ETERNALS Set Photos Tease A Visit To The Ancient City Of Babylon

The latest round of set photos for Marvel's Eternals seemingly take us back to Babylon but what do these striking new images tell us about the Marvel Studios movie? Check them out after the jump...

By JoshWilding - Sep 30, 2019 02:09 AM EST

Filed Under: Eternals

Eternals has been shooting for a few weeks now and photos from the movie continue finding their way online. This latest batch come our ways from the Canary Islands where what appears to be a massive Babylonian set is being constructed. That big blue gate definitely appears to be a take on Babylon's Ishtar Gate, one of the landmarks of that ancient city.

Babylon was the world's first empire that featured Gods and confirms reports that Eternals takes place thousands of years ago (it existed from 1800 B.C. until the year 1000).

In the comics, that's where the Book of the Vishanti hails from there and the Eternal known as Thena encountered the Deviant Kro over 2,500 years ago. While he had a chance to slay her, he chose not to and as the years passed, the two of them grew close. That's presumably something which will be adapted in some way, shape, or form in this upcoming movie.

Check out the photos below and stay tuned for more on the movie as we have it.

Hit the "View List" button to check out some details about
Eternals along with some awesome cast portraits!

Eternals Is "Full Jack Kirby"

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige described Eternals as "something entirely new, something entirely different for the MCU" and immediately got comic book fans excited when he vowed that the movie is "full Jack Kirby."

He went on to call the heroes "a group of immortals who have been on Earth for 35,000 years" and pointed to them having been present in this shared world for a number of key moments in its history. "They've been there amongst the MCU...we haven't met them before."

Something tells us we could see this tale tie into some previous MCU releases...

Why Chloe Zhao Signed Up To Direct

"I just really, really wanted to make a Marvel movie," the filmmaker admitted. "When I watch their movies, I see how much this team loves their fans and loves their characters."

Asked to shed some light on what we can expect from Eternals, Zhao added: "It's about this group of incredible immortals. Through their journey, we really get to explore what it means to be human and humanity in our time on our planet." So, yeah, it sounds like we'll be exploring more than just their origin story as we follow these characters across thousands of years.

Are The MCU's Eternals Aliens?

Well, if Richard Madden is to be believed, that's definitely going to be the case. In the comics, the Celestials visited Earth and experimented on early man to create what would become known as the Eternals and Deviants.

While it certainly sounds as if this movie will follow that path to some extent, Madden's comments have led us to believe that these Eternals are actually aliens who were sent to Earth by the Celestials...and presumably left behind! "The Eternals are a race of immortal aliens sent to Earth by the Celestials to protect humankind from the Deviants," the actor revealed.

He also added that his character, Ikaris, is the "most powerful" of the Eternals.

Who Is The Team's Leader?

Salma Hayek plays Ajak in Eternals and will serve as the team's leader. "The way she approaches leadership as a strong woman...she sees them as family," the actress says in regards to her role.

"There's a lot of mother instincts in this Eternal who is not supposed to have kids. I feel honoured to be part of a movie that is going to allow people who never felt represented in superhero movies represented because I am proud to have a diverse family." That mention of her not being supposed to have children is definitely interesting, and could shed some light on her character arc.

Why Angelina Jolie Chose Now To Join The MCU

One of Comic-Con's biggest surprises came when Angelina Jolie was confirmed as being part of this movie's cast; after all, it was hard to imagine her ever joining a shared superhero universe!

"I'm going to work ten times harder," she told fans in Hall H, "because what it means to be part of the MCU, an Eternal, and part of this family...we've all read the script, we all know what the task ahead is, so we're all going to be working very, very hard. I am in training!"

Needless to say, this is a big win by Marvel Studios and should bring a lot of attention to the film.

The Now Confirmed Cast Members:

Richard Madden (Ikaris)

Richard Madden found fame after playing Robb Stark in Game of Thrones, but became a hot commodity after starring in his series The Bodyguard. He also recently appeared in Rocketman.

Born over 20,000 years ago, Ikaris' powers are rooted in cosmic energy and he has psychic abilities and the ability to create illusions. He's often been portrayed as the team's leader and will probably be The Eternals' lead male character and someone key to the MCU moving forward.

Angelina Jolie (Thena)

Angelina Jolie is a Hollywood great, and while she may be part of Disney's Maleficent franchise, it was still hard to ever imagine her joining a superhero franchise. The power of Marvel Studios, eh?

As for Thena, she's Thanos' cousin and one of the Eternals of Olympia. She's a powerful warrior who has your standard enhanced abilities but is also near invulnerable and immortal. She can fly and cast illusions to disguise her appearance, while she carries a bow that fires arrows made up of "cold energy" which bombards enemies either with a ring of fire or anti-gravitons.

Kumail Nanjiani (Kingo)

Kumail Nanjiani is a Pakistani-American actor who is perhaps best known for his stand-up work as well as The Big Sick and Silicon Valley. He also recently starred in Stuber with Dave Bautista.

In the comics, Kingo was from a Japanese settlement of Eternals and a Samurai in 16th Century Japan. In the present day, he used his skills to become a movie star, but it's clear from Nanjiani's casting that the character is going to undergo some relatively major changes in the MCU.

Salma Hayek (Ajak)

Salma Hayek has been acting for a long time now, but it definitely feels like The Eternals marks a comeback of sorts for the actress. In recent years, we've seen her in the likes of The Hitman's Bodyguard, Sausage Party, and Grown Ups 2, so joining the MCU definitely feels like a smart move for Hayek.

A man in the comic books, Ajak fought in the Trojan War in the 13th Century and has many ties to Central America where he was worshipped as a God. He has a number of superpowers and is a gifted fighter, and Hayek's version of the character is actually expected to be the team's leader.

Brian Tyree Henry (Phastos)

Brian Tyree Henry voiced Jefferson Davis in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and was recently seen in Child's Play. Atlanta and This Is Us have put him on the map and he's signed up to appear in upcoming blockbusters like Godzilla Vs. Kong, A Quiet Place 2, and even DC Comics movie Joker.

Phastos is a weapon-smith and was mistaken for the Olympian god Hephaestus during the days of ancient Greece. Phastos is more reticent than the others, having a melancholy spirit and an ambivalence toward fighting, so we can probably expect him to be a character that it'll fun to spend time with.

Lauren Ridloff (Makkari)

Another character who has been gender swapped for the big screen, The Walking Dead's Lauren Ridloff will play Makkari in the movie and is now set to be the MCU's first deaf superhero.

The Olympian hero is a member of the Eternals Technologist's Guild and skilled at dreaming up various high-speed vehicles. He boasts your standard set of superpowers but will likely be used in a tech support capacity to get this group of weird and wonderful individuals around the cosmos!

Don Lee (Gilgamesh)

Don Lee came to many people's attention after his breakout role in Train to Busan and is actually one of the most popular actors in South Korea. This will be his biggest role to date, though.

Also known as "The Forgotten One, " Gilgamesh became an outcast from his fellow Eternals when his meddling in the human world became too much for them. As a result, he was banished to a sector of Olympus but later returned to their side. He's probably the most skilled hand-to-hand combatant in the entire group and uses an array of weapons, but might he be a villain in this movie?

Lia McHugh (Sprite)

Sprite is portrayed as a young boy in the comics, but Marvel Studios clearly wanted to add some diversity to this team, hence why Lia McHugh is playing her here. The actress has a handful of acting credits to her name but might be best known for American Woman.

Unable to age, Sprite is considered a trickster and uses his illusions to fool both his fellow Eternals and humans. In fact, he used his abilities to prank people for centuries and his actions actually ended up inspiring Shakespeare's character of the same name.

The Release Date

Eternals is set to be released on November November 6th, 2020, so we don't have long to wait until we see much more from this one. As you can see at the top of this post, a piece of concept art depicting the Celestials has already been released and we're bound to see a trailer by the time Black Widow arrives in theaters next May. You can watch video highlights and see cast photos below:

ETERNALS Star Kit Harington Says Nothing [Is] In The Works For Dane Whitman/Black Knight In The MCU

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RUMOR: ETERNALS 2 Has "Transformed" Into Another Project As Marvel Studios Continues Creative Overhaul

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23 Comments

JohnnyTBP - 9/30/2019, 2:45 AM

I’m waiting for Kit Harrington set pics

Polaris - 9/30/2019, 3:35 AM

I didn't know they were going to film in the Canary Islands, cool

Radders - 9/30/2019, 3:35 AM

Makes me laugh - MCU striving for diversity swap already diverse characters to other races lol You couldn't make it up!

WakandanQueen - 9/30/2019, 3:36 AM

I need this film. Now.

GhostDog - 9/30/2019, 4:25 AM

That’s dope. Love the massive set building and deep drive into real world mythos.

Ryguy88 - 9/30/2019, 4:36 AM

Timemaps.com

It's an awesome resource.

SpiderRanger - 9/30/2019, 4:47 AM

I'm the lucky one who took these photos! Thanks for not quoting the actual source Josh (which was Twitter and reddit).....

Spock0Clock - 9/30/2019, 7:36 AM

NinnesMBC - 9/30/2019, 7:37 AM

Very cool how they are gonna show us Babylon. 👍

MrDandy - 9/30/2019, 8:07 AM

The cast and promo art really have gotten me interested in this. I don't know anything about the Eternals, but the artwork gives the impression they are going for an epic scope and seeing Marvel go for a fantasy epic in a way they never did with Thor has me really excited.

jj2112 - 9/30/2019, 10:49 AM

That's the gate of Ishtar, more precisely. And boy they must be enjoying the island, they're having record-breaking temperatures and have suffered important fires in summer.

Kumkani - 9/30/2019, 11:12 AM

I really wonder how many ancient civilisations this is gonna explore.

TheJester187 - 9/30/2019, 1:14 PM

Big budget Hollywood sets!! I love when images like these leak!

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ETERNALS Set Photos Tease A Visit To The Ancient City Of Babylon

The latest round of set photos for Marvel's Eternals seemingly take us back to Babylon but what do these striking new images tell us about the Marvel Studios movie? Check them out after the jump...

Eternals Is "Full Jack Kirby"

Why Chloe Zhao Signed Up To Direct

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Who Is The Team's Leader?

Why Angelina Jolie Chose Now To Join The MCU

The Now Confirmed Cast Members: Richard Madden (Ikaris)

Angelina Jolie (Thena)

Kumail Nanjiani (Kingo)

Salma Hayek (Ajak)

Brian Tyree Henry (Phastos)

Lauren Ridloff (Makkari)

Don Lee (Gilgamesh)

Lia McHugh (Sprite)

The Release Date

ETERNALS Star Kit Harington Says "Nothing [Is] In The Works" For Dane Whitman/Black Knight In The MCU

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The Now Confirmed Cast Members:

Richard Madden (Ikaris)