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“The Eternals” Casting Announcements!

Just as news on Marvel’s upcoming The Eternals movie was slowing down, two big announcements got dropped today. First, we got a report that Marvel is seeking to cast an openly gay or bisexual Asian actor in a lead male role. Soon after, news dropped that South Korean actor Ma Dong-seok has been cast in The Eternals, in an unknown role. Even though the two stories would seem to be connected, Ma Dong-seok does not appear to be playing the gay male lead: he is not openly gay or bisexual (as far as I can tell), and the initial report stated that Marvel is specifically looking at Conrad Ricamora for the gay lead – whose codename, by the way, is “James”, which is how I will refer to this character: “James” is said to be “intellectual, emotional, and has a strong sense of family”. And he’s also supposed to be in his 20’s, apparently, which would rule out Ma Dong-seok, who is forty-eight.

These reports follow news that broke not long ago concerning another casting announcement: Kumail Nanjiani will be joining The Eternals in an unknown role – though speculation has been rampant that he’ll be playing the super-speedy Makkari.

So let’s break it down. First, we have this news that the gay male lead will be played by an Asian actor – so far, the cast is looking really diverse, and that’s fantastic, but who is the gay male lead? Hercules has never been depicted as Asian in the comics, and is not exactly “intellectual”, so he seems an unlikely option at this point – not to mention the fact that Marvel’s go-to option is apparently Conrad Ricamora, whose slim physique doesn’t seem very Herculean (also, isn’t it somewhat paradoxical that the article states that Marvel is looking at actors in their 20’s for the role of “James”, yet Ricamora is 40?). No, at this point, I’m beginning to think Hercules will not be appearing in The Eternals, or, if he does, he won’t be the gay lead. But who else could “James” be? There are no gay characters in The Eternals comics, so it could be pretty much anybody. Perhaps Starfox, the brother of Thanos (very complicated situation: don’t ask), or perhaps he’s actually Makkari, and Nanjiani is playing somebody else? It’s all very confusing.

Then there’s Ma Dong-seok, a name probably unfamiliar to American audiences – this will be his first American film, in fact. My guess is that he will be portraying Zuras, leader of the Eternals, as the actor shares the same sort of large muscular build as the comics character. I suppose it’s possible, though to my mind unlikely, that he could be Hercules. It’s entirely plausible that he’ll also be playing some character we don’t even know yet. The film has been rumored to have five female leads and three male leads – a dauntingly large ensemble cast. It remains to be seen if indie director Chloe Zhao can pull off so huge a project, but I have faith. At the very least, it looks to be quite a diverse film already.

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Angelina Jolie To Join Marvel’s “The Eternals”

Angelina Jolie To Join Marvel's "The Eternals" 1
variety.com

Unexpectedly, we received news tonight that Academy Award winning actress and director Angelina Jolie is in talks to join The Eternals, a Phase 4 Marvel movie that will focus on a group of godlike beings thousands of years before the modern MCU. The movie is still in the early stages of development, though a director, Chloe Zhao, is onboard, and there have been multiple casting rumors circulating: including one that suggests The Eternals will feature Marvel’s first openly gay male superhero.

This bit of news is interesting, then, because it comes so early: Jolie would become the first cast member attached to The Eternals, which is set to begin filming in late Summer. Who could she be playing? There are a few female characters we know will be part of the movie’s ensemble cast:

“Karen”: the female lead, who has been rumored to be an archaeologist, possibly inspired by the character Margo Damian from The Eternals comics. The character description for this character had suggested that Marvel was looking for a woman of Asian, Middle-Eastern, African or Native American descent to fill the role, but it is possible they’ve expanded the search.

Angelina Jolie To Join Marvel's "The Eternals" 2
digitalspy.com

Sersi: arguably the most well-known of the Eternals, Sersi is a fun-loving sorceress who enjoys the company of humans, and has even been a member of the Avengers. While “Karen” is still being called the female lead, it seems likely that Sersi will end up being more important in the long run. The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the Angelina Jolie news, also noted that a romance between Sersi and another Eternal, Ikaris, is likely to be one of the main aspects of the film.

Thena: a scholar and warrior often mistaken with the Greek goddess Athena, Thena is an important person in The Eternals lineup. In the comics, she has been the leader of the Eternals, and is possessed of superhuman strength, agility and stamina, as well as the ability to fly, and she is armed with multiple deadly weapons.

Elysius: the other option for Jolie is this mysterious and very obscure character whose presence in this movie’s lineup is quite intriguing: Elysius is a telepath and artificial intelligence modeled on the Eternals, who was the lover of Mar-Vell in the comics (of course, in the MCU, Mar-Vell has been changed into a woman, played by Annette Bening: this doesn’t necessarily exclude the possibility of a romance, however, especially since The Eternals is already rumored to include one openly gay character).

So who do you think Angelina Jolie will end up playing – one of these characters, or someone we don’t know about yet: a villain, perhaps, or another Eternal? Having some substantial casting developments on the project is quite exciting, and Jolie’s MCU debut will certainly be fun to watch. This is just more proof that Marvel is committed to getting talent for their movies, and that actors and actresses of the highest caliber are willing to put time and effort into movies that were once considered lowly forms of entertainment.