The next step in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Eternals, following a group of superheroes who have been protecting Earth for thousands of years and who are now forced to reunite in order to save humanity. Led by the wise spiritual leader Ajak (Salma Hayek),this group of thinkers and fighters that includes Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Druig (Barry Keoghan) and Sprite (Lia McHugh) must battle monstrous creatures called the Deviants to protect the continued evolution of civilization.

At a press conference to promote the film, co-stars Chan, Madden, Hayek, Jolie, Nanjiani, Henry, Lee, Ridloff and McHugh were joined by director Chloé Zhao and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige to talk about taking the MCU to an entirely new place, bringing 10 new heroes to the universe, the initial pitch, swapping genders of some of the characters, and what it means to the cast to join the Marvel family.

Question: Kevin, Eternals takes the MCU to an entirely new place. Was that the goal?

KEVIN FEIGE: Yeah, absolutely, that was the whole idea. Nate Moore, our producer who is not up here with us, really had that driving vision for what this could be. When (director) Chloe [Zhao] came in and pitched it to us and took these very general ideas that we had and the Jack Kirby spectacular source material, it felt like a very new special step for us.

Why Eternals and why now?

FEIGE: In a post-Infinity saga world, we wanted to make a bold new step and say, “You don’t know everything about the universe yet. There are these 10 spectacular heroes, who you haven’t met, who’ve been here the whole time.”

RELATED: ‘Eternals’ Director Chloé Zhao on Having the First Love Scene and LGBTQ Relationship in the MCU

Chloé, what was it like to get to bring level of maturation of the MCU. These are characters that are doing things that we’ve never seen them do before, on screen in the MCU. Was that part of that initial pitch?

CHLOE ZHAO: It started with me showing him a macro photo of sand and quoting a poem from William Blake, and I was still allowed to stay in the room, which was really nice. In that poem, Blake was trying to convey that you can see the endless beauty and the meaning of the cosmos within the smallest things you can find on Earth. The vision of the film was to set up and capture the scale of something as large as the creation of the sun and as intimate as the whispers of lovers. Going on location and doing this kind of immersive shoot and having the supportive understanding of this amazing cast was how we got here today.

Chloe and Kevin, how did you decide which characters you wanted to gender swap?

ZHAO: When I came to the process, at the beginning, I read a treatment that I believe Kevin made and the team at Marvel Studios put together, and those decisions were made. It’s probably one of the things that really drew me to it. It wasn’t just, “Oh, let’s swap a bunch of characters.” It was very specifically chosen that the leader of the team was a mother figure. Each of the decisions were made on purpose.

FEIGE: As Nate was advocating for this project, you can’t do the history of humanity without the heroes looking like a cross-section of humanity. That’s really what the goal was.

Angelina, you’ve played so many incredible warriors in your history on screen, from Lara Croft to your characters in Wanted and Salt. With Thena, she’s literally the Goddess of War, but she finds strength within herself. What attracted you to this character?

ANGELINA JOLIE: I was attracted to this project for many reasons. I’m a fan of the MCU. I’m a big fan of Chloe’s. And then, when they first talked to me about the story, it was the cast. It was the idea of what this family would be. I just wanted to be a part of this family, before I even knew very much about who I was gonna play. As I learned about Thena, one of the special things that Chloe brings to this and that she’s known for, is bringing reality to a film and to somebody’s true self. A lot of us were cast to bring out something from our own lives and something within ourselves, that maybe we weren’t even aware of, and let it live and let it grow within the film. She seems like maybe the most fantastic I’ve ever played in a superhero, and yet my children said she seems the most like me. It’s hard to talk about her. She has a vulnerability. We often have to present to be fully together to be strong, and yet she holds both, which most people do. It’s important to see that.

Gemma, you’re on a team full of superheroes, but Sersi seems to be the most reluctant hero in this story. How did you want to approach that with the character, as she grows into her role?

GEMMA CHAN: Sersi is a superhero, but her powers are not the most obvious or the flashiest. She’s not the best fighter. But what she does have is empathy and a real affinity for humankind and the earth. She’s a free spirit. I loved that. One of the enjoyable things about the film was going on that journey with that character for her coming-of-age, even though she’s however many thousands of years old. She learns to trust herself and to grow into her own power, and that was a really interesting thing to explore.

RELATED: Richard Madden and Gemma Chan on ‘Eternals,’ Their Powers, and Filming the First MCU Love Scene

Richard, your character Ikaris is caught between love and loyalty, throughout the film. What was it like to play someone with such an internal conflict?

RICHARD MADDEN: I really loved it. I’m used to playing lovers often, and to play someone who’s such a soldier, but is completely driven by love and he’s wrestling with that, he’s trying to bury that love because it gets in the way of his duty, and he’s constantly wrestling the two. That’s what made it really interesting for me to pull out that relationship with Sprite to Sersi, and-work out what that relationship is when you’re trying to stick to duty, but your feelings get in the way. He’s this eternal soldier wrestling that.

Salma, what does it mean to you to be representing Latinos in Eternals, as a Mexican superhero, especially as a leader and maternal figure like Ajak?

SALMA HAYEK: It’s a really humbling experience. I dream big. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten here at all. But in my big dreams, I wanted to be a superhero, I wanted to work with the best directors in the world, and I wanted to have both big blockbuster movies and movies that are art, made from a very deep place. You cannot ask for more. But that didn’t happen for me. You fight for it in your 20s and in your 30s, but in your 40s, you go, “Screw them. They don’t get it. They missed out. I would’ve been great in the art films. I would’ve been a great superhero. They didn’t see it. Screw them! I’m gonna go do something else. They’re dumb. Let’s have a baby.” And you give up.

It’s very humbling when, in the middle of your 50s, a brilliant director gives you the opportunity to do both – to do something that comes from a deep place, but is also a big blockbuster. I was wrong. Everything is possible. It’s such a humbling sensation. I’m in my 50s, I’m Mexican, and I’m short with big boobs. That’s not the normal superhero. I’m not muscley. I don’t look like that. I don’t have Botox. I’m doing well, but I don’t look like a superhero. It’s a Marvel superhero movie. I’m Mexican and I’m Lebanese. I’m in my 50s and they let me do my action. I did it myself. They were not afraid of the insurance and that grandma was gonna break in the middle of it. It’s beautiful. People can see themselves in this. So, thank you to Marvel and thank you to Chloe. Everything is possible.

Kumail, how did you prepare to showcase Kingo’s Bollywood swagger?

KUMAIL NANJIANI: The hardest thing was the dancing. Chloe lied to me. When we first talked about the movie, she was like, “There’s a Bollywood dance sequence.” I was like, “Chloe, I don’t think I can do that.” She was like, “Okay, we’ll make it a Bollywood action scene.” And then, as soon as I got to London, she was like, “It’s a dance sequence.” And I was like, “Get me a dance teacher right now then.” The couple who did the choreography was wonderful. They worked with me for months and months to do that because it was so outside my comfort zone. Ultimately, all of that came down to trust. It really did. On the macro level, it was about trusting Kevin because he’s made so many MCU movies and they’re all great. I mean, what a run. And then, I met Chloe and Nate Moore, usually my instinct with an opportunity like this would be a moment of excitement and then fear, but just in meeting her, I was like, “Oh, she’s not gonna let me suck in this thing. If she wants me to do something, I’m gonna do it.” I completely trusted her. I didn’t always see it. She had this whole movie and this whole universe in her head. I didn’t understand it until I watched the movie, but I knew enough to trust her. So, I was like, “This doesn’t feel like something I would do, but if Chloe thinks I can do it, I’ll do it.”

Brian, Phastos is the inventor and innovator, but he’s also the most committed to humanity. What was that like to balance and explore?

BRIAN TYREE HENRY: It was amazing. It came down to trust, and I truly and wholeheartedly trusted Chloe. The thing that really attracted me to this part was that I just think about all of the images of Black men out there and how we are portrayed, and what I love the most about Phastos is that he’s an ancestor. All of us are ancestors, technically, so Phastos predates everything and had to probably go through all of these things that could actually make someone lose faith in humanity very quickly. When I was coming to this project, I, Brian, had lost faith in humanity, just looking at all of the things that we’ve been through, what the images of Black men were and how we were being portrayed and how the power was taken from us. And what I really love the most about Phastos is that, through all of that, and him being eternal and never being able to die, he still chose love. He still decided to have a family, even though he may have to watch them perish. He still tried to find a way to bring heart and love to everything he did, even though his genius was used against him. That really resonated with me. It really resonated a lot with how I felt my place in society was and how we can be kings and queens, but at the same time, they’ll take our pedestal and take our superpowers from us.

What I love the most about Eternals is that Chloe and Nate really just re-instilled that power back in me again. I remember they were like, “We want you to be a superhero.” I was like, “Cool. How much weight do I have to lose?” And Chloe was like, “What are you talking about? We want you exactly as you are.” And to be a Black man and to have someone look at you and say, “We want you exactly the way you are,” is unlike anything that I’ve ever felt. It just triggered me to being an 11-year-old kid who’s watching these superhero movies and not ever seeing anyone like me reflected. I would take these posters and put them in my locker and just hope that one day there would be somebody representing me and the way that I am. I truly believe that moment started when I sat down with Chloe. It’s unlike any feeling I’ve ever experienced. And to work with this beautiful palette of people and make a family, this is what families look like. This is what they are. And if not, this is what they should be. That’s what Eternals really brings to the surface. This is a family. This is who we are. This is what we look like. The one thing that I hope everyone takes away from this movie is that the heart of humanity is still worth saving, and we can still bind and mend and do everything we need to through love. That’s what Chloe showed.

RELATED: Kit Harington, Lia McHugh, and Don Lee on ‘Eternals’ and Which of Their Friends and Family Were Most Excited About Them Joining the MCU

Since Phastos is an inventor, can you invent Atlanta Season 3 to come now? Can you make that happen?

HENRY: If it makes you feel any better, we’re done. We’ve finally got that season in the can. Everyone, please stop yelling at me. It’s coming. I had to be a superhero first.

Lauren, what did you enjoy about exploring the dynamic between Makkari and Druig?

LAUREN RIDLOFF: First of all, the relationship between Makkari and Druig came as a surprise. Within the script, when we first went through it, it wasn’t really something that was so apparent. But Chloe, under her brilliant direction, wanted us to imply that there was a lot more to Druig and Makkari. I feel like what actually brought them together is that they’re both very impatient and they both have a lot of power. They’re very powerful individuals, and they’re told to hold themselves back. They’re mischievous, and they also have fun.

ZHAO: The first time Lauren met Barry [Keoghan], the two of them started to riff and improvise. I was like, “What’s happening?” There were sparks everywhere. Initially, that was not intention. That was really from their meeting. We saw that and went, “Maybe we should lay claim to that.”

Don, what’s it like to join the MCU?

DON LEE: I’ve starred in and produced over a hundred films, over the last 20 years, and this was the biggest scale I’ve ever been a part of. One day, I got to the set and nothing was there. And then, a few weeks later, I went to the set and they had made this forest. I was like, “Is this the right place?” I thought I went the wrong way. It was crazy. I was so impressed with this great diverse cast, from all over the world. I’m interested in global content, and this could entertain more people in the world, so I was happy about that. I’ve always been a big fan of Marvel and Kevin, and I was a big fan of Chloe too. Everybody was so nice. Our crew was so nice too.

Thanks to Angie, we worked together a lot and we were looking out for each other. We were these two warriors, always looking out for each other. I’ve been in this industry for awhile, but this was the first time I met Angie. We didn’t have enough time to rehearse, so we had to just shoot right away, but it was so comfortable. It was like we were old friends, who finally got to work together. It really felt that way. I was so happy.

I’ve done so many action scenes and action sequences. I’ve gotten a lot of injuries and I’ve had surgeries that I’m rehabbing. I’m still doing powerlifting. I’ve been boxing for 30 years. I’m always ready for another action film, but this was a little bit different because I didn’t have a physical opponent. I had to use my imagination. I was always asking, “So, the Deviants head is about here, or is it here?” I had to punch really high to hit his face. It was really fun. Every day, every moment of this production was memorable for me.

NANJIANI: He worked so hard on that fight that it feels like he shot it for three months. We’d go to work and be like, “Where’s Don?” And they’d say, “He’s fighting in the forest.” We were like, “Is there any crew there? Is he just doing it on his own?” And that fight is so good. His work in the movie is so great. He’s physically so powerful, and then so gentle when he’s not fighting.

Lia, can you relate to Sprite, being the younger actor on this set?

LIA McHUGH: In my real life, I’ve always looked younger than I actually am and people always assume that I’m younger than I am, so I really related to Sprite, in that way. There are a lot of layers to Sprite. In every scene, she goes through a lot of emotions, but she expresses them in a sassy, temperamental way, like an old lady would. Chloe said I should watch Maggie Smith and be like an old lady with the wonderment of a child. She’s someone who wants to be part of this world, but can’t. She deals with a lot of emotional stuff that the Eternals don’t really deal with, being in the body of a child.

ZHAO: I didn’t do much. She kept notes. She would come to me and say, “In this part of the script, do you think she would do this?” Her character isn’t always saying how she feels. It’s in these subtle things. And Lia was always on point and came in with her homework.

Eternals is in theaters on November 5th.