While Jack Kirby's influence has long been felt across the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Eternals will see one of his most personal creations brought to life.
The movie and TV landscape is no stranger to Kirby's work, both for Marvel and DC. But Kirby's Eternals, a relatively obscure group of heroes to most audiences, getting a big-budget film is certainly an achievement. And Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige assures fans that the movie will honor the artist and writer.
"The whole movie is a love letter to what one man was able to do with a pencil, sitting at a little desk on the east coast," Feige told The Hollywood Reporter at the premiere for Eternals on Oct. 18.
Feige went on to discuss how much has changed since Kirby first imagined alien worlds and superheroes in space. "One of the bummers, you could argue there are many, of the current timeline that we live in, is that Jack Kirby passed before he got to see any of this," Feige said of the many leaps and bounds society has made into space since Kirby passed in 1994.
The Eternals, Deviants, and even Celestials might not be known to most audiences, and the movie will even introduce one of Kirby's more unusual creations, but Feige still believes it will win over audiences and please long-time fans.
"We are very, very proud of it," Feige finished. "Yes, it’s 10 characters nobody has heard of. But it is the heart and soul of what Jack Kirby brought to our universe."
The MCU so far is covered in Kirby's creations, and his artistic influence can be seen in Thor: Ragnarok and What If...?, but there's still more to come. Eternals producer Nate Moore recently teased that even the Celestials seen so far will be upgraded for the movie, bringing them closer to the behemoths that Kirby created on the page. But it's also clear that some of Kirby's design elements for the heroes and their world have been changed for the movie, so it remains to be seen how die-hard fans will view the "love letter" to the creator when it finally arrives.
Eternals hits theaters Nov. 5.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter