The Eternals producer explains how Marvel Studios decided which characters should change gender for the film
Gender or race swapping can often generate a lot of debate, especially among the more purist sector of the source material of the films on which they are based, but with a blockbuster of the Marvel Cinematic Universe based on a relatively unknown comic book series, The Eternals has had much more leeway than many other Marvel Studios projects to make these kinds of changes.
In fact, a large number of people may not have even been able to name a single member of the team before the feature went into production, but that will all change on November 5. The Eternals It is inspired by the original material, but making its own variations, especially with the team’s origin story.
This is the explanation of the producer of the film
However, producer Nate Moore revealed during an interview with ScreenRant the reason why Salma Hayek and Lia McHugh play Ajak and Sprite respectively, two characters typically portrayed as men.
“It was a bit of what made sense narratively and what would create interesting dynamics. Ajak in the comics was the conduit to the Celestials. She has a bit of a surly character in the posts, but we feel like the conduit should be the leader, and frankly, there aren’t many female leaders.
Ajak, from a design point of view, felt very steeped in Aztec designs. We wanted someone from outside of that region to pay tribute to that, so in talking about it, it made sense to swap her gender. Salma Hayek was amazing. Sprite, the boy who never grew up, is something you’ve seen a lot. The Girl Who Never Grew Up seems to be a slightly cooler idea, so it’s just those creative conversations to create a balance that we thought was interesting. “.
In the comics, Kingo is a Japanese movie star and samurai-influenced swordsman, but that too changed dramatically when Pakistani-born Kumail Nanjiani landed the role, something that made it clear that both Marvel Studios and director Chloé Zhao were not going to be 100% faithful to the source material as presented by Jack Kirby when creating the characters..
You can see the trailer below
The exceptional cast of The Eternals includes Richard Madden as the almighty Ikaris, Gemma Chan as Sersi, lover of humanity, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, the cosmic powerhouse, Lauren Ridloff as the super-fast Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as the inventor Phastos, Salma Hayek as the wise and spiritual Leader Ajak, Lia McHugh as the eternally young Sprite, Don Lee as the mighty Gilgamesh, Barry Keoghan as the distant and lonely Druig, and Angelina Jolie as the fierce warrior Thena. Kit Harington plays Dane Whitman. The Eternals It will be released in theaters on November 5.
Do you approve the changes to the characters of The Eternals? Let us know what you think in the comments.