Gemma Chan will play Sersi in Marvel‘s upcoming superhero movie Eternals, an inspiring choice for a character hailed as central to the film. But it almost didn’t happen. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige says the process reminded him of casting Chris Evans in his iconic role as Captain America. May Gemma Chan’s casting prove to be equally iconic!
According to Chan as quoted by Collider, her character Sersi “isn’t the most obviously impressive” member of the Eternals, a new team of god-like superheroes. Instead of physical prowess, Sersi’s emotional power and empathy drive the film.
What was the one snag that almost derailed destiny? Chan had previously appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2019’s Captain Marvel, as a blue-skinned Kree named Minn-Erva. That reminded Feige of Chris Evans, who had previously played the Human Torch in two Fantastic Four movies before he became Captain America. On the possibility of not casting Chan for this important role in Eternals, Collider quotes him as saying, “it would have been shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Gemma Chan played Astrid in the 2018 breakout romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians. She is joined on the cast of Eternals by Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Salma Hayek, and Angeline Jolie. Eternals is directed by Chloé Zhao and releases in theaters on November 5.