Eternals director says it was "actually quite dangerous" that the divisive Marvel film had an "unlimited amount of money and resources"

Ahead of the release of her new film Hamnet, Oscar-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao has talked about her divisive MCU movie Eternals. Released back in 2021, the film underperformed at the box office and failed to connect with Marvel fans, quickly becoming one of the most unpopular titles in the superhero franchise.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Zhao was asked how her work in Eternals prepared her for her new film, an adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's critically-acclaimed novel about William Shakespeare's family.

“Eternals prepared me for Hamnet because it’s world-building," the filmmaker said. "Before that, I had only done films that existed in the real world. I also learned what to do and not to do – what’s realistic and what isn't.

"Eternals had, like, an unlimited amount of money and resources. And here we have one street corner that we can afford, to [stand in for] Stratford…. Eternals didn't have a lot of limitations, and that is actually quite dangerous. Because we only have that street corner [in Hamnet], suddenly everything has meaning."

This is Zhao's first film since her Marvel outing, which earned one of the MCU's worst scores on Rotten Tomatoes at 47%. Although it wasn't exactly a box office flop, the movie's $402.1 million global earnings fell behind most of the franchise's previous instalments.

Kumail Nanjiani spoke recently about the future of his Eternals character Kingo, and the plans that never happened. "I signed on for six movies. I signed on for a video game. I signed on for a theme park ride. They make you sign on for all this stuff," he revealed.

Earlier this year, another Eternals star, Gemma Chan, said there are "unfinished business" with this story and these characters in the MCU, and said she would come back as Sersi, if asked. "You never know. We're often the last people to find out. I don't know, I'm keeping the faith. I feel like there's unfinished business there and there's more story to tell, but we'll see," she said.

Next up for the MCU is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is currently filming with Tom Holland returning as Peter Parker. It's set to be released on July 31, 2026, a few months before Avengers: Doomsday.

For more about the future of the MCU, see our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows.