Eternals Producer Confirms A Tragic Detail About Angelina Jolie's Character
Marvel fans have plenty of questions about "Eternals" and why the cosmically-powered team didn't step in to help Earth's Mightiest Heroes in "The Avengers," "Avengers: Age of Ultron," "Avengers: Infinity War," and "Avengers: Endgame." By the time fans meet them in their own movie, the Eternals have been around for thousands of years, and their only purpose is to protect Earth from the Deviants — a deformed race of creatures with their terrifying abilities.
There's been some clarification on the Thanos debacle, as Sersi (Gemma Chan) tells Dane Whitman (Kit Harrington) in the final "Eternals" trailer, "We were instructed not to interfere in any human conflicts unless Deviants were involved." Fair enough. Obviously, the honest answer is that the story didn't need them there, and they hadn't been established in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet. However, director Chloé Zhao told Total Film that the team was conflicted about not getting involved with Thanos. The Oscar winner said we'll see how not interfering made the Eternals ultimately feel.
One of the producers on the new film recently revealed that some of the team are a little worse for wear when the movie kicks off. It looks like Thena (Angelina Jolie) is feeling the effects of her lengthy lifespan.
Thena has a tragic story
Producer Nate Moore told Screen Rant about Thena's narrative during a roundtable interview, explaining that "She has a tragic story in our film in that she comes down with something called Mahd Wy'ry." Her condition is pulled straight from the comics, and it causes extreme memory loss due to living for 7,000 years. Or, as Moore pointed out, "It's a version of dementia" for the Eternals.
The producer went on to explain, "Because of the amount of memories they have, they become unstuck in their own mind, so she starts to forget exactly when she is." He also explained that Jolie's hero isn't alone in her ordeal, adding, "so through the course of the movie, Gilgamesh becomes her protector."
The teasers and trailers for the film have shown Gilgamesh (Don Lee) and Thena in an isolated cabin. Moore noted that this is because Jolie's character has become a genuine threat because of her abilities. "And when we find them in the modern-day, they're living off the grid in a cabin in Australia because she's too dangerous to have around humans," he said. Remember, Thena can manifest weapons out of thin air whenever she likes, which is a dangerous power to have if she's not in control of herself.
But it sounds as if the role gives the actress plenty to explore. Moore added, "it's a fun arc for Angelina to play." Hopefully, she isn't relegated for the whole film, as there are 7,000 years of history to explore after all.