Eternals star Gemma Chan opens up about her honest reaction to being cast in the MCU twice. After breaking out with roles in shows like AMC's Humans and movies like Crazy Rich Asians, Chan boarded the MCU in 2019's Captain Marvel. As blue-skinned alien Minn-Erva, Chan got to show off her dry side in a role that proved to be little more than a supporting part. Still, that didn't diminish fans' surprise when, later that same year, the actress was cast in another MCU movie, Eternals, as an entirely different character.
With Eternals, Chan steps into a more defined role amid a truly impressive ensemble. The Chloé Zhao-directed movie also stars the likes of Angelina Jolie and Richard Madden, and it explores thousands of years of MCU history through the eyes of the Eternals, a group of cosmic beings with incredible abilities. Chan plays Sersi, an empathetic member of the Eternals who has come to care deeply for humanity during her many years on Earth. She couldn't be more unlike Captain Marvel's Minn-Erva, thus allowing Chan to really spread her wings as an actress.
When Screen Rant sat down with Chan and Madden to discuss Eternals recently, Chan opened up about her reaction to getting cast after her Captain Marvel role. She first gave a sweet answer, saying she was "pleasantly surprised" by the offer. Then Chan got honest about the thing she really loved about her second MCU role. She said:
To be honest, I was as surprised as anyone else. I was not expected to be back. But yeah, I was pleasantly surprised. I obviously jumped at the chance, and to get to work with Richard and the rest of the amazing cast, it's great.
And you know what? This time I don't have to be painted blue, so I didn't have to do the 2:30am or 3am call times to be four hours sprayed with body paint. So, that was good.
Not having to spend hours in a makeup chair is definitely a plus, and it sounds like it only made Chan's second MCU experience even better. She's not the first person to take on multiple roles within the MCU, but the speed with which she scored her second was so quick that her entire case is a special one. Though it was exciting to see Chan in Captain Marvel, many would probably agree that she was underused as Minn-Erva. It's a good thing that Marvel has seen fit to give her another, bigger shot at making her mark on the franchise with Eternals' Sersi.
Though nothing is set in stone yet, it's likely all of the Eternals will be popping up in other MCU projects in the future. Sersi, as the de facto lead, looks especially poised to transition into other movies and shows, which further shows how better suited Chan is to this role. Eternals is just the start of her new Marvel journey, and it will be really exciting to see where it takes her.
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