In something of a surprise bit of news, Gemma Chan may be joining the cast of Marvel’s The Eternals. This is a project we’ve been hearing a lot about over the course of the last year or so, but it wasn’t officially confirmed by Marvel Studios until their recent San Diego Comic-Con presentation. The core cast was confirmed at that time as well, as was director Chloe Zhao (The Rider). However, now we have word that Chan may be boarding the ensemble, which is particularly interesting since she already starred in Captain Marvel earlier this year.
According to a new report, Gemma Chan is in talks to join The Eternals in an unspecified role. Chan starred as Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel, alongside Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers. Peculiarly and amazingly, Chan is not definitely reprising her role as Minn-Erva. While details remain scarce, it’s reported that she may be playing another role altogether. This would make her the first actress to potentially play two entirely different, significant roles within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo has had small cameos as a couple of different characters, Chan would be in a totally different ballpark on this one.
As for who she could be playing? All we can do is hopelessly speculate for the time being. Setting aside the possible craziness of Gemma Chan playing two roles in the MCU, she’s an accomplished actress whose star power is on the rise. Aside from Captain Marvel, which grossed $1.1 billion worldwide, Chan also starred in the hit romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians. Some of her other recent credits include Mary Queen of Scots and Watership Down.
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The Eternals cast is already rather stacked. The ensemble includes Angelina Jolie (Thena), Bryan Tyree Henry (Phastos), Lia McHugh (Sprite), Don Lee (Gilgamesh), Salma Hayek (Ajak), Lauren Ridloff (Ikari), Richard Madden (Icarus) and Kumail Nanjiani (Kingo). Regardless of who she winds up playing, should the deal close, adding Gemma Chan would do even more for Marvel’s latest.
For those who may not be familiar, The Eternals first appeared in the pages of Marvel Comics back in 1976 and were created by comic book legend Jack Kirby. He illustrated and wrote their first series. The story, in the simplest possible terms, centers on a group of individuals who were gifted special powers through the use of accelerated evolution by the Celestials, a powerful, ancient group has been teased previously in the MCU. The Eternals are locked in a war with their counterparts, The Deviants, in an attempt to determine the superior race.
Similar to Guardians of the Galaxy, few people outside of die-hard comic book readers were familiar with the property before Marvel decided to turn it into a movie. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the project come to light. The Eternals is set to arrive in theaters on November 6, 2020. This news comes to us via Variety.
