Marvel Studios did not cast Eternals in the order that fans may expect. Chloé Zhao's 2021 Marvel Studios epic introduced audiences to a new super-powered team within the MCU. While the group did not have the staying power of someone like the Avengers, it certainly had the A-list talent of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The Phase 4 blockbuster starred big names like Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, and Barry Keoghan, adding even more star-power to the Marvel Studios franchise.
Casting a movie like Eternals sounds like a Herculean task, picking what key players would round out this super-powered ensemble. And now, several years after the movie's release, fans are starting to get a peek behind the curtain at the creative process that went into making it.
New quotes may surprise Marvel fans, as Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani revealed the order in which the 2021 MCU movie was cast. Speaking on the We Might Be Drunk podcast, the Kingo actor let slip that Angelina Jolie was the first to be cast in the film, and he "was the second person:"
"I was like, 'So, what what are you saying?' They're like, 'Would you want to play this part?' Like, they didn't tell me that's what it was and I was like, 'Yeah, of course. Of course.' They'd already cast... Angelina Jolie. I was the second person..."
This may come as a surprise given Kingo's role in the MCU film. Nanjiani's Eternal is by no means the primary focus of the film. One would have assumed that the movie's main characters, like Gemma Chan's Sersi or Richard Madden's Ikaris, would have been more of a priority, but that may not have been the case.
It makes sense that Angelina Jolie was contacted first, as she is one of the biggest names attached to the project, but it's a little staggering that Kingo was next after that.
Eternals follows a team of centuries-old superheroes living in anonymity on Earth, helping shape humanity's very fabric. However, after years separated, they are brought together with the emergence of a group of evil beings known as Deviants. Nanjiani stars in the film alongside Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, and many more. The divisive Marvel Studios film is streaming now on Disney+.
When Will The Eternals Return to the MCU?
Nearly four years after Eternals came to theaters, its team's future remains one of the MCU's biggest unanswered questions. Earlier this year, fans finally got some sort of acknowledgment of the 2021 film, as Captain America: Brave New World visited Eternals' Celestial Island for a key action sequence. However, the team itself remains on the bench.
The idea of an Eternals 2 seems to be far from Marvel's mind at this point. The first film earned middling reviews and raked in a less-than-stellar $161.7 million at the global box office. But that does not mean the team is gone forever.
When asked about potentially appearing in the upcoming Marvel Studios team-up, Avengers: Doomsday, Eternals star Lauren Ridloff told The Direct in April that she thinks it is "not likely" she will be back for Avengers 5.
Addressing the potential of characters like the Eternals returning in Marvel's interconnected on-screen universe, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in a July 2025 interview with Variety, "Characters we've introduced post-Endgame will pop up again in some of the upcoming movies and beyond:"
"I don’t know that it’s any of the specific ones you just named, but yes, that is part of the plan: Characters we’ve introduced post-‘Endgame’ will pop up again in some of the upcoming movies and beyond. The fun of the comics is anyone popping up anywhere."
Feige's comments did not specifically call out the Eternals by name, but it is the best sign of the team coming back in form down the line that fans have gotten in years.
