The Eternals will feature Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Brian Tyree Henry, Gemma Chan, Kumail Nanjiani and Kit Harington. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP, File)

Filmmaker Chloe Zhao says with her upcoming Marvel tentpole Eternals, she aims to push for marriage between “East and West”.

Zhao, who is the first Asian to tackle a superhero film for Marvel Studio, said the movie is influenced by her own childhood experiences of growing up in China.

“I have such deep, strong, manga roots. I brought some of that into ‘Eternals’. And I look forward to pushing more of that marriage of East and West,” the filmmaker told The Hollywood Reporter.

Zhao, who made a name for herself with her 2017 indie hit The Rider, said she is making the superhero feature from the perspective of a fan.

“How much further and bigger can we go after [Avengers:] ‘Endgame’? Because I’m not just making the film as a director. I’m making the film as a fan,” she said.

The story of Eternals is set millions of years ago when the cosmic beings known as the Celestials genetically experimented on humans to create super-powered individuals known as the Eternals along with the villainous Deviants.

The film will feature Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Brian Tyree Henry, Gemma Chan, Kumail Nanjiani and Kit Harington.

About the star-studded cast, Zhao said it reflects the “world we live in”.

“But also I wanted to put a cast together that feels like a group of misfits. I didn’t want the jocks. I want you to walk away at the end of the movie not thinking, ‘This person is this ethnicity, that person is that nationality.’

“No. I want you to walk away thinking, ‘That’s a family.’ You don’t think about what they represent. You see them as individuals,” she added.

Eternals is scheduled to be released worldwide in February 2021.

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