In recent months, more and more news is coming out about Marvel‘s Eternals, which is nearing its November 5, 2021 release date. And now, we’re finally getting a closer look at the highly anticipated film from the Oscar-winning director of Nomadland, Chloe Zhao, in the form of an official teaser that released earlier today. The film was co-written by Zhao alongside Kaz and Ryan Firpo.
Eternals stars a stacked ensemble of names including Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kit Harington, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Barry Keoghan, Lauren Ridloff, Ma Dong-seok and Lia McHugh. The film follows the Eternals, a race of immortal beings who lived on earth and shaped its history. The new teaser shows the Eternals as they arrive on earth and proceed to help humans develop civilizations. Hayek, who plays Ajak in the film, narrates the teaser, saying “We have watched and guided. We have helped them progress and seen them accomplish wonders. Throughout the years, we have never interfered. Until now.”
The film may be a new entry in the MCU, but Zhao has promised that Eternals will be a bit different. Zhao’s previous works have been microscopic in scale compared to the average Marvel film, so for her to make the leap from a film like Nomadland to Eternals seems like a big shift. However, the director promised that Disney allowed her to take the lead on the film and make it her own.
“I want to be careful saying ‘my vision,’ even though I do want people to know they did support what I wanted to do. I want people to know that,” Zhao said in an interview with Variety. “But I also want to make sure they know that I got the support of this incredibly talented team, some of the most talented artists in the world. And it really is a village to make this film, but they did let me lead.”