Eternals, the upcoming film by the Marvel Cinematic Universe whose teaser released on Tuesday, will release in theatres on November 6. The film will mark Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao’s Marvel debut.
As per Marvel’s synopsis, the film follows the events of Avengers: Endgame and begins with the “epic story, spanning thousands of years” featuring “a group of immortal heroes forced out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s oldest enemy, the Deviants”. The new team is described as “ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret”.
It features one of the most diverse cast ever seen in a superhero film with Angelina Jolie as the “fierce warrior” Thena, Richard Madden as the “all-powerful” Ikaris, Gemma Chan as “humankind loving” Sersi, Kumail Nanjiani as the “cosmic powered” Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as the “super-fast” Makkari or the Marvel equivalent of Flash, Brian Tyree Henry as the “intelligent inventor” Phastos, Salma Hayek as the “wise and spiritual leader” Ajak, Lia McHugh as the “eternally young and old soul” Sprite, Don Lee as the “powerful” Gilgamesh, Barry Koeghan as the “aloof loner” Druig, and Kit Harrington as Dane Whitman or, the Black Knight.
Phastos is reportedly the first ever Black gay superhero, while Makkari is the fastest yet mute.
The film that was announced at the 2020 San Diego Comic-Con, is based on Jack Kirby’s comic book series by the same name, that was first published in 1976.
This is what the Eternals team is all about with some firsts in the Marvel superhero universe:
Ikaris played by Richard Madden: Rob Stark from Game of Thrones will star as the all-powerful Ikaris who is interested in leading the Eternals. Having said to possess “conventional abilities of the Eternals of Earth” Ikaris’ body is augmented by cosmic energy and is regenerative. He is immune to injury, illness, ageing, and extreme temperatures and is renowned in the comic series for being able to manifest the Blue Flame- a unique energy required to reshape the physical forms of Eternals, humans and/or Deviants.
Sersi played by Gemma Chan: Chan who portrayed the character of Minn-Erva in the MCU film Captain Marvel, will play the lead in Eternals. Sersei is at least 5,000 years old and belongs to the island of Aeaea. Having met Odysseus and Nero in recent years, she returned to Earth to judge humanity, the Eternals, and their other creation, the Deviants. By this time, Sersi had become a famous entertainer in New York, hosting parties for film stars, super heroes and other influential people. She often entertained with her powers, which her normal human guests believed to be stage magic. As per the comics, she had also joined Avengers for a brief period of before quitting and settling down as a socialite.
Kingo played by Kumail Nanjiani: Kingo can project cosmic energy from his hands. An admirer of fame, he goes on to become a Bollywood actor “who must leave his life of wealth and celebrity to help the team repel the new Deviant threat,” reports ComicBook resources.
Ajak played by Salma Hayek: While Ajak is a man in the comic series, the actress will play the spiritual leader in the film. As a member of the Polar Eternals, the character is said to have clashed with The Deviants and their leader, warlord Kro in Babylon around 2,500 BC. Her powers include complete control over the atoms of her body allowing her to regenerate after virtually any injury, the ability to project cosmic energy from her eyes or hands in the form of heat, light or concussive force, teleportation, flight at the speed of sound and the ability to rearrange the molecular structure of objects. Ajak is also a brilliant archaeologist and skilled wrestler.
Gilgamesh played by Don Lee: One of the strongest Eternals, Gilgamesh is said to posses the “conventional” powers of an Eternal with near limitless stamina. He hand-crafts his own battle armor, and Sprite created space armor enabling him to function in a vacuum.
Sprite played by Lia McHugh: Similar to Ajka, Sprite’s gender is reversed from a 12-year-old boy in the comics to a girl in the film. Sprite focuses her Eternal powers towards illusion, matter rearrangement and elemental transmutation, surpassed among the Eternals only by Sersi.
Druig played by Barry Keoghan: In the film, Druig is defined as a loner who becomes withdrawn from the Eternals because of the latter’s interactions with humankind. Even in the comics, he has sought personal power at the expense of others. He specialises in changing and manipulating reality who can use cosmic energy to control the mind of others.
Thena played by Angelina Jolie: Thena or Azura, is a second generation Eternal and the daughter of Zuras, leader of Eternals of the Earth. Her name Thena, marks the alliance between the Olympian god Zeus and his daughter Athena, and the Eternals wherein, the latter is expected to be the representatives of the gods on Earth. In the film, she is a warrior who can form any weapon out of cosmic energy.
Dane Whitman aka Black Knight played by Kit Harrington: Game of Thrones‘ Jon Snow will be playing a warrior in his Marvel debut. A human who goes on to prove his worth by bringing in his possession the Ebony Blade, Harrington features only once in the teaser. It is unclear if he will be taking the form of Black Knight in the film. However, in the comics, he goes on to restore the legacy of the Black Knights after his uncle Nathan Garrett is “mortally wounded” in a battle with Iron Man. Initially he his armed with just his scientific expertise and experiments on magnetism to locate extra-terretrial beings on Earth.
The film will be distribted by Walt Disney Company and falls under Marvel’s Phase Four list of releases.
