With The Eternals being touted as an epic and sprawling Marvel adventure spanning many generations, it’s only appropriate that the various settings of the film will be similarly epic, mysterious, and dangerous to film in.
Director Chloé Zhao, who is fresh off of winning an Academy Award for directing 2020’s Nomadland, has reportedly taken a unique approach to the Marvel movie, incorporating practical techniques to filming the action, sets, and locations, instead of being overly reliant on computer effects.
It isn’t surprising that Zhao would want to avoid relying on massive blue screens since Nomadland incorporated many locations and people true to its real-life inspiration of American van dwellers.
As detailed in The Direct, part of this more hands-on approach to storytelling resulted in a pretty hairy predicament in particular, to the point that it slowed down production.
The real-life filming locations included a large, practical spaceship set that star Richard Maddens, who plays Ikaris, said he frequently got lost in it. The crew also filmed on a volcanic island and an abandoned minefield, which each proved unique challenges.
“It was pretty grueling at times… at one point there was a sandstorm and we all had to huddle together in a tent unable to open our eyes,” Zhao said of filming on the volcanic island of Fuerteventura, in a recent interview with Empire.
“It was pretty grueling at times… at one point there was a sandstorm and we all had to huddle together in a tent unable to open our eyes,” Zhao said of filming on the volcanic island of Fuerteventura, in a recent interview with Empire.
On a different day of filming in the Canary Islands back in 2019, a crew member found a “metal thing” that turned out to be a World War II-era unexploded bomb.
“Some of the actors found this metal thing and were like, ‘Hey, what’s that?’… I remember being like, ‘Guys why’s the schedule changing? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THERE’S A BOMB?!?” said actor Kumail Nanjiani, who plays Kingo in the movie.
How this unique and at times harrowing approach to filmmaking will play out for audiences will be an interesting thing to watch unfold when The Eternals comes to theaters on November 5th.