Marvel’s “Eternals” Breaks Barriers with a Diverse Cast

Marvel’s blockbuster Eternals is set to premiere on November 5, and stars a huge ensemble cast that includes Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Don Lee, Lia McHugh, Barry Keoghan and Richard Madden. The film is being celebrated for breaking barriers in the superhero genre due to its diverse cast that includes the first South Asian superhero, a deaf actress, and a scene with a LGBTQ kiss.   

Eternals follows ten immortal alien beings who secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years. When humanity is threatened by evil creatures Deviants, the Eternals must reunite and combine their strengths. 

When creating the film, Chinese-born director Chloe Zhao, who won an Oscar for her film Nomadland, stresses the importance of representing the Eternal superheroes by actors and actresses with different ethnic backgrounds. This includes Marvel first South Asian superhero played by Pakistani-born actor Kumail, the first hearing-impaired superhero played by Lauren, and a Mexican superhero played by Selma.

Playing an elite warrior, Angelina shares her hopes that the film will pave the way for normalizing diversity in entertainment, “I hope in a few years, people will watch movies without even thinking about diversity. Instead, it should be normal and should be a given.”

Likewise, Chinese-British actress Gemma agrees that the film’s diversity is right in place against the superhero theme, “These characters have been here since the beginning of civilization, so they should represent the breadth and beauty of humanity. This all feels very natural.”

Beyond the film’s multi-cultural cast, African-American actor Brian plays Marvel’s first openly  gay superhero. During the film’s prescreening, the audience filled the room with cheers and applause during the scene where Brian kisses his male partner over fears that the world is ending.
Sharing her thoughts of the audience’s reaction, Chloe said, “It’s truly an emotional scene and the audience could feel it. It wasn’t just two lips intersecting. The two men have strong feelings for each other, and they are not afraid to show it.”

Source: World Journal

This article is written by Sammi for JayneStars.com.