Eternals (2021)
- The studio almost pulled funding for Eternals midway through the shoot, convinced that the general audience wouldn't connect with the highly unconventional tone.
- The lead role in Eternals was originally offered to a massive A-list star who turned it down because they didn't understand the script.
Eternals is a 2021 American superhero film directed by Chloë Zhao, fresh off her Academy Award win for Nomadland. The film introduces the Eternals, a race of immortal beings sent to Earth 7,000 years ago by the Celestials to protect humanity from the Deviants — monstrous predatory creatures. When the Deviants unexpectedly return in the present day, the Eternals must reunite after centuries apart to defend humanity while confronting a devastating truth about their mission and their creators' actual intentions for Earth.
The ensemble cast included Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, and Don Lee. Chloë Zhao brought her trademark naturalistic visual style to the MCU, shooting extensively on location across multiple continents with natural light — a stark aesthetic departure from the franchise's typically controlled studio environments. The film was the MCU's most ambitious in scope, spanning 7,000 years of human history, but its contemplative pacing and philosophical themes divided audiences and critics sharply.
Eternals earned $402 million worldwide.
