Marvel Studios Taps Chloé Zhao to Direct THE ETERNALS

Waiting for this movie will feel eternal.

The Hollywood Reporter has word that Marvel Studios has chosen Chloé Zhao as director for The Eternals, based on the classic Marvel comic series created by Jack Kirby.

According to the article, the search narrowed in the last few weeks, with a shortlist consisting of Watchmen TV pilot director Nicole Kassell, Travis Knight (Bumblebee, Kubo and the Two Strings), along with Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra (Birds of Passage).  Zhao "was already well known to Marvel as she went down the road with the company on Black Widow, the standalone featuring Scarlett Johansson's spy heroine.  That gig ultimately went to Cate Shortland."

In addition, the article states the film will include "the love story between Ikaris, a man fueled by cosmic energy, and Sersi, who relishes moving amongst humans."

Zhao, 36, is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, and producer who directed the acclaimed independent films The Rider and Songs My Brothers Taught Me.

Created in 1976 by Jack Kirby, the Eternals first appeared in The Eternals (vol.1) #1 as an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth.  When the Celestials visited Earth five million years ago and performed genetic experiments on early proto-humanity, they created two divergent races: the long-lived Eternals, and the genetically unstable and monstrously grotesque Deviants.  These experiments also led to the capacity for super-powered mutations in humans.  They also performed this experiment on other planets (such as the Kree and Skrull homeworlds) with similar results.

Eternals can be killed if their molecules are dispersed over a large enough area and there are few Eternals due to their low birth rate.  Even though Eternals and humans are capable of having children together when they mate, when a child is born of such a union the baby will always be human.  Eternals have sworn to protect humans from their cousins, the Deviants, and also have higher technology than the human race.  

The Eternals faced a civil war over if they should conquer other races.  One side was led by Kronos, who said they shouldn't, while the other was lead by Uranos.  Kronos' side won, causing Uranos to leave Earth and travel to Uranus, where he and the rest built a civilization.  Uranos and his group built a spaceship and attempted to return to Earth to start another war, but they were attacked by a Kree ship.  The survivors among Uranos' group were forced to land on Titan, Saturn's moon, giving rise to an Eternal civilization there.  The Kree captured one of the Eternals and did experiments on him, which led the Kree to go to Earth and experiment on humans.  This led to another offshoot of humanity, the Inhumans, that were powerful but not on the Eternals' level.

When the Celestials returned to judge the worthiness of their creations, the Eternals found themselves clashing with the Deviants again, and decided to publicly reveal their existence to humanity.  Kronos' son Zuras feared what would happen if the Celestials judged unfavorably.  They encountered the Asgardian god Thor, and were attacked by Thor's father Odin and the Olympian gods, who tried to prevent their interfering with the gods' plans to attack the Celestials.  Eventually, the Eternals decided to help the gods and formed a Uni-Mind to assist the assault on the Celestials.  They were forced to dissolve back into Eternals by the Celestials, and the shock of the attack killed Zuras.  Before his spirit fully left the material plane, he instructed his daughter Thena to take his people to explore space.  Most of the Eternals did so in the form of a Uni-Mind, but a handful – those most heavily involved in Earthly affairs – remained behind on Earth.  Since then, the Eternals have helped Earth's heroes, particularly the Avengers, against several menaces.