Image Source: Wookieepedia – Fandom, Times of India
Out of the ten new superhero characters introduced in Marvel Studios The Eternal, which takes the games to a next level for the superhero-based franchise Marvel Cinematic Universe as it tries to explore things at a cosmic level, one of them includes Kumnail Nanjiani hero Kingo, who is one of the most enjoyable characters in the movie, fitting perfectly into the role as the studio would have wanted and mostly fueling the comedy side of the Chloe Zhao’s directed superhero epic.
Now a new shocking detail comes from the film screenwriters Kaz and Ryan Firpo themselves, which reveals that the actor would not have been cast in the studios’ latest blockbuster if James Gunn’s helmed Guardians of The Galaxy Volume 3 had not been delayed due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, which seems like one of the few positive things the on-going pandemic has done for Marvel fans.
"We basically pitched the producers right from the beginning: 'this has got to be Kumail.' And they were like 'it can't be because he's got a role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 . James Gunn has already written him into it, so he can't do Eternals,” Kaz Firpo said on a recent My Mom's Basement podcast, revealing that Nanjiani appearance as Kingo was doubtful because of the fact that the actor was also cast in a role in the third and final installment of the Guardian of The Galaxy film series.
He added, further elaborating that because of the delay caused by the pandemic in the making of Guardian of The Galaxy Volume 3 and prior to that the firing of James Gunn as the film director, as Marvel fans would recall that the filmmaker at one point of time was fired from the movie based on some controversial tweets that he posted a few years back, played a major and important role in Nanjiani getting a role in The Eternals. "And then, as you may know, Guardians had some little kerfuffle, and the movie got delayed like a year and a half and then the pandemic happened. I don't know what that role was going to be, but I really think that it couldn't have gone better for him. His schedule freed up and then Marvel was like 'yeah, you know, I think we could probably go out to him,' and the rest is history. I mean he just got leading man ripped, and he's also just hysterical."
James Gunn confirmed Firpo's comments, that the Pakistani-American star indeed had a due appearance in his upcoming superhero film, currently slated to hit the theatres on 23 May 2023, plot details of the film are currently missing but as it reaches closer to releasing date the fans will do get to know more about. "From my POV I had written a cameo for my friend [Kumail Nanjiani] in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3]. When Kevin Feige called me & said they had a primary role for Kumail in [Eternals], I said of course I’d rather see him do that than my bit. I don’t remember it having anything to do with the schedule change."
An Image starring The Eternals star Richard Madden's Ikaris. Source: The Daily Beast
Marvel Studios The Eternals stars a diverse cast which despite its many flaws does a perfect job at portraying their respective characters like Angelina Jolie in the role of Thena, Salma Hayek in the role of Ajak, Richard Madden in the role of Ikaris, Gemma Chan in the role of Sersi, Lauren Ridloff in the role of Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as the first gay superhero Phastos, Lia McHugh in the role of Sprite, Kumail Nanjiani in the role of Kingo, Barry Keoghan in the role of Druig, Don Lee in the role of Gilgamesh, Kit Harington in the role of Dane Whitman with additional actors which includes Harish Patel, Haaz Steiman in the role of Phastos' husband, Ozer Ercan in the role of a smuggler and Zain Al Rafeea in an unknown role.
