Angelina Jolie just became part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Chloé Zhao’s Eternals, but the actress is not interested in showing up on a solo superhero movie.
In an interview for Brazilian outlet CinePop, Jolie talked about her experience playing her first superhero, Thena, an Eternal capable of conjuring weapons out of thin air.
When asked why she took so long to play a superhero, Jolie said she was waiting for the right part, and previous proposals “didn’t feel like the right one.” However, in Eternals, Jolie felt she was doing something unique since Thena is part of a family.
As Jolie puts it, she “wanted to be part of this family, I wanted to see all these superheroes together.” Jolie also reveals that she joined Eternals before reading the script, and what convinced her to be a part of the project was this promise that the whole movie would revolve around the idea of family, a theme that resonates with the actress.
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Because she wanted to be part of the MCU’s most prominent family, Jolie also says she doesn’t want to star in a solo Thena movie. Even so, she’s ready to play Thena again in future films if Marvel keeps her as part of a team. In Jolie’s words:
"I loved being part of the family, so I have no desire to separate from the family. But I would be happy to play her again and explore even more deeply the struggles that she has. I think it’s fun thinking of where they’ve been over the years. We’ve got thousands of years worth of material. We can take her anywhere. I think that’s fun and I like the idea that we can pop up somewhere, maybe in other Marvel movies."
Eternals stars Gemma Chan as Sersi, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Don Lee as Giglamesh, Salma Hayek as Ajak, and Kit Harington as Dane Withman. Besides presenting a new team of powerful superheroes, Eternals explains why the Eternals stood down when Thanos wiped out half the universe and reveals the story behind the creation of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Early reviews of Eternals have been mixed, pointing out how the epic scope of the movie sometimes gets in the way of a narrative focused on human relations. In his review of the movie, our very own Matt Goldberg said:
“Eternals is a far more interesting film trapped in the body of a superhero movie, and those limitations neuter what could have been a heady, thrilling experience if not for what the film has to do both in its genre and as part of the MCU.”
Eternals is now available exclusively in theaters. Check Jolie’s full interview below.