Eternals star Angelina Jolie rejected the idea of starring in a solo movie centered on her character Thena.
When asked by CinePOP if she’d want to headline a standalone Thena adventure, Jolie said, "I loved being part of the family, so I have no desire to separate from the family. But I would be happy to play her again and explore even more deeply the struggles that she has. I think it’s fun thinking of where they’ve been over the years. We’ve got thousands of years worth of material. We can take her anywhere. I think that’s fun and I like the idea that we can pop up somewhere, maybe in other Marvel movies."
Despite being one of the biggest movie stars to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jolie plays a supporting role in Eternals, which introduces 10 new superheroes to the MCU. In terms of screen time, Richard Madden’s Ikaris and Gemma Chan’s Sersi are more central to the story than Jolie’s Thena -- an elite warrior who can form any weapon out of pure cosmic energy. Still, Jolie is featured front and center in many of the film’s epic action sequences. There’s also a prominent storyline that sees Thena suffering from memory loss, giving her a unique arc within the superhero genre.
Eternals producer Nate Moore recently revealed that Jolie thought her role as Thena would only be a cameo. "When we first talked to her, I think she thought, well, I know she thought we wanted her for a very, very small cameo," he said. "So she was sort of surprised at the size of the role, and really threw herself into Thena and creating a movement style for Thena and a fighting style for Thena that was unique."
Jolie previously spoke about the importance of joining a "family" within the MCU, saying "it was the cast" that inspired her to sign on for Eternals. "It was the idea of what this family would be. And I just wanted to be a part of this family before I even knew very much about who I was gonna play," she explained.
Jolie also took pride in being part of the MCU’s most inclusive film, which includes characters of different ethnicities, sexualities and even a deaf superhero. "What's really quite stunning is that when we walked out all of us together, it didn't feel like, 'This is so new and cool,' it felt like, 'This is how it always should have been,'" she said.
Eternals is now playing in theaters.
Source: YouTube