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Filmmaker Chloe Zhao, who helmed Marvel Studios’ “Eternals,” has spoken out in defense of comic book movies during a masterclass about her career on Friday afternoon at the Venice Film Festival.
Zhao was high off the success of “The Rider” and Oscar winner “Nomadland” when she landed the gig, but the resulting film was both a critical and commercial dud, becoming Marvel’s first ‘Rotten’ film on Rotten Tomatoes.
Zhao has taken a lot of flak in the years since from both comic book fans and cinephiles, even as she came back with the acclaimed indie drama “Hamnet”. That said, she doesn’t regret it.
In fact, she says the experience is still one she cherished, even as she was aware it wasn’t a high-priority film for Marvel:
“I loved doing it. For any of you who love anime, I know you know this was a girl’s dream come true. Comic books are the western equivalent of [manga]. They are very different, but I live in the West, and that’s what I had access to.
Eternals was not high on their priority list. Because it’s a quite unique IP and it [was] only on their list of potential players. You know, with Marvel, it’s very much a thing to find the right filmmaker before they say, ‘That’s the IP we’re gonna go for.’”
She added that Kevin Feige saw how passionate she was about the property, and trusted her to make a film that “literally no one in the world was interested in.”
Zhao was also asked about the backlash to the comic book film genre, particularly from other filmmakers like Scorsese or Coppola. She says:
“I do feel it’s important to not write off stories because we don’t consider them high art. The purpose of storytelling for me, humbly, is to create containers for people … to try to process what they need to process. Archetypes are such a great way to do it, and we see them in myths because it’s something we all share.”
Reports have teased a potential “Eternals” sequel over the years with little to show for it, only “Captain America: Brave New World” really picking up any of the story threads introduced in the film – in its case, introducing Adamantium to the MCU via the partly emerged celestial Tiamut.
Source: Variety
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