As 2021 progresses, the Marvel Cinematic Universe plans to introduce over a dozen heroes that will come into play for the first time with Marvel Studios. Disney+ is bringing one of these projects to life with Iman Vellani's Ms. Marvel , while theatrical releases will include Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals .
Director Chloé Zhao's Eternals has the opportunity to debut more new characters in one movie than any in the MCU's past, some of which will be played by some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Due to their cosmic origins and incredibly varied power sets, Marvel's race of immortals has the chance to interconnect with both the Earth-based and cosmic divisions of the franchise.
A new chat with the team's on-screen leader reveals how she will individually connect with the intergalactic side of this story.
AJAK ALONE CAN COMMUNICATE WITH CELESTIALS
In a recent interview with Variety , Salma Hayek opened up on her experience working with Marvel Studios on Eternals .
When asked how much she knew about her character, Ajak, or the Eternals in general, Hayek said she "didn't know anything about it." She also revealed that Marvel Studios "wouldn't let (her) see the script" before signing on for the role, although they gave her a rough idea of what would happen in the movie:
"Nothing. I didn’t know anything about it. I’m very lucky. I have a Mexican friend and she’s a female, who’s the biggest Marvel geek that you can imagine. My problem was, I was sworn to secrecy because I was one of the first people that they hired, but I had to keep it in a secret for a long, long time. So, when I had the call, I said to them, 'I confess. Eventually I will know everything that there is to know, but what are the Eternals? Do they exist in comics? I don’t know who’s Ajak.’ And then they explained everything to me. They explained me the script. They didn’t give me the script. I had to sign the contract without reading the script. They wouldn’t let me see the script until I signed. That was very unsettling."
Although she admitted to being scared of potentially disliking the script, Hayek admitted how fun it is that Ajak is "kind of the leader." On top of this, she revealed that her character is "the only one that can talk to the Celestials" seen in Guardians of the Galaxy :
"I was scared. But it doesn’t matter because I’m going to tell you why I didn’t care. I love the director. She’s brilliant. And then I like that [Ajak] is kind of the leader. She’s the only one that can talk to the Celestials. And I said, 'I’ll get to be bossy on this one, too. I can play that.' Giving instructions, telling people what to do, I can do that."
AJAK HAS A UNIQUE ABILITY
Through their history in the comics, and in reports about the movie, the Eternals all appear to have similar skill sets with the powers of flight, invulnerability, energy projection, and more. However, as is the case with many head honchos, being the leader of this superhero team seems to have its perks.
Although the movie is changing Ajak from male to female for her on-screen adaptation from the comics, this character's unique ability to speak to the Celestials comes from decades of Marvel Comics, so much so that the character is referred to as "He Who Talks To Celestials" by his counterparts.
On top of this ability to speak with Celestials being incredible in and of itself, it more closely connects the Eternals franchise to one of the MCU's premier cosmic franchises in the Guardians of the Galaxy. Thus far, the Celestials have only had minimal screen time in both Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 , but that should change dramatically when Eternals premieres this year .
The Celestials play a role in the comics, creating both the Eternals and their evil counterparts, the Deviants, and it would be a shock if they were completely absent from the plot of the immortals' first MCU movie. It will be interesting to find out if Ajak's ability to speak with them will come into play, but the fact that she can do it should bode well in case the team needs help from theses massive galactic entities.
Eternals will premiere in theaters on November 5, 2021.
