Eternals Director Explains Why MCU Movie Wasn’t a ‘High Priority’

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Chloé Zhao, the director of Eternals, has shared why Marvel Studios didn’t consider the film a top priority.

Eternals, a 2021 film directed and co-written by Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao (known for films like The Rider, Nomadland, and the upcoming Hamnet), received a mixed response from both critics and fans. It held the lowest score on Rotten Tomatoes of any Marvel Cinematic Universe film until the releases of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023 and Captain America: Brave New World in 2025.

What did Chloé Zhao say about Eternals?

In an interview on the Awards Chatter podcast, director Chloé Zhao discussed her work on Eternals. She revealed she was considered to direct Black Widow, but decided against it because the story didn’t resonate with her.

Zhao also mentioned it clashed with her work on Nomadland, which she felt was the project she needed to focus on at the time.

Chloe Zhao shared that she presented the concept for Eternals to Marvel just before leaving to begin filming Nomadland in South Dakota.

She explained that she essentially began working on the ‘Eternals’ script while still filming ‘Nomadland.’ She admitted she wasn’t fully focused at the time, which led her to understand that while working on two movies at once can be advantageous, it also presents challenges.

She clarified that Eternals wasn’t a top priority for Marvel Studios. Because it’s a very different kind of story, they were waiting for the perfect director before committing to a follow-up, at least when these decisions were being made.

I just finished watching Eternals on Disney+, and wow! The cast is amazing – Gemma Chan plays Sersi, and Richard Madden is Ikaris. Plus, you’ve got Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Kit Harrington as Dane Whitman, Salma Hayek as Ajak, and even Angelina Jolie as Thena! Seriously, go check it out if you haven’t already.

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2026-01-30 19:17