Nearly a year after Eternals' theatrical debut, Druig actor Barry Keoghan broke down this film's middling reception amongst critics and fans.
Director Chloé Zhao's MCU debut was one of the most hotly anticipated films in Marvel Studios history, as the Oscar-winning director brought forth her sprawling super-powered epic.
However, upon release, the film flopped, both critically and at the box office. While the future of Zhao's MCU franchise has been put into question, the director has remained adamant that she "would be back in a second" if an Eternals 2 were to happen.
Now, following a string of Eternals actors looking back on the first film's mixed reaction, another star from Zhao's Marvel Studios' blockbuster has offered their take.
Barry Keoghan Looks Back on Eternals
Barry Keoghan shared the opinion that Eternals received less-than-ideal reception because "it was new," while recently speaking on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast. He noted that director Chloé Zhao thrives in bringing "raw performances" to screen, adding that the film had a "[new] kind of feel to it:"
“I think Chloe [Zhao] brought a whole kind of feel to it. You know? So Chloe brings - as you’ve seen from her past films - raw performances and really really touching performances. I don’t think it was… I think it was new. I think it was just new. It was new for the Marvel world."
The Druig actor said he "[doesn't] think [the movie] was bad," it was just "a new kind of movie in the Marvel universe.”
On the subject of a potential Eternals 2 happening, Keoghan admitted he is "always optimistic" about these sorts of things, remarking that "[he wants to] know what Druig is doing right now:”
Barry Keoghan: “I’m always optimistic. I actually spoke with Victoria [Alonso] recently. Victoria Alonso, she was there and I didn’t get a chance to chat with her too much, but yeah. I’m always optimistic, always. I wanna know what Druig is doing right now.”
Josh Horowitz: So many people to hang out with. Harry Styles, Kumail. Who knows?
Keoghan: “Yeah, anyways we’ll see. You’re not going to get that out of me. I know nothing,. I know nothing.”
The Eternals Postmortem Continues
Another week, another Eternals actor breaking down why they think the Phase 4 film fell flat. As the MCU moves further and further from Chloé Zhao's history-spanning adventure the more opportunities there will be for people who made it happen to look back.
While it seems plenty of Eternals cast and crew members would love to come back for a sequel, considering the lackluster reception the first film was met with, it still remains a question if Eternals 2 will ever happen.
Keoghan previously mentioned that he felt "bruised" over the lack of sequel news. So, it is nice to see that he is at least "optimistic" now about a follow-up, but who knows if it will actually happen.
A recent listing from Korea noted that Eternals 2 was "planned to be produced," so Keoghan and the team of eternal superheroes returning to the big screen, might not be as big of a long shot as one may have thought.
Eternals can be streamed now on Disney+.
