You may think that being introduced to ten new Marvel characters in Eternals is a lot, but at one stage, it was even more. Director Chloe Zhao has revealed that there were originally supposed to be twelve members of the team (possibly a Biblical reference?). “There was 12 characters when I first read it; 12 Eternals. We had to let two go along the way” said the director in an interview with Fandom.
Eternals will be released this Friday – November 5 worldwide. It introduces the most new Marvel characters since Guardians of the Galaxy. Zhao explains that it wasn’t important that all ten members of the Eternals get equal screen time, but to be memorable and have equal “weight.”
“Some characters don’t need the most screen time, it’s about what they do with the screen time. They have to be memorable. And when we looked at these 10 unique individuals, we thought about how they represent 10 aspects of human nature…All 10 of them had the same weight; not necessarily screen time, but the weight.”
In the same interview, Zhao explained more about the love triangle involving Eternals Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Ikaris (Richard Madden) and human Dane Whitman (Kit Harington), “They represent the two sides of Sersi that she is trying to figure out. Is she human? Or is she an Eternal? Her past turned out to be something she not only disagrees with, but is a lie in some ways, so who is she in this world? She’s an immigrant coming from a place she can’t go back to so now she has to fit in and Dane represents that love that she has, that side of her. So her struggle between Ikaris and Dane, between her two great loves, is also her inner struggle of figuring out who she truly is.”
As for actor Kit Harington – he is excited for his future in the MCU and has thought about which actors and directors he’d like to team up with; “I’ve always been a big fan of Paul Rudd and I just love Ant-Man. I don’t know if that would ever fit or work, but that’s who I’d love to work with. I’d also love to work with Taika Watiti at some point, if he was ever gonna direct another one.”
It will be up to Marvel fans to find out whether ten characters is too many – or not enough – when they get to see the film for themselves on Friday.