Quick Links
To some people, Barry Keoghan’s latest Oscar nod for The Banshees of Inisherin may have come as a bit of a surprise. But to those who truly know him, it was only a matter of time. Perhaps, what many don’t realize is that Keoghan had to defy some difficult odds to get where he is today. And ever since his breakout roles in the Cannes entry The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, his star just continued to rise.
So much so that Marvel Studios took notice of Keoghan and cast him in Eternals, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film with Oscar winner Chloé Zhao at the helm. While the movie seemed poised for success (especially with a cast that includes Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, and Kit Harington), it became one of the MCU’s lowest-rated entries (although, fans continued to rally around the movie) instead. And now, Keoghan is ready to talk about where it all went wrong for the movie.
Barry Keoghan Was Among The Last To Join The Eternals Cast
Interestingly enough, Keoghan had always been interested in joining the MCU, even tweeting “Please Make me a Superhero : ).” to the late Stan Lee back in 2013. Six years later, the actor finally got his wish, joining Zhao’s cast for Eternals two months after principal photography started.
Back then, Keoghan wasn’t exactly whom Marvel had in mind to play the Eternal Druig. “They wanted someone older,” the actor recalled. But Zhao cast him anyway.
“He searched and wandered at first,” the director said of Keoghan. “But when he found Druig in him, the character burst into life in an instant.”
Since working with Keoghan, Zhao has come to refer to the actor as a “wild wolf.” “After a while, especially for the seasoned and celebrated filmmakers, there is a desire and thirst to return to the wilderness, to a time when they were more rebellious and carefree,” she continued.
“He can’t be tamed and you wouldn’t want to, because he will be a constant reminder of the wilderness.”
At the same time, Keoghan also has nothing but praise for Zhao. “I’d love to work with her again, she’s very good at working with actors,” he said.
Coming from The Rider and Nomadland , working with non-actors, that takes a really, really special skill to get someone’s trust and allow them to be vulnerable and there were scenes in the Eternals where I just couldn’t really get there and Chloe had a formula to allow me to get to that place and feel comfy and be vulnerable, and allow me to trust her, so that is a massive, massive credit to her.
He Says Eternals Didn’t Do Well Because It Was ‘Just New’
Despite everything that Eternals seemingly had going for it, the film went on to get a low 47 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience also seemed less than impressed, which may explain the film’s box office performance of $402.1 million against an estimated production budget of $200 million.
Compared to other MCU films that were released in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Eternals was a clear underperformer.
Looking back now, Keoghan has gained some perspective on why Zhao’s MCU entry didn’t take off as they hoped. For the actor, it’s just a matter of Eternals being incredibly different in tone compared to other MCU films that the fans have grown to love.
“I think Chloe [Zhao] brought a whole kind of feel to it. You know? So Chloe brings - as you’ve seen from her past films - raw performances and really, really touching performances. I don’t think it was… I think it was new,” Keoghan explained on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz.
“I think it was just new. It was new for the Marvel world.”
Will The Eternals Return To The MCU?
At the moment, there is no word on an Eternals sequel. That said, it looks like at least some of the film’s stars are set to reprise their roles in the MCU.
For starters, Hayek, who played the Eternal Ajak, previously revealed that she signed a multi-film contract with Marvel Studios, although Marvel is remaining mum about her next appearance for now.
At the same time, fans are also under the impression that Harington would join the cast of Marvel’s Blade starring Mahershala Ali but even today, Marvel is yet to confirm the actor’s involvement. That said, Harington once teased that “future possibilities” had “always been part of the conversation” with the studio.
As for Keoghan, the star hasn’t signed on to any new Marvel project yet, but he did let it slip that he’s been in touch with Marvel producer Victoria Alonso.
“I didn’t get a chance to chat with her too much, but yeah. I’m always optimistic, always,” Keoghan said. “I wanna know what Druig is doing right now. Anyway, we’ll see. You’re not going to get that out of me. I know nothing!”
Meanwhile, Marvel Studios’ Nate Moore also once hinted that the Eternals will almost certainly return, telling Comicbook.com in 2022, “I don't want to spoil anything, but we have not seen the last of those characters.”
For now, Keoghan has several upcoming projects, including Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ World War II miniseries, Masters of the Air, which also stars Keoghan’s fellow Oscar nominee Austin Butler. That said, both Eternals and The Banshees of Inisherin can be streamed on Disney+.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiZmqqirnqssc6gn5qmXay1unnErZyrppGhwG7DwKxkmmWWobyxew%3D%3D