While films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe don't always commit to the deaths of their characters, Eternals saw several high-profile causalities. Now, Eternals co-writer Patrick Burleigh has explained how, despite being Marvel's most super superheroes, death also makes them much more human.
When asked by The Hollywood Reporter if he and director Chloé Zhao had any debates about which Eternals would die in the film, Burleigh replied, "It's ironic, because in many ways the Eternals are more super than any superhero who has heretofore appeared in a Marvel film. At the same time, they are kind of the most human. We hadn't really seen many characters die in the MCU. That was definitely an important part of conveying the humanity of these characters. In terms of the body count, I'm trying to remember. We may have had one more die at the beginning and then pulled back from that. A lot of what Chloé and I did was structural. I think it was more a matter of what worked for the flow of the film. Essentially it was a road trip movie. What is going to motivate these characters from one place to the next? How can we vary their reaction to the death of Ajak [Salma Hayek]?"
Based on characters created by Jack Kirby, Eternals follows the titular group of ancient, superpowered beings who are sent to Earth by the Celestials to stop the Deviants. After accomplishing their mission, the Eternals spend centuries apart. However, when the threat of the Deviants returns following the Avengers' use of the Infinity Stones to reverse Thanos' Snap, they're forced to reunite for an event called the Emergence.
The Eternals possess a number of different abilities. Ikaris (Richard Madden), for example, can fly and shoot energy beams, while Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) can move at incredibly fast speeds.
At the time of writing, Eternals has earned $284 million at the worldwide box office despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic against a budget of approximately $200 million. Critical reviews for the film have generally trended negative, resulting in Eternals earning a 47 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. This makes it the first MCU movie to actually be "Rotten" on that platform. However, Eternals' Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes is much higher, with the movie sitting at an 80 percent.
Marvel Studios has not confirmed if there will be a direct sequel to Eternals, though co-writer Kaz Firpo shared his idea for a prequel series focused on Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani). Regardless of just what happens in terms of the Eternals themselves, the movie set up the future of the MCU in some big ways, with teases for a number of major characters.
Eternals is in theaters now. The next movie in the MCU will be Spider-Man: No Way Home, which releases Dec. 17. Before that, though, Hawkeye will land on Disney+ on Nov. 24.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter