No matter what your thoughts are on the content of the Marvel Studios film, “Eternals,” you can’t deny that the reviews were abysmal (a rarity for a MCU film or TV show) and fans were not pleased with the end result, either (proven by the low box office). This is especially disappointing when you consider that Oscar-winning filmmaker, Chloe Zhao, was at the helm of the film, which also sported an incredible all-star cast. So, what went wrong? The filmmaker has some guesses.
Speaking to Variety, Zhao reflected on the release of “Eternals” and why she thinks the superhero film didn’t resonate with fans and critics how she might have wanted.
“‘Eternals’ was planned to be released soon after ‘Endgame,’ and not at a time when everyone is having an existential crisis,” Zhao said. “The film itself is about existential crisis, both for humanity and God. So I think we definitely felt [the divisiveness] was coming.”
Zhao, obviously, doesn’t call “Eternals” a failure. And honestly, it’s only a disappointment when you compare to the high level that Marvel Studios has been cruising at for more than a decade. Instead, the filmmaker talked more about how the film was “divisive.”
“In this case, we truly stepped out of the box that I think the world put us in, and met in the middle because of our shared interests,” Zhao said. “And by truly doing that, it made a lot of people uncomfortable on both sides. But there are also people who are more comfortable with the order of their world [being] disturbed. And then they look at our love-child and go, ‘Oh! This touches different sides of me!’ I like that.”
Zhao added, “I completely understand the divisiveness coming from critics and the fans. Because when you take this to extremes that are seen as opposition — the world I come from and the world of Marvel, that has been divided in a way that’s so unfair and unfortunate — and to merge the way we did, I actually see the reaction as a testament to how much we had merged with each other; how uncomfortable that might make people feel.”
“I think the need for consensus is a hindrance for any authentic creative process…[Divisiveness] has [no] real influence on me as an artist, because every time I’m lucky enough to create, I learn from the process,” she continued. “From what I’ve succeeded [at], and what I’ve failed [at]. But that learning process is a very intimate affair. Anything beyond that, for me, it’s just a part of the ecosystem that exists because of the nature of the industry we’re in.”
Obviously, there are fans who would disagree with what Zhao is saying. Superhero film fans (such as this writer) might point to the fact that the film struggled to justify its overlong runtime with its boring, somewhat muddled plot and puzzling character choices. And sure, the film isn’t objectively terrible. But to say the negative reaction was more about fans being let down by expectations and not ready for some new style is a bit of a falsehood. Marvel Studios has done things differently in the past and succeeded (look at “WandaVision” for a more recent example). A boring, slog of a movie is just that–a boring, slog of a movie. No two ways around that. But I digress.
“Eternals” is available now on Disney+.