Eternals’ Diverse Cast Should Become Movie Industry Norm, Says Gemma Chan

Eternals star Gemma Chan hopes that the movie’s diverse cast can become the industry norm. This Friday, November 5, marks the release of the MCU’s next blockbuster, Eternals. The events of the film were set up by Avengers: Endgame when Smart Hulk’s reverse snap returned half the Earth’s population. This provided the necessary energy to ignite a mysterious event known as the Emergence and allow the Eternals’ evil counterparts, the Deviants, to return.

Created by the Celestials, the Eternals are an immortal alien race who have been living secretly on Earth for over 7,000 years but have been instructed by their overlords to never interfere in human affairs unless Deviants are involved. After their sudden return, the Eternals must band together to defeat them. The titular superhero team is comprised of ten main members: Gemma Chan as Sersi, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Barry Keoghan as Druig, and Don Lee as Gilgamesh.

Related: Eternals: How Powerful Are The MCU’s Deviants Compared To Thanos?

In an interview with Digital Spy, Gemma Chan not only touted the MCU’s film diverse cast, but expressed hope that it will one day become the norm. In Eternals, Chan is not reprising her role as Minn-Erva from 2019’s Captain Marvel, but playing an all-new character in Sersi, an empathetic Eternal who has the power to manipulate matter. Chan mentioned Brie Larson’s historic casting in that film and how the progression to Eternals diverse cast only “feels natural.” Read what Chan had to say below:

From [Captain Marvel] which obviously had the first female lead – the amazing Brie Larson – to this, it has only been a couple of years, but it feels natural and it feels like it’s about time. Hopefully we’ll get to a point where having a diverse cast like this is just par for the course and not a big deal.

While Eternals is more of an ensemble piece, Kevin Feige has called described Sersi as the film’s lead character, which would make Chan the first woman of Asian descent to headline a Marvel movie. Eternals also features several other major milestones in terms of representation. Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos will be the MCU’s first gay superhero while Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari will be the franchise’s first Deaf hero.

Following the success of Black Panther, Marvel has made a concerted effort to diversify its cinematic universe. While Eternals undoubtedly features their most diverse cast yet, it remains to be seen if the film can do its core characters justice by properly fleshing them out and providing each one a satisfying arc, certainly a challenge with a superhero group this large. Eternals‘ report card doesn’t look great so far, but audiences will be able to make up their own minds when the latest MCU film debuts everywhere on November 5.

Next: Marvel’s Eternals Powers Explained: What Each Team Member Can Do

Source: Digital Spy

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