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Chloé Zhao Reacts to Eternals Being Called One of the Worst MCU Movies
Director Chloé Zhao reacts to Eternals being called one of the worst movies in the MCU. Eternals was the third film in MCU's Phase 4 following Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The ten Eternals, Ajak, Sersi, Ikaris, Kingo, Sprite, Phastos, Makkari, Druig, Gilgamesh, and Thena, were sent to Earth 7,000 years ago to protect the planet from Deviant attacks. The team was slowly integrated into society after believing that the Deviants had become extinct.
Zhao had the tough task of introducing not one but ten new heroes into the MCU. The characters also were not well-known, making her job even harder. Unfortunately, the Eternals received mixed to negative reviews upon release, leading to many calling it one of the worst additions to the MCU. Out of all 27 MCU movies, Eternals currently has the lowest Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, but a 78% Audience Score. This had made some question if Eternals is really as bad as everyone says.
Zhao is well aware of Eternals' critics, as she recently posted a screenshot of a Rotten Tomatoes post on her Instagram story. Rotten Tomatoes' post asks if Eternals really deserves to be ranked at the bottom of the MCU, with Zhao responding, "Does it..?" The director then goes on to say Eternals releases on Disney+ on January 12 with a director's commentary and special features.
To be fair, Zhao really did try to make Eternals a unique addition to the franchise and also took big steps forward in diversifying the MCU. That being said, the movie tries to cram a lot of story threads into a two-and-a-half-hour movie. Introducing ten new heroes, as well as side characters like Arishem, Kro, and Dane Whitman resulted in underdeveloped characters. The movie itself had a lot of plot holes and inconsistencies, such as Thena's Mahd W'yry and Arishem's interference with the Eternals.
Eternals had the lowest domestic box office opening since Ant-Man in 2015. While some people may have just not been interested in the movie because it was about new characters that hadn't been seen before, the continuing coronavirus pandemic still affects box office numbers since some fans aren't comfortable returning to theaters. With Eternals now coming to Disney+, the movie could start getting more positive reviews as more people have access to the film. A director's commentary could also significantly help the reception of the film if Zhao is able to effectively explain her reasoning behind certain story details or plot holes.
