Eternals star Lauren Ridloff has revealed that Marvel used a man in a trench coat to deliver actors their script pages. The actor is set to take on the role of Makkari in the latest offering from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eternals is directed by Nomadland's Chloé Zhao and is set to debut in theaters on November 5.

Marvel has long been known for the secrecy associated with its films. As one of the most profitable and beloved franchises in existence, much of its success has relied on each film delivering twists and introducing characters that fans never see coming. Given that these narrative secrets can take years to tee up, Marvel filmmakers have become well-known for keeping their actors in the dark when they can, even in the middle of filming. One such example of this was the production of Avengers: Endgame, which went to great lengths to redact entire sections of the scripts in order to make sure actors could not learn key secrets.

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In the lead-up to the release of Eternals after a lengthy production, it seems that the MCU remains a franchise deeply shrouded in secrecy. In fact, in a recent interview with Elle, Ridloff reveals that Marvel had a man in a trench coat deliver and collect script pages. That might sound like a joke, she acknowledges, but it's true:

They had a man in a trench coat—I’m not making this up, I’m not kidding—a man in a trench coat who’d come over to my house at 11 at night with new script pages, in a manila envelope. You had to trade them off with the old script pages. Then he’d just walk off into the night. It was very undercover, covert.

Eternals Lauren Ridloff Barry Keoghan

At this point, Marvel Studios likely has the process of getting the mysterious, trench coat-clad man to actors' houses down to a science. The MCU has been in existence for more than a decade and experienced numerous set leaks and spoilery rumors, which have only become more costly as the series has grown in popularity. Couple that with some stars who have trouble keeping spoilers to themselves, such as Spider-Man: No Way Home actor Tom Holland, and it's not hard to see the need for Kevin Feige and Co. to run a tight ship.

While much of this likely seems overly dramatic, it’s worth remembering that Marvel has a vested interest in keeping its secrets. Much of the hype surrounding MCU Phase 4 has revolved around fans theorizing how the series will spin out in new directions and find interesting ways to tell superhero stories. With that in mind, keeping audiences (as well as cast and crew) in the dark may ultimately be a small price to pay for the excitement films like Eternals can deliver.

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Source: Elle

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