In a recent interview, Eternals director Chloé Zhao explained how the past films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe drew her into the idea of working on Eternals, specifically the use of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame and the way the the MCU handled the conflict between the superheroes in Captain America: Civil War.
It appears that what has particularly shaped Zhao's vision for Eternals is the idea of interpersonal conflict and moral ambiguities, things that she was initially surprised to discover in the world of the MCU.
Zhao explained to Empire Magazine that "it was Civil War that pulled [her] in hardcore." She especially loved how much the conflict reminded her of a family fighting, which is precisely how she sees Eternals, as just like how the Avengers found themselves running up against personality clashes, imagine what it would be like for beings who have lived for thousands of years.
She noted that it was "[a]kin to stories of Greek and Roman gods, who live very human lives with human traits. Rivalries, jealousies and frailties... when you've been around for as long as they've been around, and had to deal with each other for that amount of time, you're gonna sometimes rub up against each other the wrong way."
Similarly, she was impressed that the MCU had already begun to explore the moral "grey area" that she believed was needed for Eternals to work. She pointed out, "[t]hey were already on a path towards the sort of movie I was proposing... I do feel like Marvel has explored moral ambiguity quite a lot with movies like Civil War and Endgame . To many people, Thanos was right. I loved the idea of continuing to challenge the straightforward morality we're used to in the superhero genre... I love all that."
Zhao, of course, is primarily known for her smaller, more indie films, but she is not concerned, explaining, "I always knew if I were to step into a world where I was going to be working with a much larger team, it'd have to be because I'm the only person who could tell that story... there's a reason why I'm doing this film, because of what I can offer."
Eternals arrives in theaters Nov. 5.
Source: Empire Magazine via Twitter