Shuvrajit Das Biswas
Gemma Chan is in talks to join yet another Marvel project, that is, the upcoming movie ‘The Eternals’. Marvel has declined to comment as of now, but the ‘Crazy Rich Asians‘ star is joining a cast that already has a team of fantastic actors like Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani and Salma Hayek on board. Variety first reported the news of Chan’s joining, while The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Barry Keoghan, famous for having appeared in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk‘ and the HBO series ‘Chernobyl‘, is also joining ‘The Eternals’.
We already know from the San Diego Comic-Con reveal that Jolie is going to play the role of Thena, an Eternal who has been blessed with super speed, stamina, and strength. From previous reports, it is also clear that Madden is playing the role of Ikaris, who has some psychic abilities and whose powers are augmented by cosmic energy, and Hayek is playing Ajak, who has the powers of flight, teleportation, and firing energy bolts. It remains to be seen how the movie treats the character of Ajak, who is portrayed as a male in the comics. As for Gemma Chan, it is unclear as to what her role will be. The actress already appears in the role of Minn-Erva in ‘Captain Marvel‘, which stars Brie Larson. It will be interesting to see if she reprises this role in ‘The Eternals’ or ends up playing some different character altogether. Notably, it would be big news in the history of the MCU if Gemma Chan bags a separate role in ‘The Eternals’ because it would mark one of the first times that a star is playing two different characters within the same cinematic universe.
‘The Eternals’ is being directed by Chloe Zhao, who is famous for movies like ‘The Rider’ and ‘Songs My Brothers Taught Me’. The superhero action-adventure film is being produced by Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, from a script by Matthew and Ryan Firpo. The characters are based on a comic book series that was created by Jack Kirby in 1976. According to the comics, the Eternals actually hail from millions of years in the past, when cosmic beings called the Celestials experimented on humans and managed to create super-powered individuals called Eternals. At the same time, they created a villainous group called the Deviants. The two groups have battled each other through history, but the Eternals have also tangled with Greek, Norse and Roman deities before they left earth to explore the stars. ‘The Eternals’ is set to be the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and has a release date set for November 6, 2020.
Gemma Chan is herself on a roll, and apart from this news about possibly being a part of ‘The Eternals’, the actress was recently seen in ‘Mary Queen of Scots’, the drama, where she starred alongside Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie.
