It was reported in 2015 that Oscar-winning screenwriter of “12 Years of Slave,” John Ridley, would be joining the Marvel family to develop an ABC mystery superhero project. Prior to the Ridley news, the network had already hosted Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and a spinoff series had just been announced. The network had already established Ridley as a darling due to the critical acclaim garnered for his anthology series “American Crime.” Unsurprisingly, Ridley’s Marvel endeavor never materialized.
Ridley finally disclosed on the “Comic Book Club” podcast, eight years later, that he had been developing a “Eternals” television series for Marvel well in advance of the studio’s decision to produce a “Eternals” film starring Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Barry Keoghan, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, and others. The film was to be directed by Chloé Zhao.
“No longer in the works,” Ridley informed the audience. “It was an adaptation of ‘The Eternals’ for television… But fine. My rendition was the superior rendition. It was absolutely bizarre. There was my version, a satisfactory version that I find satisfactory, but that is meaningless. There was the final version that [Marvel] produced, which in my opinion was not particularly excellent. “I shall be candid.”
The Marvel film “Eternals” was met with critical and financial acclaim dearth. Despite its 2021 release during the pandemic and positioning itself between Marvel’s “Black Widow” ($379 million, which debuted on Disney+) and “Shang-Chi” ($432 million), the film’s $402 million worldwide gross was significantly below the company’s customary benchmark. It received the lowest Rotten Tomatoes rating of any Marvel film (47 percent) until this year, when “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania” debuted to even more abysmal reviews (46 percent).
“In my interpretation, the initial image depicts a young man, most likely around eighteen years of age.” Moreover, while seated there, he raises his hands. There is an exercise in it for him. He then activates the drill, places it to his ear, and begins to insert it. “It proceeds from there,” Ridley continued. “Put an end to that, correct? That is the beginning. I believe you then noticed another child who sleeps in the bathtub while wrapped in aluminum. “The narrative involving these individuals is, to put it simply, extremely peculiar.”
Ridley acknowledged that developing the “Eternals” comics is a “really difficult endeavor,” and he completely comprehends the lack of success attributable to the divisive nature of his television series.
Ridley further expressed that “it didn’t happen to me, because I doubt it would have been entertaining,” adding, “That was the best that could have happened for everyone.” “I mean that what I find entertaining is frequently not entertaining to others.” While populist is an admirable term that fits well with much of my work, this one required a bit more popularity.”
