Gemma Chan says she's 'very lucky' to be back in the MCU
Not everybody gets the chance to be in a Marvel film, but Gemma Chan has now been in two - first in Captain Marvel and now playing Sersi in Eternals. And the actress is very grateful for the opportunity, especially with what the new film is trying to do.
“First of all, I should say I feel very lucky to be back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Being part of this new phase with a new group of characters that are being introduced is quite exciting,” she said during a virtual press conference held for Asian press. “I think this film is trying to do something a little bit differently to what has come before. So, hopefully, it'll be refreshing and exciting.”
As a character, Sersi is definitely a refreshing change from the one Gemma played in Captain Marvel. While Captain Marvel's Minn-Erva was a soldier and a fearsome fighter, Sersi is someone who deals with feelings and is unaware of her own potential.
“Sersi is an Eternal, and she's an empath. She can manipulate matter. So, she can turn things into other things,” she explained. “She also doesn't quite understand the extent of her powers when you first meet her in the film. She discovers that she is more powerful than she ever thought.”
Eternals distinguishes itself from other Marvel films in other ways as well. Gemma says Eternals is the first time a Marvel movie centers the story around a romance and a love story. In the movie, Sersi is torn between Richard Madden's Ikaris and Kit Harrington's Dane Whitman.
“I hope people like it because we haven't seen it before. I'm going to be interested to hear whether people think that Sersi should be with Dane or with Ikaris,” she said.
The main cast of the Eternals is also probably the most diverse Marvel has had. Lauren Ridloff is a deaf actress cast in a leading role as Makkari, while Brian Tyree Henry plays the openly gay superhero character Phastos. Korean superstar Don Lee also plays Gilgamesh.
Gemma says this diversity is one of the film's strengths.
“I think it's exciting. I think it really shows the scope of the film, and its global sense. You see this great mix of people from lots of different backgrounds and cultures. I just think it really enriches the story that we're telling because it really is an epic, global story,” she explains.
For some of the cast, it also means a dream coming true. In the same press conference, Don Lee said he had always wanted to play a Marvel superhero.
“I have played many real-life hero characters in many Korean films before, but I really wanted to become a Marvel Superhero. And that dream came true. I was so excited and so honored to play Gilgamesh and be a part of the ten Eternals. It's great,” he said.
Eternals is set to open nationwide in the Philippines this December 1, and Gemma hopes that audiences can get to see the little character moments in the middle of all the spectacle that comes with a Marvel movie.
“It's not just about the stunts and the effects. All of that is incredible, but our story is very much about these characters and how they feel about each other and how they feel about the world. And that's what drives the narrative,” she said.
Meet the cast of Eternals in the gallery below: