Marvel Studios' Eternals director Chloe Zhao has revealed that her love for another medium influenced her take on the space gods.
"I have such deep, strong, manga roots," Zhao said in an interview with THR. "I brought some of that into Eternals. And I look forward to pushing more of that marriage of East and West."
"Her initial pitch to us was fascinating," Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige added. "And frankly one of the reasons we moved forward on the movie was because of the vision that she brought to it."
Created by Jack Kirby, the Eternals are a race of beings with immense cosmic powers who have connections to nearly every corner of the Marvel Universe, including the Mad Titan Thanos and the mutant race. A new comic series by the creative team of Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribic will release this November ahead of the movie.
Directed by Chloé Zhao with a screenplay by Matthew and Ryan Firpo, 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, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Gemma Chan as Sersi and Kit Harington as Dane Whitman/Black Knight. The film arrives in theaters Feb. 12, 2021.