Marvel Studios is famously tight-lipped in regard to keeping any leaks coming out about its upcoming films and it seems this very issue forced Eternals star Salma Hayek to keep her involvement in the studio a secret from others amid hanging out with celebrities engaging in Marvel gossip
TheDirect explained that Hayek divulged in a recent interview a story in which she was struggling to keep her secret while hanging out with Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson on the set of The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.
Hayek had been cast as Ajak in the upcoming Eternals, but she didn’t want to get fired from the studio for divulging that information too early.
Hayek explained that Reynolds and Jackson were questioning each other due to Deadpool‘s status as being only recently inducted into the MCU when Disney bought 20th Century Fox. She added that she was “dying to brag” but kept quiet so she wouldn’t get fired from Marvel.
However, Jackson picked up on Hayek’s nervous energy and ended up grilling her about what role she would play in the MCU.
“And then one day I’m sitting with Sam right after they were talking about [the MCU]. And he goes ‘So, how much are they going to pay you?’… I go, ‘What are you talking about?’ He goes, ‘Come on. I’ve been watching you, and you’re in a Marvel movie, and you don’t want to say because they told you not to say it. It’s OK, I’m part of the family.’ It was incredible! He picked up my nervousness to brag,” she explained in an interview with PhaseZero podcast.
Eternals boasts a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, and Richard Madden, among many others.
The film will introduce no less than 10 new heroes who must protect the earth from the evil Deviants. The Eternals were created by the planet-sized Celestials, whose scale will be showcased prominently in the IMAX format of the film, director Chloé Zhao recently explained. In addition, the plot will span 7,000 years and the film will have an appropriately massive runtime, towering over even the might Avengers: Infinity War.
Catch Eternals in theaters on November 5th, 2021.