Marvel reportedly cast Millie Bobby Brown for the upcoming Eternals movie, so why wasn’t she announced as a cast member? On Instagram, the Stranger Things actress debunked rumors about her possible MCU role before the film's official lineup was unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con 2019.
Based on Jack Kirby’s comic book series, the Eternals narrative dates back thousands of years to ancient Greece. The storyline follows of a group of cosmic superheroes who protect Earth from the villainous Deviants. While the Eternals are indeed human, their evolution was manipulated by an alien race known as the Celestials, solely to set up a battle of good versus evil. Director Chloé Zhao (The Rider) will helm the Eternals adaptation, which is set for a November 6, 2020 release. The script was written by Matthew K. Firpo and Ryan Firpo. Eternals will be the MCU’s 25th franchise film, and the main cast was officially introduced at San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, and Lee Dong-seok (Don Lee).
At only 15 years old, Brown is already a household name. And with the release of Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Netflix’s Strangers Things season 3, she’s more popular than ever - however, she's not going to be appearing in a Marvel movie just yet. Eternals’ youngest main character, Sprite, will be portrayed by Lia McHugh. So, unless Marvel is planning a surprise casting reveal, it appears that Brown simply wasn’t offered the job.
While Brown could indeed bring plenty of star power to the Marvel film, Kevin Feige and co. may have decided on a lesser-known performer to balance out the cast dynamics, or perhaps to position McHugh as an up-and-coming MCU star. On the comedy series American Woman, the young actress co-starred alongside Alicia Silverstone and Mena Suvari. In 2019, she reunited with Silverstone for the feature film The Lodge, a thriller headlined by Riley Keough and Richard Armitage.
It’s certainly possible that Brown was considered for an Eternals role, but the actress stated on Instagram Live that “My family and I have no idea.” The rumors were fueled by a July 10 Variety report which suggested that Brown would indeed be part of the Eternals cast. In the original Eternals comic book series, Sprite is a male character; a trickster who is consistently punished for questionable behavior. Marvel likely cast McHugh because she's relatively unknown, thus allowing her to more easily sell her mischievous Eternals character.