Chloe Zhao is about as far from a Marvel style director as you could possibly find. I'm glad they are going different directions. No interest in the source characters whatsoever, but MCU and Chloe Zhao is opening weekend for me.
Might the most ambitious MCU movie, to date. Zhao has only directed 3 indie movies before this one, and it comes with a bunch of well-known actors. The plot is going to be packed full and this is supposed to be a superhero team that's already established chemistry, unlike the Guardians of the Galaxy. It'd be like watching the second Avengers without watching any of the movies that came before it, first.
Your definition of ambitious is different. There are 36 characters in the end battle alone of Endgame.
I saw PAPER BOY in that trailer! Kewl. Serious/dramatic MCU trailer ends with a post-title screen joke - no, way!
The typical MCU viewer knows about those characters, either because they're so popular (Spidey, Cap, Iron Man, etc), because they've had their own movie(s) (Black Panther, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man, etc) or because they've been in the MCU since the outset of phase 1 (Thor, Hulk, etc). I don't know about you, but never once during Infinity War or Endgame did I think "wow, this is just too many characters on screen. What was Marvel thinking?" This time, it's different. You're essentially setting up the next 'phase' of Marvel movies, with The Eternals. You're giving the reins of a should-be-established team of galactic/celestial beings (with a bunch of well-known actors) to a director with no track record of anything but indie movies. I'm not knocking Zhao, since she can obviously be a good director, but it's a big step up from indie movie in 2020 to Marvel movie in 2021. The movie also has a lot of plot to explain, such as "What were the Eternals doing while Thanos killed half of all sentient life?" They have to combine events pre/post Endgame, introduce an entirely new team of superheroes all with their own powers and explain a bunch of stuff, all while setting up the next Marvel movies. That's no easy feat. I know better than to bet against Feige, especially when it comes to casting decisions, but this particular movie is gonna be a hit-or-miss, imo.
Word is Feige is blown away by what he's seen. I don't think he was expecting much. You make it sound like Marvel bet the HOUSE on this movie. I don't think that's the case.
I don't think Marvel bet the house. I do think they're playing with house money, with every movie that comes out post-Endgame. Unless Marvel produces a dud from here on out (which I doubt very much will happen), Marvel has it good. The Eternals, to me, has a 2014 GotG feel - I know nothing about these characters, but I'm all in on this group, regardless, because it's Marvel.
