Marvel’s better films

Defiant_Research_2802026-01-30 15:31

LOCK HER UP

Bucks21742026-01-30 15:34

That’s because it was terrible and about characters that few care anything about. It was destined for failure.

true_paladin2026-01-30 15:34

This sucks, would've loved to see this become a trilogy, and we still need a follow up on that Black Knight Post-Credits, that's my favorite scene in the MCU (exclusively because I'm a die hard Black Knight fanboy)

Krylarofaxia2026-01-30 15:34

The quote is misleading. She means that before she was hired, Eternals was not a high priority on their list of potential projects, but it was her passion that convinced them to move forward with it

eltrotter2026-01-30 15:35

I still stand by my belief that Eternals was an admirable but flawed experiment, and that a lot of things actually do work well. It has a good cast, surprisingly good action, and a unique visual style, but it somehow manages to be much less than the sum of it's parts.

Maximus3612026-01-30 15:35

Who was clamoring for an Eternals movie to begin with? Someone had to have been, otherwise it never would have been made. I never heard of them before the movie was made.

Myhtological2026-01-30 15:38

Well that’s telling. Why didn’t President Feige even make it. Oh yeah he’s desperate for an Oscar so he hired an Oscar director.

[deleted]2026-01-30 15:38

[deleted]

joooalllanu2026-01-30 15:46

What about it is remotely reminiscent of Snyder?

x0megannnlynnn2026-01-30 15:38

As an Eternals Truther, these quotes are…very frustrating. Like… if you didn’t think the movie was something people were interested in, why did you even make the film? Just reads like he’s trying to push the blame for its shortcomings instead of just admitting they fumbled.

JadeDream12026-01-30 15:58

Because people dont know what they want untill you show them sometimes, They were willing to take a Risk, and something beautiful came out of it for the people who did love it.

x0megannnlynnn2026-01-30 16:04

Very true! Nicely put

RedHeadedSicilian522026-01-30 15:39

Idk, wasn’t there reporting at the time that Feige was genuinely hopeful that the movie could become Oscarbait… until the reviews came in?

General-Vis2026-01-30 15:41

Should have been a series instead of a movie.

v3rdy2026-01-30 15:49

My country was on lockdown when it was released so I had to wait for blu-ray. I will forever mourn not being able to watch it in the theater.

pkjoan2026-01-30 15:53

Eternals should have been a series

DMENShON2026-01-30 16:12

a lot of the movies after endgame should’ve been series tbh

ZachRyder2026-01-30 15:54

Eternals was made to compete against a DC film that never got made anyways.

The New Gods | [Announcement - Date: 15 March 2018](https://deadline.com/2018/03/ava-duvernay-new-gods-movie-warner-bros-dc-jack-kirby-1202338680/)

Eternals | [Announcement - Date: 23 April 2018](https://www.thewrap.com/marvel-kevin-feige-eternals/)

makeithurtmore2026-01-30 15:59

But maybe don’t make it because they are the least interesting bunch and it renders all the other characters meaningless ants?

leoleo6782026-01-30 15:59

I don’t like this line. It puts the blame entirely on her for Eternals and shifts it away from Kevin Fiege, who ultimately greenlighted it anyways. He did this same shit with Nia Decosta and pretending Dr. Doom was already being discussed before Majors. It’s a cheap way of just take credit for the successes.

GonzoNawak2026-01-30 16:11

I dont care what people say I love that movie.

emf3rd314952026-01-30 16:12

I loved Eternals and would love a sequel or just to see them again. I hope they get the chance to.

TheDolphinMan112026-01-30 16:23

I loved eternals when it came out and i still love it now. I will never say sorry

Accomplished-Try99952026-01-30 16:31

Blah blah blah...it's a good movie. PERIOD!

JorReno2026-01-30 16:51

Should've stayed at the bottom of the list ngl

enbiien2026-01-30 16:59

yeah Chloé it wasn't high on my priority list either

slimstarman2026-01-30 18:24

The only failure of this film was the audience. This being a box office disappointment while the cameos in a trench coat they called a Deadpool movie making a billion dollars should tell you all you need to know.

ChicanoDinoBot2026-01-30 18:27

I guarantee no theater is getting a pop when an eternals character shows up in avengers this year.