Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe produced a lot of hits, but it can't be denied that it was also responsible for putting out some of the most divisive projects in the franchise's long history. Among the films that unfortunately didn't click with audiences and critics alike is Chloé Zhao's cosmic offering Eternals, which introduced fans to a new breed of heroes in the MCU.
Despite receiving a ton of hype prior to its release and generating $402 million at the global box office, which was a pretty decent number during the pandemic era, the film didn't hit the mark with its target audience, becoming one of the worst-rated MCU flicks on Rotten Tomatoes in recent memory.
Barry Keoghan, who played Druig in the MCU epic recently shared his thoughts on the poor reception Eternals ended up getting, and according to him, audiences just weren't ready for it. Speaking on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast, the 30-year-old Irish actor said the following:
"I think Chloé [Zhao] brought a whole kind of feel to it. You know? So Chloe brings - as you’ve seen from her past films - raw performances and really really touching performances. I don’t think it was… I think it was new. I think it was just new. It was new for the Marvel world."
On the possibility of a sequel getting greenlit, Keoghan says he remains optimistic about their future in the billion-dollar franchise. He said: "I’m always optimistic. I actually spoke with Victoria [Alonso] recently. Victoria Alonso, she was there and I didn’t get a chance to chat with her too much, but yeah. I’m always optimistic, always. I wanna know what Druig is doing right now."
Also Read: Eternals Director Reportedly Booted Out of MCU Sequel
Rumor has it that Zhao won't return for Eternals 2 although Marvel Studios have yet to make things official. But if she doesn't actually helm the sequel, I think it's pretty safe to say that the first film's performance is responsible for it.
Eternals is available to stream exclusively on Disney+.
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!