The upcoming Eternals superhero saga won’t arrive in theaters on Feb. 10, 2021, as Marvel decided to delay its release to November next year.
No one is happier with the studio’s decision to push the release date than Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani. He also said that this film will be worth the wait for the fans.
In a post on his Twitter account, Nanjiani said that Marvel made the “right and responsible decision” to change its movie release schedule.
“There’s a pandemic,” the actor said. “Nothing is more important than health & lives,” adding that he cannot invite people to watch his superhero film until he also feels it is safe to go inside a theater.
Eternals delayed to Nov 5, 2021. Marvel made the right & responsible decision. There’s a pandemic. Nothing is more important than health & lives. I can’t tell ppl to go to a movie theater until I feel safe going to one.
Take care of yourselves. I promise it’ll be worth the wait!
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) September 23, 2020
Who will Kumail Nanjiani play?
Nanjani is playing Kingo in the movie. The character is an expert swordsman who is also a Bollywood star. Unknown to many, however, Kingo is a genetically-engineered celestial being. He is also a part of the Eternals who have been inhabitants of Earth for thousands of years.
The character was originally Japanese in the Marvel comic book source. Kingo Sunen had impressive samurai skills and hid his superhero identity by becoming a sought-after action star.
Directed by Chloé Zhao, Nanjani said that working on the Eternals gave him the “most thrilling and satisfying experience” as an actor. In his exchanges with fans on Twitter, the star described the movie as “exciting, fun, epic, thrilling, hilarious.” This is why it’s going to be worth the wait on the big screen.
Who leads the Eternals?
Nanjani is part of an ensemble cast that also stars Angelina Jolie (as Thena), Richard Madden (as Ikaris), Gemma Chan (as Sersi), Don Lee (as Gilgamesh), Lauren Ridloff (as Makkari), Brian Tyree Henri (as Phastos), Lia McHugh (as Sprite) and Salma Hayek (as Ajak). Game of Thrones star Kit Harington is also in the cast as Black Knight, who is the only human in the superhero team.
According to Screen Rant, it looks like the Marvel film made Hayek’s Ajak the leader of the celestial beings as her role is described as a “spiritual leader” for the action figures. However, in the comic book source, the Prime Eternal was Kronos, who was eventually succeeded by his sons, Zuras or A’lars.
Zuras’ daughter Thena also became Prime Eternal upon his death, but her leadership was challenged by Ikaris. Marvel hasn’t announced about casting Zuras for the movie as the character has many similarities with Thor’s Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Speculations are that the film might delve into Thena’s search for her father, and she will likely clash with Ikaris.
Eternals is set to debut on the big screen on Nov. 5, 2021.
Image courtesy of Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)