'Eternals' director Chloe Zhao on making the most ambitious Marvel movie yet

Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao takes on a new superheroic challenge with Marvel Studios’ Eternals.

It has been an eventful year for director Chloe Zhao, to say the least.

Earlier this year, she added “Oscar-winning director” to her name when indie film Nomadland won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Frances McDormand at the 2021 Academy Awards, among a clutch of other major film awards.

Now, she adds “director of a Marvel blockbuster” to her list of achievements, with the release of the much anticipated and long-delayed Marvel’s Eternals.

Originally meant to be released in November 2020, Eternals is part of Marvel Studios’ post-Infinity Saga Phase Four slate of movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), following Black Widow and Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.

However, while Eternals is part of the MCU, it also feels very different from your typical MCU film.

ALSO READ: 'Eternals' review: Marvel goes epic with a huge step in a new direction

Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) takes on a Deviant in 'Eternals'.

During StarLifestyle’s exclusive one-on-one virtual interview with Zhao, she explained why it feels that way (and it’s not just because she directed it).

“I came into the process when that decision was already made. (Producer) Nate Moore initially went to Kevin Feige and they talked about where they would go after the Infinity Saga,” she recalled, referencing the first three Phases of the MCU which ended with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

“Nate had an interest in Eternals because it was true to the spirit of (Eternals creator) Jack Kirby, who created these characters outside the mainstream popular heroes.

“So by taking a step back after the Infinity Saga, Marvel was able to see what was around this timeline and ask some questions that are not limited by where they are now.”

Richard Madden (left) and Gemma Chan play Ikkaris and Sersi, two members of the Eternals, omnipotent beings with superpowers that far exceed even those of the Avengers

The Eternals are a race of omnipotent beings with superpowers that far exceed even those of the Avengers. The team is led by the “Prime Eternal” Ajak (Salma Hayek), and comprises the Superman-like Ikaris (Richard Madden), the warrior queen Thena (Angelina Jolie), cosmic-energy shooter Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), super speedster Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), the hyper-intelligent Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), young illusion-maker Sprite (Lia McHugh), super-strong Gilgamesh (Ma Dong-seok), the mind-controlling Druig (Barry Keoghan), and matter-manipulator Sersi (Gemma Chen).

Sent by the all-powerful Celestial Arishem to prevent a destructive alien species called the Deviants from annihilating all life on Earth, the Eternals continued to live among humans for thousands of years, bound by a vow to only intervene in their affairs when Deviants are involved.

The Eternals were sent by the all-powerful Celestial Arishem to prevent a destructive alien species called the Deviants from annihilating all life on Earth.

The Eternals made their comics debut in 1976, courtesy of late comics creator Jack “King” Kirby, who enjoys the same legendary status as a certain Stan Lee.

However, while almost all the previous MCU movies were very much Stan Lee-driven (despite Kirby’s co-creating influence on the Avengers, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, etc), the Eternals is all Kirby, leading to a very different approach to the superhero theme.

When Kirby created the Eternals, it was a sort of continuation of his half-done New Gods concept, which was a myth-meets-sci-fi creation for Marvel rivals DC Comics (where he had a short-lived stint before returning to Marvel). Eternals dealt with ideas and concepts that were way beyond what the core Marvel universe (known as Earth-616) was at the time. While Kirby’s initial run on his own creation lasted less than two dozen issues (it was followed by a 1985 12-parter and a one-shot in 2000), other writers took up the baton and ran with it, most notably in 2006, when Neil Gaiman wrote a seven-issue mini-series with art by John Romita Jr.

'Eternals' features an all-star cast including Angelina Jolie.

According to Zhao, the Kirby and Gaiman runs were the main source of inspiration when she and fellow writers Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo were working on the story.

“I think Jack Kirby was our main source of inspiration in terms of the spirit of it. But also Neil Gaiman’s run; a lot came from that as well,” she said.

“Gaiman is a brilliant, brilliant storyteller who also tells stories about things that happen in the society.

“He built on what Jack Kirby created and brought things that he saw at that time. And then we looked around the world we live in today, and tried to build on those very solid foundations.”

'Eternals' boasts a diverse cast of actros including (from left) Harish Patel, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, and Ma Dong-seok.

Another thing that stands out with Eternals is the diverse cast, which includes a South Korean (Ma), a South Asian descent (Nanjiani), a Latino (Hayek), and also Marvel’s first ever deaf hero, Makkari, played by deaf actress Ridloff.During a global virtual press conference, Feige said that the Eternals were meant to represent humanity as a whole, even though they are actually aliens from another planet altogether.

When I asked Zhao about this oddity, she laughed and said it didn’t feel odd to her at all.

“I would say they came to this planet with a blank canvas, and 7,000 years is a long time,” she explained.

“So who they are today when you meet them represents certain aspects of human nature, or more than one, with the duality we have in us.”

“So I would say Eternals is a story about humanity and also about 10 aliens!”

Eternals is showing at cinemas nationwide.