Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige says Chloé Zhao's pitch for Eternals was the best he's ever heard. Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will introduce a new cosmic superhuman race known as Eternals. While most people worldwide have no idea who these characters are, Marvel believes Eternals has what it takes to be the next obscure comic property turned giant movie franchise, a la Guardians of the Galaxy. To draw more attention to the film, Marvel assembled an incredibly talented cast and crew.

Eternals' star-studded ensemble includes Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, Kumail Nanjiani, and many more. While Marvel Studios has yet to show anything from the movie beyond some early concept art of the characters, one reason the movie is already so intriguing is who is behind the camera. Marvel hired Chloé Zhao to direct the MCU blockbuster in 2018, shortly after her directorial debut The Rider was one of the year's best-reviewed films. Zhao might not have blockbuster movie experience and has a presumptive Oscar contender coming out soon with Nomadland, but she got the job because of her incredible pitch.

Related: Phase 4 Introduces A Bigger MCU Problem Than Retiring The OG Avengers

In a profile piece Rolling Stone did about Chloé Zhao, the outlet spoke to Kevin Feige about what she is bringing to the MCU. Feige praised Zhao's ability to create small, personal movies and think in "gigantic terms" that fit with what Marvel does. He also told the outlet that Zhao's pitch for Eternals was incredible. A direct quote from Feige isn't shared, but Rolling Stone says he called "Zhao’s pitch for the movie the best he’d ever heard." He went on to tease that the film is a "very big, sweeping, multimillennial-spanning story."

With the MCU nearly thirteen years old at this point and the long history Feige has in Hollywood even before it began, the claim that Zhao's Eternals pitch is the best he's ever heard is quite noteworthy. The MCU has included some incredibly talented filmmakers during this time. Instead of pitches like Jon Favreau's for Iron Man, James Gunn's for Guardians of the Galaxy, or Taika Waititi's for Thor: Ragnarok taking this title, whatever Zhao has planned for Eternals got Feige the most excited.

Even while we wait for the first Eternals trailer to arrive and show a glimpse of Zhao's vision, it should be thrilling for fans to hear about Marvel's internal excitement for the film. The very early rough footage Marvel showed from Eternals in late 2019 was described as looking unlike anything else the MCU has done. Zhao's mentioned that she had complete creative control and that the film has manga influences, which could contribute to the film's unique qualities. The movie might ultimately take an extra year to hit theaters thanks to COVID-19 related delays, but hopefully Eternals delivers on the promise of Zhao's pitch.

MORE: WandaVision Introduces One Of Eternals' Most Important Powers

Source: Rolling Stone

Key Release Dates