Marvel’s ‘The Eternals’ Looking To Add Kumail Nanjiani, Along With Angelina Jolie


One of Marvel Studio’s newest properties to be in development after Avengers: Endgame is The Eternals, which The Inquisitr previously reported on as the studio is negotiating with Angelina Jolie to star. Now, The Hollywood Reporter provides an exclusive that Oscar-nominated comedian, actor, and writer Kumail Nanjiani may be in talks to star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film as well.

Kumail Nanjiani is an actor who is fast on the rise. Having been nominated for Best Original Screenplay Oscar for his film, The Big Sick, Nanjiani is also developing an Apple TV+ original anthology series titled Little America, as The Inquisitr previously reported. The star can also be seen in the Jordan Peele reboot of The Twilight Zone on the streaming service, CBS All Access.

While there are no details on what character Nanjiani is being considered for, his inclusion in the film definitely adds intrigue to the type of movie it will be. Given Nanjiani’s comic roots, it may be that the star will provide the comic relief for the film, similarly to Michael Pena’s role in Ant-Man.

The Eternals is a Marvel Comics series that sees God-like characters who predate most of the universe in the comics. The characters were created by Celestials, who have already been introduced in the MCU though films like Guardians Of The Galaxy.

The Eternals is also interesting as it will be one of the only new projects, as in movies featuring unknown characters, within the MCU after Avengers: Endgame. While Spider-Man: Far From Home will be following the film, and other sequels to existing heroes have been announced, no new movies or characters are currently in development except for The Eternals and Shang-Chi, as reported by Business Insider.

It’s been widely theorized, as per We Got This Covered, that The Eternals may be Marvel Studios’ lead-in to bringing in the X-Men characters that their parent company, Disney, has recently acquired. The Eternals has also been in the news recently for its announcement that the film will be the first MCU film to feature a gay superhero, as reported by IndieWire. When discussing the casting of a gay character, Marvel’s production chief Victoria Alonso discussed the broader casting of the film with Variety.

“I’m so passionate about this I’ve got to tell you. Our entire success is based on people that are incredibly different. Why wouldn’t we? Why would we only want to be recognized by only one type of person? Our audience is global, is diverse, is inclusive. If we don’t do it that way for them, we will fail. If we don’t put the pedal to the metal on the diversity and the inclusivity, we will not have continued success. Our determination is to have that for all of the people out there watching our movies.”

While Nanjiani may not be playing this gay character, his addition to the cast is definitely exciting, as audiences await more casting news for The Eternals.

The Eternals is set to begin shooting later this year.

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