When actress Gemma Chan first joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it seemed that her involvement would be short-lived considering her character, Minn-Erva, was killed towards the end of Captain Marvel. To fans’ delight, however, the MCU managed to bring Chan back, although not in her original role.
Instead, Chan is set to appear in the highly anticipated film Eternals, alongside the likes of Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Kit Harington, and Kumail Nanjiani (Netflix breakout star Millie Bobby Brown was also rumored to star in the movie). That said, many don’t realize exactly how Chan’s return was made possible.
This Film Made A Reunion Between Gemma And Marvel Possible
Prior to the release of Captain Marvel, Chan had starred in the highly acclaimed romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians. And when her involvement with the Brie Larson film was over, Chan had assumed she would never return to the MCU again, making it clear that the possibility of taking on another role was “not in the contract, really, and not during the job.” The actress also told The Hollywood Reporter, “I enjoyed the job and I loved working with Brie [Larson]. But my character dies in the film as well, so I thought there was no chance that I would really be coming back, which I was a bit bummed about.”
As bummed as she was, Chan busied herself working the awards circuit for Crazy Rich Asians. And in the midst of all this, she also runs into a familiar face from Marvel. “I encountered Kevin Feige during the awards circuit for Crazy Rich Asians and out of the blue, he just came up and said, ‘We’d love to have you back,’” Chan recalled. It seems that the Marvel boss became interested in bringing Chan back after seeing the Asian Hollywood film. “I’m going to paraphrase really badly, but I guess he’d seen the film and said, ‘We’d love to make better use of you. We’d just love for you to come back. We want you to do something else, so let’s find that project,’” the actress said. “But, to be honest, I had no idea that it would be so soon. So, yeah, it was just really nice of him to say that.”
That said, Chan made it clear that she wasn’t offered any part after the chance meeting with Feige. Instead, she “definitely still had to audition.” By the time that she did, Marvel had already been trying to cast the role of Sersi for quite some time. “I screen-tested with Richard [Madden], and I think I came in right at the end of the process actually,” Chan had explained. “I believe they had seen a lot of people for this role.” Feige himself also told Variety that they “looked at and read all sorts of women for that part.”
Chan also remarked, “It was the most difficult role for them to find the person to play this part. So I believe I was the last.” And even if she was the last to audition, Feige believed that Chan was “the best for it.” The Marvel Studios president that Zhao herself was “a big part of that decision, and of every casting decision.”
And when Chan found out that she landed the role, the whole situation still seemed surreal. “Again, I don’t think they were particularly expecting to bring me back within a year of Captain Marvel coming out,” the actress explained. “I imagine they thought it might be sometime in the future, if at all. So it took us all a bit by surprise.”
Here’s What Chan Has Said About Eternals
It’s been quite some time since the production on Eternals wrapped up. However, little is known about this upcoming Chloé Zhao Marvel film. That said, Feige himself had shared some insight about the movie, specifically Chan’s character being the “lead in this ensemble.” Meanwhile, Chan hasn’t said much about her character so far. However, the actress once explained, “She’s very empathetic and her powers come from an unexpected place.”
At the same time, Chan also shared that Eternals “felt very different” from other Marvel movies during the production stage. “We did some stuff in studio, but a lot of stuff on location,” the actress shared. “There wasn’t that much bluescreen stuff, which I did quite a lot of on Captain Marvel.” Since Chan (or any other MCU actor for that matter) is not allowed to offer further details, she’s learned to stay vague when describing the movie. “It’s a really epic story. Very ambitious,” the actress shared. “There are lots of new characters. I feel like it’s going to be a superhero movie that is not like a superhero movie. That sounds like a very obvious thing to say, but they’re trying to do something different with this film.”
Eternals is set to make its theatrical debut this November.
