Eternals Director Explains Why Team Didn't Interfere In Infinity War
The director of Marvel’s Eternals says the film will explain why the team did not interfere during the Infinity War. It is a question that many audience members have asked since Eternals was announced, and a truly satisfying answer will be hard to deliver. But based on the comic-book history of the characters, there is some precedent.
Created by Jack Kirby when he returned to Marvel Comics in the 1970s, the Eternals have had a difficult publication history. Kirby’s original saga was never finished, and many of his plot lines would be resolved and used as part of retcons for other powerful galactic beings for the next few decades of Marvel. The key was always that the Eternals remained hidden for thousands of years, fighting a secret war against the Deviants while their powers slowly grew. Likely, the movie will follow suit.
In a new interview with Total Film, director Chloe Zhao teased an explanation for why the team in Eternals did not interfere in the Infinity War. According to Zhao, it mostly has to do with specific orders from their creators to not get involved in human affairs. When specifically asked “Why?,” she responded with the answer below:
“[The audience] will understand why. Not only why, but how complicated not interfering made them feel. We explore that. You’ll see that in the film. The Eternals were instructed not to interfere with any human conflict unless Deviants are involved. There’s a reason why that’s the case. And that was the instruction from the prime Celestial Arishem."
Zhao goes on to speak about her excitement in being able to tackle the MCU’s Celestials, and the type of storytelling they require. In her words, “Anything involving the Celestials is going to be at a huge scale level of complication, let’s put it that way.” Of course, telling some of the Celestial and Eternals’ backstory requires going back in time in the MCU, which is also an exciting prospect for both Zhao and the fans hoping to see how all the history connects to the various movies seen so far.
Eternals has the potential to be an almost Rosetta Stone for the MCU’s past, as well as a signpost for where it is going in the future. This is especially true if the film truly does delve into the origins of the Celestials, who have been referenced in several past films as being major players setting up plot lines like the Infinity War. Once Eternals hits theaters in November, savvy audience members may be able to start piecing together where Kevin Feige and company are going with their future intergalactic MCU storytelling.
SOURCE: Total Film