It turns out that because of the Marvel Television/ABC Studios series, Inhumans, Marvel had to put one specific restriction on the writers of Eternals. While the newest entry in the MCU is being met with mixed reviews from both critics and fans, the final product is vastly superior to Marvel’s first attempt at a heroic group of ancient aliens living in secret on Earth. Perhaps it was even those similarities that reminded Marvel to enforce one specific rule with the writers of Eternals.
The Inhumans TV series debuted in IMAX theaters in September of 2017, before moving to its home on ABC 2 weeks later. Despite a talented cast, the series struggled to find its way as critics were unhappy with many aspects such as the low budget forcing limited special effects and superpower usage and a story that felt overlong long and drawn out. The series lasted only one 8-episode season before it was cancelled by ABC.
A recent Inverse interview with Eternals writers Kaz and Ryan Firpo has revealed that the movie had one specific restriction on it thanks to the Inhumans TV show. While Ryan Firpo claimed he had not heard of the Inhumans series, he did learn about it while making Eternals, though he does not know how much it actually influenced the movie. When asked specifically about Inhumans, Kaz explained the only real rule Marvel told them due to the TV series, which does not actually seem that heavy a burden. Read what the one restriction was below:
“…For us, Inhumans was part of that conversation only insofar as — this is a true story — they said, “You can't go to Hawaii.” Nobody gets to go to Hawaii because Inhumans totally burned that bridge. Beyond that, there wasn’t someone saying like, “We can’t do this, can’t do that.” The door really was open for us.”
The unhappy ending to a project with a similar premise in the MCU might have discouraged some writing teams, but the Firpos seemed undaunted. Ryan explained their calmness by reminding people that “It was just a different era, a different team, a totally different project,” while Kaz spoke about how Marvel is all about hiring people unique to the project, who “…love what they do and let them do what they love.” That seems like the right attitude in a genre like superhero films, as many of the stories have similar premises and characters, the difference between movies always being the creative minds of those behind the camera.
Of course, the ultimate success of Eternals is still being decided, as it too has proven somewhat controversial with critics and fans. Arguments abound about the source of the issues, with some pointing to the size of the cast, the length of the story, the odd dialogue choices, and a number of other factors. The sad truth is that both of these projects may go down in MCU history as low points that the creative team, and Marvel producers, can hopefully learn from.
Source: Inverse