The Untold Truth Of The Eternals Movie

Nearly five decades after they first debuted in the comics through the writing and art style of Jack Kirby, the cosmic superheroes the Eternals are making their silver-screen debut through the motion picture "Eternals." Despite being relatively obscure figures in the history of Marvel Comics, "Eternals" isn't a low-budget affair. It's a massively expensive project with a star-studded cast and helmed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Chloe Zhao. Marvel Studios is going all-in on this property and with the idea of this team having a sizeable presence in the expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe mythos. Given how many resources are being put into "Eternals," it shouldn't be a surprise, then, that the project has a similarly sizeable untold truth concerning its trip to the silver screen.

These facts cover a wide variety of topics, including how often the "Eternals" characters have appeared in other non-comics mediums as well as the creative inspirations for Zhao when it came to bringing this project to life. "Eternals" is an epic entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so it's only fitting that the feature's untold truth is a similarly dense affair that spans years and years. 

Throughout the years, some of the pitches filmmakers have made for potential Marvel Cinematic Universe directing gigs have become legendary. Taika Waititi's initial "Thor: Ragnarok" pitch, for instance, has become famous for how it used Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," a bold musical cue that would stick around to the final cut of the eventual movie. For "Eternals," Chloe Zhao also delivered a memorable pitch, one that Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has had nothing but positive things to say about.

Talking to Rolling Stone, Feige declared Zhao's pitch for "Eternals" the greatest pitch he'd ever heard at that point in Marvel Studio's history. He also observed how Zhao's first comments on the potential project nailed the mixture of intimate humanity and expansive sci-fi spectacle that Marvel Studios wanted to achieve with this particular project. Zhao would later reveal that her pitch to Marvel Studios got off on an unorthodox note. Rather than starting with a description of an action sequence or references to other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Zhao's pitch began with a picture of sand and her quoting a poem by William Blake. With such distinctive flourishes, it's no wonder this pitch left such a massive impression on Feige and company.

"Eternals" is the 26^th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which gives the project a lot of creative influences to draw from in the broader franchise. However, Chloe Zhao wouldn't just be inspired by prior "Avengers" movies when it came time to make "Eternals." Zhao had a wide range of projects to draw from in broader pop culture when it came to molding the vision for her superhero movie blockbuster.

"Jack Kirby and his imagination, his incredible work, is really the foundation of it," Zhao explained to Variety. However, she wasn't looking to build the film on just Kirby's take on the Eternals. She was also aiming to craft a feature that could expand upon the mythos established through prior Marvel Cinematic Universe titles, which Zhao considered herself a fan of. On top of all that, Zhao was also looking to incorporate influences from material that had inspired her as a youngster, namely "sci-fi and manga and fantasy films." As if these influences couldn't get more eclectic, Zhao also remarked that "The Revenant" served as a guiding light for how she would frame the visceral action sequences in "Eternals." It's not every day a blockbuster comes along that takes as many cues from Alejandro González Iñárritu as it does from manga, but that's just what Zhao was attempting to create through channeling unique creative influences on "Eternals."

Like many Marvel Cinematic Universe directors, Chloe Zhao was not an expert in superhero movies before embarking on a solo movie in this franchise. Before she tackled "Eternals," Zhao was known for indies with varying degrees of influence from the Western genre, like "The Rider" and "Nomadland." To transition to a much different form of filmmaking, Zhao didn't rewrite her style of directing. In fact, she was adamant in maintaining cinematography continuity with her prior efforts as a filmmaker.

"I shot exactly the way I wanted to shoot," Zhao explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "On location. A lot of magic hour. Three-hundred-sixty degrees on the same camera as I did on 'Nomadland.' Same rigs. It's a bit surreal. I'm still waiting for the shoe to drop. It hasn't. I think I got lucky in that Marvel wants to take risks and do something different." Part of keeping a consistent sense of style across these projects was maintaining critical crew members from earlier Zhao works. In an interview with Collider, "Nomadland" cinematographer Joshua James Richards noted that he worked as a camera operator on "Eternals" with the production's cinematographer, Ben Davis. He also observed how one particular scene in this superhero blockbuster was shot in exactly the same restrained way as a sequence from "Nomadland." "Eternals" was big project for Zhao, but, in terms of camerawork, the film's director would be the same old Zhao that had garnered so much acclaim.

The process for filling out the ensemble cast for "Eternals" was a slow one, with Angelina Jolie being the first person to get officially settled there. In the ensuing months, performers like Richard Madden, Brian Tyree Henry, and Kumail Nanjiani would all join the eclectic collection of performers. On the eve of the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, where Marvel Studios would show off this cast officially for the first time, Variety reported that a new famous face had been added to the mix in the form of "Stranger Things" headliner Millie Bobby Brown.

Though the publication didn't specify who she'd be playing, being a teenage performer it's reasonable to assume Brown was expected to play Sprite, the eternally young member of the Eternals team. However, shortly after this report went out, Brown took to social media to clarify that, while she wasn't opposed to joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she had not joined the cast of "Eternals" at that time. Though plenty of unexpected iconic performers ended up a part of "Eternals," Brown was not one of them, with the role of Sprite eventually going to Lia McHugh instead.

When you're working on a massive superhero blockbuster for months on end, you'd hope you'd connect with your co-workers. Otherwise, that's going to be a torturous shoot devoid of any real human connections. Luckily, the cast of "Eternals" saw several friendships blossom between artists during its lengthy principal photography. This includes famous performers Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie, who formed an especially tight bond during their time filming this expansive blockbuster.

"I discovered a soul sister who is similar to me in so many ways," Hayek explained to Elle in an interview. "I felt like I'd known her for my entire life. I got to know her a little better than everyone else, and it's very precious to me." In that same interview, Jolie explained that it was Hayek's "motherhood and power" that especially fascinated this performer and served as the bedrock of their friendship. With this kind of shared fondness, the shooting of "Eternals" was doubtlessly a pleasant one for both actors.

During "Eternals," you're bound to see strange visuals, including human beings running at super speed, peculiar-looking spaceships, and monstrous Deviants. However, for film buffs, one of the most unusual sights in "Eternals" will come during the credits, specifically, when the film flashes who wrote the project. Like other Marvel Cinematic Universe filmmakers such as Shane Black and Ryan Coogler, Chloe Zhao served as both a writer and a director for her entry in this franchise. However, unlike other writer/directors in this series, Zhao is credited here as a screenwriter not once, but twice. It's such an unorthodox experience that one can't help but ask how this Oscar winner managed to snag so many writing credits.

Screenwriter Zack Stentz took to Twitter to clear up this unusual phenomenon, explaining that Zhao was credited once for writing the screenplay on her own and scored another credit for also doing a pass with screenwriter Patrick Burleigh. This pair of artists also shared the screenwriting credit with Matthew and Ryan Firpo, the duo who wrote the very first draft of "Eternals." In the end, this is a rather mundane explanation for what will doubtlessly be, to those not in the know, a puzzling sight to spot in the credits.