Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige said the company wouldn't have attempted Eternals if it wasn't for director Chloé Zhao.
Not only will Eternals introduce a new group of characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and expand on its history in ways yet to be revealed, but it will also see one of the most prestigious modern directors put their spin on a superhero film. But while Zhao won acclaim for Nomadland and may seem like an unusual pick to helm a Marvel film, she's actually just as much a superhero nerd as she is an indie filmmaker.
"The truth is, we would not have even attempted this if it weren't for Chloé," Feige told Entertainment Weekly. "We thought, here's a filmmaker who is equal parts cinematic visionary and genre nerd. She can outtalk any of us when it comes to manga and Star Wars and Marvel comics. It's quite an astounding combination. And this movie, I think, represents all of the immense multitudes of Chloé."
Her Oscar-winning film is proof of this duality, as Nomadland features an Avengers Easter egg. Zhao herself has said she long wanted to work with Marvel, and she brought her indie sensibilities to Eternals, including using a similar casting process to Nomadland.
"She's just one of the greatest filmmakers ever, and she's at the height of her powers right now," Kingo actor Kumail Nanjiani said. "Working with someone like that, you'd think it'd be intimidating, but it was the opposite. I just felt very safe. I was like, Oh, she's not going to let me suck at this."
Zhao went on to discuss the sheer joy she felt while working on the project and detailed a moment that saw her two worlds collide while recalling a shoot on a cliffside that brought the whole cast together.
"It was probably the windiest cliff that I have ever been on," Zhao said. "You'd have to have a helicopter to achieve the wind that we had that day. We had our whole cast standing on that cliff in their costumes, and we played really loud operatic music on the speaker, just blasting that through the wind. Seeing my cast coming together in formation as the Eternals, with the beauty of this ancient-looking landscape, and the ocean and the sky, that was… [Laughs] I mean, I couldn't stand because I felt like I was getting lifted by the wind. But other than that, it was pretty awesome."
Eternals arrives in theaters Nov. 5.
Source: Entertainment Weekly