Kumail Nanjiani Reflects on His Experience with Eternals
Kumail Nanjiani, the star of the 2021 film Eternals, has spoken out about his experience working on the movie. In an interview with NPR’s Wild Card podcast, Nanjiani expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to work on the film, despite its critical and commercial failure. Directed by Chloé Zhao, Eternals features Nanjiani as Kingo, one of a group of immortal beings who have shaped human history.
Nanjiani stated that he is “very proud” of his performance in the film and wouldn’t change anything about his portrayal of Kingo. He also acknowledged that the film’s failure taught him a valuable lesson about separating his personal experience from the end result of a project. “Most times if I’m acting in something, I do not get to decide how good it’s gonna be,” Nanjiani explained. “What I do get to choose is whether or not I learned from it… To me, that’s been a thing that I have to remind myself over and over – is that a failure is not a failure. It truly is an opportunity to learn.”
The Challenges of Eternals
Eternals was released at a challenging time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film arrived after the highly successful Avengers: Endgame, which concluded a decade-long story arc. The movies that followed, including Spider-Man: Far From Home, Black Widow, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, received mixed reviews and struggled to match the success of their predecessors. Eternals, in particular, stands out as one of the biggest failures of the bunch, with a 47% Rotten Tomatoes score and a worldwide gross of only $402 million.
Despite its poor reception, Nanjiani remains positive about his experience working on the film. He emphasized the importance of focusing on the aspects of a project that he can control, such as his own performance and the lessons he can learn from the experience. This approach has helped him to maintain a positive attitude and to appreciate the opportunities that he has had in his career.
The Legacy of Eternals
The events of Eternals have largely been overlooked in the larger MCU narrative, and it seems unlikely that Kingo or other characters from the film will return anytime soon. The focus of the franchise has shifted to upcoming movies like Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. However, for Nanjiani, the experience of working on Eternals will continue to have a lasting impact on his approach to his craft.
As the MCU continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how the lessons learned from Eternals and other films will shape the future of the franchise. For now, Nanjiani’s reflections on his experience serve as a reminder of the importance of perseverance and the value of learning from both successes and failures.
