With the arrival of the final trailer for Marvel's Eternals, audiences have been offered a closer look at the film's cast of immortal aliens, including Salma Hayek's leader Ajak; however the actress has revealed why she initially turned down the role. Directed by Academy Award winner Chloe Zhao, Eternals follows the titular group across their 7000 years on Earth as they watch over humanity and protect the planet from their mortal foes, the Deviants. With the defeat of Thanos in Endgame, the return of half the planet's population serves as the catalyst for the return of the Deviants, requiring the Eternals to band together once more to protect the planet they call home.
Hayek is joined by Gemma Chan and Richard Madden, who will play estranged lovers Sersi and Ikaris, as well as Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Don Lee, and Brian Tyree Henry. The film was initially scheduled to release in November of 2020, but was delayed as a result of he COVID-19 pandemic to February 2021 before being pushed back once again to this coming November, with Black Widow taking its release date instead. Zhao has remained busy though, using the delays to re-edit the film to better fit with her vision, similar to what David Lowery did with The Green Knight.
According to Hayek, it was Zhao's involvement in the project that primarily drew her to Eternals in the first place. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the actress explained that when she was first contacted by Marvel for the film she initially thought:"Forget it … God knows what kind of grandmother they want me to play." Hayek explained the decision by saying: "I'm used to being [told] I'm going to be the extra or the old prostitute" and expected a similar role in Eternals, however "then they said the director was Chloé Zhao, and I said, 'Okay! Let's have the meeting!'"
Known for her roles in Once Upon A Time in Mexico and Dogma, there is certain a type of role that Hayek tends to find herself in, as she accurately reflects. It's a shame as she is a highly talented actress with a wealth of great performances under her belt, especially her Academy Award nominated performance as Frida Kahlo in 2002's Frida. Thankfully, it seem as though Eternals will offer her the chance to branch out and show her range as the wise, spiritual leader of the group who also serves the bridge between the Eternals and their masters the Celestials.
Still, it's understandable why Hayek would be apprehensive about agreeing to work with Marvel. The company doesn't have the best track record for diversity in their films, although that was more a symptom of Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter. Thankfully that has changed since Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige was granted autonomy over the MCU, and has resulted in a far more diverse line-up lately, including the likes of Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and the upcoming Shang-Chi.
Eternals looks to continue this trend with Feige and Zhao selecting a range of actors for the Eternals from different racial groups, and even gender-swapping a few characters. Hopefully bringing Hayek aboard will be a positive step and the actress will have the opportunity to break out from the mould that she has found herself in. Fans will just have to wait and see when Eternals arrives on November 5th.
