Marvel Studios is about to experience something they haven’t had before when the movie Eternals finally reaches theaters in November. That movie’s director, Chloe Zhao, will be coming off of a Best Director (and Picture) win at the Academy Awards, and follows it up with a debut chapter in the MCU thanks to fortuitous timing -- and a few delays at the movie theaters around the globe. Zhao won for Nomadland, a movie that also carried its leading lady Frances McDormand to the Oscars stage for their collaboration. So we are very excited to see what Zhao brings to Eternals, and Angelina Jolie is adding to that hype.
Jolie also makes her MCU debut in Eternals, a movie that will introduce Marvel audiences to a population of Godlike creatures who have been on our planet, observing, since the dawn of time. Eternals conflict with Deviants, and they all live in fear of high-powered Celestials. It should all make sense when the movie comes out. CinemaBlend sat down with Angelina Jolie to talk about her new film Those Who Wish Me Dead, but seeing as how Chloe Zhao had just come off an Oscar win, we asked her what she thought of the victory, and how it made her feel. Jolie told us:
I was very, very happy. Very, very happy. I think she’s a special director, She’s a really interesting woman. She’s very thoughtful, very serious about her work. And I think she’s bringing a new voice through her films, and I think to Marvel. So I’m very excited for people to see it.
These comments come on the heels of Eternals showing off its first original footage, which was included in Marvel Studios’ hype video welcoming audiences back to movie theaters. The clips were very short, and showcased the movie’s diverse cast. We got shots of Gemma Chan, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani and Angelian Jolie, brandishing a golden sword as the hero, Thena.
Now we need a trailer to help us fill in the large gaps surrounding this mysterious and original feature. Marvel has a good track record of pairing storytellers with MCU characters, whether it’s turning the keys to Wakanda over to Creed jelmer Ryan Coogler, or letting James Gunn’s unique sense of humor color in the Guardians of the Galaxy’s corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We are all wondering what it was about Eternals that sold Marvel on Chloe Zhao, who has made tender, introspective and insightful movies about the human condition in The Rider and Nomadland. I’m eager to see how her approach transfers over to a Marvel movie.
Eternals opens in theaters on November 5, while Angelina Jolie can next be seen as a firefighter avoiding criminals and a raging blaze in Taylor Sheridan’s Those Who Wish Me Dead, in theaters and on HBO Max beginning May 14.
