You would think Angelina Jolie would have been one of the first actresses Hollywood would have contacted when the current golden age of comic book movies started. Even so, she joined the MCU several years after it started.
Oh, and even during this period, she did not play the most well-known heroes, such as Black Widow or Wonder Woman. In 2021 Chloé Zhao’s Eternals, the actress, who is renowned for portraying fierce and compassionate characters, played Thena. And prior to its release, she explained why it was the ideal time to enter the genre.
With an all-star cast of actors and actresses, the movie introduced a fresh batch of superheroes to the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And in a 2021 interview with Empire Magazine, Jolie talked about what made her want to play the character of Thena in Eternals. Additionally, she disclosed that she had previously declined a superhero role.
Can you make a guess?
Angelina Jolie Turned Down a Famous Superhero Role?
Before accepting the role in Eternals, Angelina Jolie said she turned down a major superhero movie. Angelina Jolie played Thena, one of the Eternals, in the Academy Award–winning, Chloé Zhao–directed movie, which also has a stellar ensemble cast.
The 48-year-old actress talked about her Marvel debut in a 2021 interview with Empire. Notably, after watching Eternals, Jolie changed her mind because she “felt like something else was happening” in the story. She acknowledged:
“I don’t usually lean towards superhero or sci-fi films. It’s not usually what I’m looking to do. It felt like something else was happening in this film, though. It was very character-driven.”
Empire also mentioned that Jolie reportedly declined a well-known superhero role before Eternals. She refused to specify which one, though, out of respect for the actress who ultimately played the part.
In the meantime, Kumail Nanjiani, who played Kingo, revealed that it was challenging to introduce all of the Eternals in a single movie because these heroes were not Spider-Man or Captain America.
“These guys aren’t Spider-Man or Captain America or the Hulk. A lot of hardcore fans won’t know who the Eternals are. Introducing them all at once, that isn’t easy.”
Angelina Jolie Has No Interest in ‘Solo Thena Movie’
Angelina Jolie, who joined the MCU in 2021 with Chloé Zhao’s Eternals, reportedly had no interest in acting in a solo superhero movie. She once talked about playing Thena in Eternal, her first superhero role, in a CinePop interview in Brazil.
The mother of six explained that she was looking for the right role and had turned down other offers because they “did not feel like the right one” when asked why she had delayed taking on the role of a superhero for so long.
Jolie believed she was doing something special in Eternals because Thena is a family.
She added that because she wanted to be a part of the MCU’s most illustrious family, she has no interest in playing Thena in a standalone movie. Nonetheless, if Marvel would keep her on the team, she would be excited to play Thena once again in upcoming movies. To quote her:
“I loved being part of the family, so I have no desire to separate from the family. But I would be happy to play her again and explore even more deeply the struggles that she has. I think it’s fun thinking of where they’ve been over the years. We’ve got thousands of years worth of material. We can take her anywhere. I think that’s fun and I like the idea that we can pop up somewhere, maybe in other Marvel movies.”
How about the role that Jolie rejected?
Well, it is challenging to answer, particularly since the actress did not provide a specific date or time for the conversation. She had reportedly been considered for a few superhero blockbusters over the years, but nothing seemed to be worthwhile until Eternals.
Watch Eternals, which is currently available on Disney Plus.
Source- Empire
