While the box office hadn't been looking so good for a while, thanks to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings things, seem to be looking up. Not only did that film's performance save more than a few delays, the next big blockbuster, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, is set to do even better.
All of this is to say that Eternals is set to keep its theatrical release this coming November. This is great because the film has been teased as an epic on a scale not yet seen by the MCU—so viewing it on the big screen is certainly the optimal choice.
The film is being touted as a completely unique experience, one that director Chloé Zhao has been adamant about keeping everything as practical as possible. But with practicality comes plenty of bumps in the road, some of which have yet to explode.
Eternals Delayed... by a Bomb?
In an interview with Empire, details were revealed about some of the things that the Eternals cast and crew had to deal with when filming.
Director Chloé Zhao requested the film be as practical as possible, something Kevin Feige played ball with, making the film one of the most practical films in the MCU.
In fact, they built a massive spaceship set, one that Eternals star Richard Maddens, who plays Ikaris, says "[he] got lost on [it] so many times:"
"I got lost on that thing so many times... in my defense, it was ten times the size of my flat."
Practical doesn't just mean sets. It also means going to exotic locations instead of relying on massive blue screens. One example of this was when the cast and crew ventured to a volcanic island named Fuerteventura, an experience Chloé Zhao says "was pretty grueling at times:"
"It was pretty grueling at times... at one point there was a sandstorm and we all had to huddle together in a tent unable to open our eyes.
On a different day while filming in the Canary Islands in Fall 2019, crew members "found [a] metal thing" which turned out to be an unexploded bomb from World War II. Nanjiani made light of the scary situation, saying:
"Some of the actors found this metal thing and were like, 'Hey, what's that?'... I remember being like, 'Guys why's the schedule changing? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THERE'S A BOMB?!?"
At the time, it was reported that Richard Madden and Angelina Jolie were filming on location when the bomb scare occurred. The bomb was believed to have been connected with a Nazi Germany base that was occupied on the island during the 1940s.
The Wild Eternals Production
With a film as big and epic as Eternals, it's only right that the experience is just as wild. When the production is venturing to volcanic islands and minefields, then you know they mean business.
Speaking of how big the film is set to be, according to the official runtime Eternals is set to be the second-longest MCU film to date. If any film is to hold that record, it feels right that it's about a story focused on a 7,000-year-old family of people, with a story spanning across all time.
Even better than all of that, is that the story of these god-like beings will bring with it even more diversity and representation to the MCU. The only bad thing about it all is that fans still have to wait until November 5 to actually watch it all unfold.
