Eternals’ Kumail Nanjiani Defends Movie After Divisive Reception

Over a year after Eternals' divisive release, Kumail Nanjiani defends the movie from its critics and confirms he loves the Marvel Cinematic Universe film. Chloé Zhao's Phase 4 movie debuted in theaters in November 2021 to plenty of excitement that was driven by the film's great cast, Zhao's recent Oscar-win for Nomadland, and the indication the movie looked unlike anything else Marvel had done. However, Eternals was met with a very divisive response from general audiences and critics, making it one of the more hotly-debated entries in the MCU online. This led to uncertainty about the franchise's future.

Eternals remains the only rotten MCU movie on Rotten Tomatoes at 47%, while the audience score is a fresh 77% that still represents the divided opinions on the film. During a recent interview with Josh Horowitz for the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Kingo actor Kumail Nanjiani addressed how people responded to Chloé Zhao's movie. He admitted that Eternals' divisive reactions did bum him out, but he also affirmed that he still loves the way it turned out and the experience. Nanjiani is also optimistic that time will be favorable to Eternals and that audiences will grow to appreciate it more over time.

It would’ve been great to not have that thing where Emily says like, “You have to have more f*** you about all this, like f*** you this is good I love it.” I love Eternals, I think its fantastic. It did bum me out that it was sort of divisive. I think its a very very, Chloe made a very very ambitious huge movie that’s very different from most comic book movies. She went for a really really high bar. Of course it would’ve been great if every single person on Earth loved it, but I love it. I still think at some point people are going to rewatch that movie and realize that there’s a lot more to it to give it credit for. I love Chloe, she’s such a great filmmaker.

Why Eternals Is So Divisive For Audiences & Critics

The divisive response to Eternals is due to a variety of elements in the movie that viewers either did or did not agree with. One of the big points of debate is based around how different Eternals is to other MCU movies. Not only did Zhao shoot the film on location as much as possible, but the film's narrative covered thousands of years, leading to critiques of it being too long and overstuffed. However, some viewers appreciated the near-epic style film that Marvel made, viewing it as a refreshing change of pace so early on in Phase 4.

The Eternals cast also included nearly a dozen main characters, which ensured not all of them received the screen time necessary for their individual arcs. While plenty of fan-favorite characters emerged from the ensemble (like Kumail Nanjiani's Kingo or Lauren Ridloff's Makkari), the movie primarily focused on the relationship between Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Ikaris (Richard Madden). That decision backfired to some degree, as many did not connect with their romance and would have preferred to see other relationships explored in more depth.

Will The Eternals Return To The MCU?

There are currently no confirmed plans for the Eternals to return to the MCU, but it is expected that some of the characters will be seen again. Marvel will not fully abandon these characters because of Eternals' divisive reviews, but the studio could opt not to make Eternals 2 as a result. There are plenty of opportunities for the MCU to use the Eternals in other projects, as Kumail Nanjiani's Kingo has become an often-referenced character in Phase 4. As the MCU builds to Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, it would be quite surprising if Eternals' characters do not return in some fashion.

More: Eternals 2’s Chances Of Happening Look So Much Bleaker Now

Source: Happy Sad Confused Podcast