A new clip for Marvel’s Eternals was unveiled on Jimmy Kimmel Live, in the presence of special guests and stars of the upcoming superhero film, Kumail Nanjiani and Salma Hayek. The 45-second clip offered a glimpse at director Chloé Zhao’s handling of the action, and also teased composer Ramin Djawadi’s score.
Centered mostly around Nanjiani’s Kingo and Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari, the clip also features Richard Madden’s Ikaris as they band together to save humans from Deviant monsters. The Eternals are godlike beings who’ve lived on Earth for thousands of years, protecting their people in secret, but being careful not to reveal themselves and interfere. In the film, the Eternals are prompted to reunite in the aftermath of Thanos’ attack on all of existence.
While Zhao is hardly someone you’d associate with action cinema — she is best known for the meditative Oscar-winner Nomadland — the energy beams and slick CGI creatures seen in the clip suggest that Zhao eventually found her footing.
Nanjiani, who is perhaps best known for his comic roles, jokingly described his powers as “finger guns” to Kimmel. “I got to work and I said, 'So, how do I shoot?’” he recalled asking Zhao on set:
"Chloé was like, 'Finger guns.' I was like, 'Chloé, that's so goofy.' She's like, 'No! It's gonna be finger guns... I promise it'll look cool.' And so I felt stupid for six months doing this (mimics finger guns) every day.”
In the film, Kingo assumes the identity of a Bollywood star, and the trailers have shown glimpses of an elaborate song-and-dance number. Hayek said that sometimes, she’d be confused if Nanjiani was practicing the “finger guns,” his Bollywood dance moves, or the ASL that Kingo uses to communicate with Makkari.
She said:
“But I got to tell you something funny about that. He’s a really hard worker, and he had to do sign language, and there’s a lot of stuff that he does with his hands, and there’s also a Bollywood dancing number. Sometimes you would see him on his own going… (mimics vague hand movements) You didn't know if it was the Bollywood or sign language or coming up with different ways (for finger guns).”
Eternals is slated to release in theaters on November 5, and the film also stars Angelina Jolie, Brian Tyree Henry, Kit Harington, Gemma Chan, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Lia McHugh, and others. You can watch the Kimmel segment here, and be sure to check out the clip at around the eight-minute mark: