Marvel Studios' next big franchise, The Eternals, was officially announced during the its Hall H presentation at Comic Con International on Saturday. As part of the presentation, Marvel Studios president also announced some of the film's stars, including Angelia Jolie. Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we now have our first official portrait of (most) of the cast together.Following the explosive presentation, the cast of Marvel Studios' The Eternals -- with the exception of Salma Hayek -- hit up Entertainment Weekly, where they took an official cast photo together. Absent from the photo is director Chloé Zhao, but it absolutely highlights just how diverse the cast is thus far.
The cast includes Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, Don Lee and Angelina Jolie. Madden, Nanjiani, Jolie, Lee, and Hayek were previously announced as part of the cast. Arguably the biggest surprise, however, was Ridloff, who is not only the first Deaf actress to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but also the first to portray a Deaf character within the MCU as Makkari. Marvel Comics readers might be quick to point out that Hawkeye, Clint Barton, lives with hearing impairment, but this has never been explored in the MCU.
There are still plenty of roles to be cast, including Sersi, who was previously thought to be played by Jolie. Production is expected to begin once Black Widow wraps filming. More casting announcements are certainly on the way, but for now, it is clear that Marvel Studios is firmly working towards including more diversity in its product, both on and off screen.
Directed by Chloé Zhao with a screenplay by Matthew and Ryan Firpo, The Eternals stars Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh and Angelina Jolie as Thena. The film arrives in theaters on November 6, 2020.