Kumail Nanjiani drew headlines when fans saw how ripped he got for Marvel's Eternals, but the extent of this muscle gain was not what the studio had anticipated.
"I will say this because this is the truth, we were like, 'Hey Kumail don't worry about it. You don't have to get in a ton, like this isn't the movie where we have to work out a ton,'" Eternals producer Nate Moore told Screen Rant during a January 2020 set visit about Nanjiani's decision to bulk up for the role. "But he wanted to do it and he got at some point I had to call him said, 'Kumail I think you got too big' because we saw him I think on Kimmel or something. He's a movie star. He's not a bodybuilder and we had to pull Kumail back ... He was so excited to be in the movie he was just invested, but yeah, he got big. I've been in the gym with him it is very intimidating."
Nanjiani originally uploaded his bodybuilder-like photos to Instagram in 2019 ahead of Eternals-then 2020 release, which was later pushed back a year by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Since then, trailers for Eternals have teased elements of his character Kingo, such as an ability to fire lasers from his hands and having a high-profile career as a Bollywood star. According to Nanjiani, he played Kingo as "this character full of joy" who not only felt subversive compared to cliché Middle-Eastern Hollywood roles, but also embraced contemporary pleasures more openly than the majority of his teammates.
Recent Eternals posters and videos also provided a closer look at Kingo's distinctly purple costume and combat moves against the Eternals' foes, the Deviants. One of these videos established that Kingo's strengths lean toward the "fighters" side of the Eternals, matched by figures like Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) and Thena (Angelina Jolie). In addition to the Eternals and Deviants, Eternals will also feature appearances by the alien beings known as Celestials, who are responsible for creating both the Eternals and Deviants in the comics.
Directed by Chloé Zhao, Eternals debuts in theaters on Nov. 5.
Source: Screen Rant