South Korean action star Ma Dong-seok is reported to have signed on to costar in Marvel Studios’ ‘The Eternals’ with Angeline Jolie and Kumail Nanjiani. Chloé Zhao is directing ‘The Eternals’ with a screenplay by brothers Matthew Firpo and Ryan Firpo. ‘The Eternals’ were created by Jack Kirby in 1976 after he returned to work at Marvel after working for DC for a few years, where he created the ‘New Gods’. Reportedly, ‘The Eternals’ implemented unused story elements that Kirby had intended for the ‘New Gods’. (Coincidentally, Warner Brothers has a ‘New Gods’ movie in the works, from director Ava DuVernay.)
Jolie is believed to be playing Sersi, an enchantress who, unlike most of the other Eternals, enjoys mingling with mortals. She has the power to transmute matter, including turning humans into animals. It isn’t known who Nanjiani or Dong-seok are portraying, but The Eternals are an entire race, so there are tons of possibilities. It was previously reported that the film would include: Druig, who secretly worked as a KGB agent where he developed a taste for torture; The Forgotten One, a deadly hand-to-hand combatant who was exiled by the Eternals’ leader Zuras; Ikaris, the leader of the younger Eternals, with telepathic abilities, among other powers; Makkari, known for his super speed (a la Mercury); Starfox or Eros, another former Avenger, who can manipulate others’ pleasure centers, usually used to seduce others; and Zuras, the father of Thena, and the most powerful and wisest of The Eternals. It’s possible that Nanjiani and Dong-seok could play any of them… or none of them.
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In addition to Sersi, the film is also expected to include the female characters: Piper, a young female, who is wise beyond her years; Elysius, a female artificial intelligence who commands a fleet of griffin-like creatures; and Thena, similar to the Greek goddess Athena, she is a master warrior and leader.
Dong-seok has appeared in dozens of movies in his native South Korea, specializing in action movies. He also starred on the TV series ‘Bad Guys’ and ’38 Task Force’. He appeared on one episode of ‘Sense8’, so some western viewers may recognize him from that.
Marvel Studios is maintaining a code of silence regarding anything after ‘Avengers: Endgame’ and ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’, so it’s possible that ‘The Eternals’ will open on November 1, 2020, but that isn’t set in stone.
Source: Collider
