Eternals' Kumail Nanjiani Passed On Supporting Comic Book Roles Before

Kumail Nanjiani, star of the upcoming Marvel film The Eternals, previously turned down supporting roles in comic book films, hoping to eventually be a lead hero. Part of Marvel's Phase 4, The Eternals currently has a November 6, 2020 release date. The film has a large cast, including Angelina Jolie (Maleficent), Gemma Chan (Humans), Richard Madden (Game of Thrones), Salma Hayek (Frida), and Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), to name a few. The screenplay is written by Kaz and Ryan Firpo, and the film is directed by Chloé Zhao (The Rider).

The Eternals focuses on an immortal human species (called the Eternals) created by the Celestials, godlike beings ordered to protect humans from the Deviants. The Deviants are essentially the opposite of the Eternals and were also created by the Celestials. The Celestials have already been mentioned in the MCU, as Peter Quill's father, Ego (played by Kurt Russell), was one of them and featured heavily in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The Deviants are rumored to look very different in The Eternals from their comic book counterparts. The movie will mainly explore the conflict between the Eternals and the Deviants, spanning the length of their existence and possibly into the future of Marvel.

Nanjiani spoke about his upcoming Marvel role in his recent interview with Men's Health, saying that being in a Marvel film had been a "pipe dream" for him. But once he saw other comedic actors like Chris Pratt and Paul Rudd land roles as lead characters, Nanjiani decided to be "very strategic" about roles in superhero films. He turned down multiple supporting roles in comic book films, waiting until he had the chance to play a superhero, and not a sidekick. In The Eternals, Nanjiani plays a character named Kingo, a powerful and immortal being who tries to keep a low profile on Earth by becoming a Bollywood actor, but soon becomes Bollywood's biggest star.

Information about the upcoming film's plot and characters is slowly being released, with much of what we know based on set photos. The Eternals is believed to span a period of 7,000 years, from Mesopotamia to modern times. It will likely cover the history of the Eternals' creation, but is said to take place mostly in present-day. The Eternals will also have Marvel's first gay superhero in Henry's Phastos, as well as the first same-sex on-screen kiss in the MCU.

The Eternals is going to be the MCU's first test at handling the more expansive and fantastical storylines of the Marvel comics. They've done well with the sci-fi space adventures in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, and with such a great team in front of and behind the camera, The Eternals is bound to be Marvel's first big epic movie of the new era. Following the success of Black Panther and Captain Marvel, both Black Widow and The Eternals hint at a more inclusive and inventive MCU through Phase 4 and beyond.