Eternals: Director Chloé Zhao opens up about the Superman reference in her upcoming MCU film

Eternals will hit Indian cinemas on November 5.

Richard Madden as Ikaris in Eternals | Twitter

A recently released featurette of Eternals shows a child referring to Richard Madden's Ikaris as Superman.

The scene shows Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) standing in the middle of a suburban neighbourhood with his son Jack (Esai Daniel Cross), Ikaris, and Sersi (Gemma Chan). Jack looks at Ikaris and exclaims, "Dad, that’s Superman! With the cape, and you were shooting laser beams out of your eyes!"

"I don’t wear a cape," Ikaris tells Jack.

This sequence in question has fired up the internet to decipher what the mention of the DC hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) could mean. Fans have also wondered how the shoutout was slipped into the film.

In a conversation with Variety director Chloé Zhao said she takes "full responsibility" for that passing mention. Zhao, who wrote the screenplay with Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo, said that this moment was approved without question by Marvel chief Kevin Feige when the film was in its nascent stage.

Zhao also said that the characters being as old as time have not only helped shape human civilisation, but also become the basis of mythology across cultures.

"We’re playing on a genre that draws so much from mythology, and Superman, for example, was created in the comics and also by these brilliant filmmakers along the way — they’re modern reinterpretations of a mythical characters that exist in different cultures. Ikaris is our interpretation of it. It doesn’t mean we can’t pay tribute to the really iconic version that we’ve all grown to love and has influenced us," she told Variety.

The outlet notes that Superman is not the only DC character that is mentioned in the film. Gilgamesh (Don Lee) calls Kingo's (Kumail Nanjiani) valet Karun (Harish Patel) Alfred in a scene.

Zhao said that the sole reason why DC characters are mentioned in the dialogues is just to amuse the fans. She added that everything referenced in Eternals "whether it’s in words or visually, is a tribute" to these characters.

Eternals is set to be released in India on November 5.

Watch the featurette here:

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