COMING ATTRACTIONS

Behold: Angelina Jolie and Her Giant Sword in The Eternals First Look

Courtesy of Marvel

After years of stepping behind the camera, Angelina Jolie is finally returning to blockbuster mode. In fact, she’ll be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in grand fashion with a fancy CGI sword in tow. Marvel just released our first official look at The Eternals today and it definitely promises a very fierce Jolie.

The film, which hits theaters on November 5, is directed by Chloé Zhao, who’s fresh off a Best Director Oscar win for Best Picture winner Nomadland. The indie film scene is a far cry from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it looks like Zhao had no trouble settling in. For starters, there’s the all-star cast: Gemma Chan, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Kit Harington, and Kumail Nanjiani.

Jolie stars as Thena, a blonde warrior Eternal, which is to say an immortal alien who has secretly lived on Earth for more than 7,000 years. They’re there to protect the planet from the Deviants, the evil humanoids also created by the Celestials, one of the earliest lifeforms in the universe. (They keep in touch via Hayek’s Ajak, the lead Eternal who looks like she could be in Nomadland.)

It’s Jolie, though, who’s the real star of the trailer that dropped on Monday. The Eternal, who can make any weapon out of cosmic energy, wields one of her creations—a giant glowing sword—with casual ease.

“I shot exactly the way I wanted to shoot,” Zhao previously told the Hollywood Reporter, noting that she used the same camera as she did for Nomadland. One of her most major artistic choices was to diversify the cast. It features Marvel’s first-ever openly gay character, played by Brian Tyree Henry, as well as the first-ever deaf character, played by Lauren Ridloff.