Chloe Zhao Implores Movie Industry Not to 'Write Off' Comic Book Films
Zhao said comic-book movies still have value, noting Eternals earned $400 million worldwide despite missing box office expectations.
- On Friday, Chloe Zhao defended the artistic value of comic-book movies at the Venice Film Festival, urging the industry not to 'write off' stories because they fall outside conventional ideas of prestige cinema.
- Zhao remains enthusiastic about her 2021 Marvel Studios film Eternals five years later, describing the experience as a 'dream come true' while explaining that comic books were her first love.
- Although Eternals grossed $402.1 million against a $236.2 million budget, Zhao argues that archetypes found in myths and comic books provide essential containers for people to process their experiences.
- The filmmaker rejected the notion of a 'sharp contrast' between her Oscar-winning Nomadland and her Marvel work, emphasizing that both projects involve people in nature with complicated relationships.
- Zhao continues to balance emotional projects with commercial work, having directed 2025's Shakespearean drama Hamnet while maintaining that storytelling serves a universal purpose regardless of genre.
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5 Years Later, The Director of Marvel's Underrated Flop Defends Comic Book Movies and "Loved" Being in the MCU
Image Courtesy of Marvel The Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown and changed in ways that no one could have predicted. Now, 18 years and 38 films later, this interconnected continuity feels bigger than it ever has, and Kevin Feige and the other Marvel executives don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. In recent years, however, the overall quality of these […]
Chloé Zhao Defends ‘Eternals’ & Comic-Book Movies: “It’s Important Not To Write Off Stories”
The gap between Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” and “Eternals” has always looked enormous on paper. One is an intimate drama built around nonprofessional actors and the landscapes of the American West; the other is a $200 million Marvel Studios movie about immortal superheroes and giant space gods. Zhao, however, has never seemed particularly interested in treating them as opposing sides of her career. Speaking during a masterclass at the Venice Film F…
Eternals Director ‘Loved’ Making MCU Movie, Defends Superhero Genre Despite Box Office Disappointment
The Oscar-winning director of the 2021 MCU movie Eternals is speaking out in defense of comic-book movies. The filmmaker highlighted the importance of telling stories that are not considered high art. In a recent interview with Variety, Chloé Zhao defended movies based on superheroes and comic-book characters. Zhao co-wrote and directed Eternals, the 2021 MCU […] The post Eternals Director ‘Loved’ Making MCU Movie, Defends Superhero Genre Despit…
Eternals survivor Chloé Zhao still defends comic book movies
Director Chloé Zhao has had a pretty strange track record with big, commercial Hollywood projects over the last few years: Although she continues to draw accolades (and even a tidy box office draw, with Hamnet bringing in more than $100 million last year) from her more emotional and ostensibly personal work, Zhao’s forays down into the IP mines have produced less promising results. Her Eternals was one of the lowest performers in Marvel Cinemati…
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