On Monday May 24, Marvel Studios released the teaser trailer for their upcoming film “Eternals.” Fans around the world have been eager to see the trailer since we got a brief clip of the film in the “Marvel Studios Celebrates the Movies” promo that announced their upcoming projects for the next few years.
The film follows a group of immortal aliens that have been living on Earth for over 7000 years. The events of the film take place after the Avengers defeat Thanos in “Avengers: Endgame” (2019). The Eternals have been watching every battle take place without intervening, but now they must come together to defeat a greater threat. The trailer features a brief scene between Ikaris (Richard Madden) and Sprite (Lia McHugh) where Sprite asks who will lead the Avengers now that Iron Man and Captain America are gone. Ikaris says with a serious expression, “I could lead them”. This prompts the entire table to laugh at him. This is a comedic way of showing the audience that the Eternals are truly up to date with everything that has happened through the years. Despite this film having a different style from Marvel projects, it still incorporates comedic aspects that fans know and love.
“Eternals” is set to be the third of four movies Marvel plans to release this year. It’s cast includes Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek and most notably, Angelina Jolie. The director and writer, Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao is bringing her unique film style into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She has quickly become a respected name in the industry after the success of her 2020 film “Nomadland” which highlighted her style of using natural lighting, cool toned color palettes and breathtaking scenic backgrounds. Marvel gave Zhao full creative control, which included her opting to use very few VFX while shooting according to the president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige.
It is a huge undertaking to create a superhero movie relying almost exclusively on practical effects. He says, “We cut a little sample reel together…And it was so beautiful, and I had to keep saying, ‘This is right out of a camera; there’s no VFX work to this at all!’” Because it was a beautiful sunset, with perfect waves and mist coming up from the shore on this giant cliffside—really, really impressive stuff.” Even the trailer steers away from what one would typically expect from a Marvel film. Instead of fast paced action sequences, it is slower and features more wide shots, emphasizing how far removed the Eternals are from the rest of society.
“Eternals” is one of many films that are part of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Phase 4 will allow Marvel fans to not only explore the lives of characters that they know and love, but be introduced to new heroes (and villains) and see how they will affect the universe in the future. Other Phase 4 films set to release this year include “Black Widow,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” and Spider-Man: No Way Home. “Eternals,” along with many other films, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so fans are excited to finally be able to experience it in theaters.
“Eternals” will be released exclusively in theaters on Nov. 5.