Looking to build off of the recent success of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Marvel Studios' Eternals is finally approaching, and first reactions have been pouring in following the film's premiere.
After a year delay due to the pandemic, with an original release date set all the way back on November 6th, 2020, Chloé Zhao's ambitious and highly anticipated Eternals was finally presented to its first audience at the historic El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. While the more in-depth, descriptive reviews won't be released until Sunday (with the official embargo lifting at 11 a.m. PT), fans can finally get a quick idea of what to expect from this phase 4 entry.
Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Eternals centers on an immortal alien race that was created by the Celestials and has been living secretly on Earth for thousands of years. They finally have to come together to stop their evil counterparts known as the Deviants. Coming off an incredible 2021 Academy Awards for her indie film Nomadland, winning Best Director and Best Picture, the Oscar-winning Zhao seemed like the perfect choice to expand the ongoing MCU in bold and unique directions. Based on the first reactions, Eternals has Zhao's style all over it and the end result is a film that is visually distinct from past Marvel projects.
Zhao recently spoke of the film's enormous impact, believing the 26th MCU entry will resonate with audiences like no other Marvel film. Star Angelina Jolie, who will play Thena in the film, added in an interview with Elle that she believes Zhao's understanding of the source material surrounding this particular story along with her indie background will add up to something different, yet truly spectacular. It appears that Jolie's description of the film fits, as audiences are calling Eternals the freshest, most ambitious MCU film to date.
In a recently released Eternals featurette, long-time Marvel producer Nate Moore claimed that Eternals will explore brand new aspects and corners of the MCU that have not been seen before. Having a confirmed runtime of 156 minutes (2 hours and 36 minutes) that marks Eternals as the 2nd longest MCU feature, the film certainly has the potential to be one of the most epic MCU projects to date.
Eternals' star-studded ensemble also includes Game of Thrones' Richard Madden and Kit Harrington as Ikaris and Dane Whitman, Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard's Salma Hayek as Ajak, Crazy Rich Asians' Gemma Chan as Sersi, The Big Sick's Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Atlanta's Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, The Walking Dead's Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Train to Busan's Don Lee as Gilgamesh, and The Green Knight's Barry Keoghan as Druig. The film will have an early premiere on October 24th at the Rome Film Festival, lining up with its embargo release.
Eternals is set for an exclusive theatrical release on November 5th, 2021.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Elle