In an interview, Salma Hayek discusses her role in the upcoming film Eternals. After nearly two weeks of seeing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in cinemas, the audience’s attention has slowly turned to the next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s release schedule. The upcoming MCU film, like Shang-Chi, will feature new and varied heroes who are anticipated to leave a lasting impression on Phase 4 and forward.
What is The Eternals about?
Eternals, directed by Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao, follows a group of immortal aliens who have been living on Earth for millennia but have been told by their creators and rulers, the Celestials, to never intervene in human matters until their evil opposites, the Deviants, are involved.
The unexpected restoration of half the Earth’s inhabitants in Avengers: Endgame, on the other hand, gives them the energy they need to return. An ensemble work with noteworthy heroes such as Ajak, Thena, Ikaris, and Sersi, Eternals appears to be a must-see.
The Mystery of Ajak and her possible off-springs
Salma Hayek recently opened out about her Eternals role in an interview with Total Film. Hayek revealed something new about Ajak that fans didn’t know before. The actress made the shocking revelation when explaining how filmmaker Chloé Zhao intended to “tackle the concept of leadership from the perspective of motherhood.” In doing so she revealed whether her character can have children or not. Read on to know more about the conversation.
“Chloé decided to tackle the concept of leadership from the perspective of motherhood… I’m not a mother. I’m an alien. I can’t have kids. However, my character used to be a man in the comics, now it’s a woman. So instead of just changing the gender, I proposed to [Zhao] to really bring something that is very specific to womanhood.”
Expounding on the connection to her Ajak character (the mother figure of the group), Hayek expresses that she “need[s] to guide [the Eternals] into things:”
“I need to guide them into things… we have a mission in life, in the world. A mother also needs to guide her kids. When they misbehave, she will reprimand them, but always from the perspective of motherhood… There’s empathy to it – although I’m not allowed to have empathy, because I’m an alien. So that makes it interesting…”
The Final Call on Eternal Children in the MCU
Fans were aware that Hayek’s Ajak was gender-swapped for the film. Furthermore, she has already discussed how her character serves as the group’s de facto mother figure in interviews. The fact that Ajak cannot have children, on the other hand, is brand-new information. It’s not clear if she means that her character is infertile or that the Eternals as a whole are sterile. It’s also not clear if the forthcoming film will explore this idea at all.
Historically speaking, the Celestials were the ones responsible for creating the Eternals. Furthermore, they are resurrected after death by a machine that their creators built. There are no limits on how many times the group may use this machine before it shuts down. If the Eternals don’t become extinct, they’ll need to make additional copies of themselves, something the Celestials presumably considered. Having said that, the machine can break down, and there have been Eternals who have met their demise in the comics.
While it is unknown whether or not the Eternals are able to reproduce, it is known that Thanos is one of the race’s members and has the Deviant Syndrome rather than having been created. Thanos also has a son called Thane, which suggests that Eternals are capable of reproduction. Given their immortality and the ability to be revived by a Celestial machine, they don’t have a need to worry. When the movie hits cinemas on November 5, we’ll learn more about the Eternals’ history, legend, and other fascinating aspects.
