The Eternals – Marvel is Reportedly Casting Their First Openly Gay Male Lead
Beyond Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home things about the MCU are kind of a blur as we haven’t had a definitive slate with Feige only confirming that the future would involve solo movies, ensembles prequels, sequels and a very connected MCU bringing on the Disney+ shows along. So far, there haven’t been official reveals of anything besides the confirmations of certain projects being made. One of those projects is Marvel’s new cosmic ensemble, The Eternals.
Based on the script given by Matthew and Ryan Firpo, the film is set to begin filming in September and end production by January 2020 under the direction of Chloe Zhao. The casting process of the film is probably going on and a new report suggests an interesting insight.
According to That Hashtag Show, Marvel is adding a star to their cultural diversity and social universal appeal as they are hoping to cast their first openly gay man in a lead role, possibly as Ikaris of the Eternals. The report does suggest that those precautions are being taken by Marvel in order to keep the identity of this character a secret.
The Eternals are a big bunch of characters so it is entirely possible that this lead could be anyone other than Ikaris. So we would know of role soon enough when Marvel finds their face for it. Being based on Jack Kirby’s original The Eternals comic, this film will be very unique and blingy similar to what Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy have been in the recent past.
Kevin Feige also agrees with this fact as he explained why The Eternals is a project Marvel is trying out next. Here’s what he told Bionic Buzz:
“You’re reaction about not being familiar with the Eternals is perfect, because most people weren’t familiar with Guardians [of the Galaxy] and believe it or not there were people that were not familiar with Avengers or with Iron Man. So for us, its finding great stories whether people have heard of them or not and bring them to the big screen in as amazing a way as we can.”
He then talked to Collider recently and teased the fact that The Eternals will be a project that will expand cosmic boundaries of the MCU in ways we cannot imagine yet. Here’s what he said:
“Eternals are one group, but we like the idea of introducing an ensemble, doing an ensemble movie from the start, as opposed to building up as we did with the first Avengers. More like Guardians, not tonally, but in terms of introducing a new group of people.
You were asking about ’60s, and ’70s before. Jack Kirby did an immense, amazing epic with Eternals that spans tens of thousands of years, and that’s also something we haven’t really done, which is why that among many other things post-Endgame, we find appealing.”
Once we get to see Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, Marvel would give us their next big planned slate, and possibly reveal more details about The Eternals, Black Widow, and other future projects. This could happen on this year’s Disney D23 Expo and/or San Diego Comic Con.
The first synopsis of the film that has been circulating around the internet will tell you what to expect from the project:
“The story of ‘THE ETERNALS’ is set millions of years ago when the cosmic beings known as the Celestials genetically experimented on humans, creating the super-powered individuals as well as more villainous off-shoots known as Deviants. The two groups went on to battle each other throughout history to see which would eventually become the ultimate race. The story involves the love story between Ikaris, a man fueled by cosmic energy, and Sersi, who relishes moving amongst humans.”
Who do you think this lead actor is going to be? Do you have any names in mind? How about Wentworth Miller? Tell us in the comments.