Chloé Zhao's Insights on Directing Eternals: Why the Superhero Movie Was Not a Top Priority for Marvel Studios

Chloé Zhao's Insights on Directing Eternals: Why the Superhero Movie Was Not a Top Priority for Marvel Studios

Chloé Zhao, the director of Eternals, shared insights on why the superhero movie was not a top priority for Marvel Studios. Eternals, released in 2021, marked Zhao's directorial and co-writing efforts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film received mixed reviews from critics and fans, making it the MCU movie with the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score until the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Captain America: Brave New World in 2023 and 2025, respectively.

During an appearance on the Awards Chatter podcast, Zhao revealed that she was initially considered to direct Black Widow but decided against it as it didn't align with her vision. Instead, she focused on Nomadland, a project she felt was the right fit for her at the time. Zhao pitched the idea for Eternals to Marvel just before starting production on Nomadland in South Dakota, leading her to work on the script for Eternals while shooting Nomadland, which posed challenges in balancing both projects.

Zhao emphasized that Eternals was not a top priority for Marvel Studios due to its unique intellectual property. Marvel sought the right filmmaker for the project, and Zhao's vision aligned with their criteria. The star-studded cast of Eternals includes Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Barry Keoghan, Kit Harrington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie. The film is now available for streaming on Disney+.