MCU Star Defends Marvel’s Major Flop After Film Led Him To Therapy: “I Wouldn’t Change Anything”

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Kumail Nanjiani is speaking out in support of the 2021 superhero movie Eternals, which wasn’t well-received by critics or audiences. He played Kingo, an immortal character in the film directed by Chloé Zhao, about a group of ancient beings who have secretly influenced events throughout human history.

Kumail Nanjiani recently discussed his experience with the film Eternals on the NPR podcast Wild Card. He shared that the film has significantly changed how he views his work and that he’s ultimately “very grateful” for having been a part of it. Nanjiani has openly talked about the film’s disappointing performance, even mentioning it led him to seek therapy. He had initially committed to appearing in six Marvel films as his character, Kingo.

“I’m really happy with how I did in the film,” Kumail Nanjiani recently told Rachel Martin. “And it’s unusual for me to say this, but I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about my performance.”

Kumail Nanjiani appreciates his work on Eternals because it helped him realize the importance of distinguishing between his personal experience making a film and the final product. He emphasizes that it’s crucial for actors to not dwell on things they can’t change during the filmmaking process. Here’s a more detailed explanation from Nanjiani:

When I act in something, I rarely have control over its success. I can’t decide if audiences will like it, how much money it will earn, or what critics will say. What I can control is what I learn from the experience. I constantly remind myself that something not going well isn’t really a failure – it’s a chance to grow. Ultimately, I focus on learning from every job and enjoying the process.

The movie Eternals came out during a tricky period for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The pandemic was still impacting things, and it followed closely after Avengers: Endgame (2019), which had wrapped up over a decade of storylines.

I’ve been following the MCU closely, and the movies after the big Endgame event – like Spider-Man: Far From Home, Black Widow, and Shang-Chi – felt a bit all over the place. They were trying to finish some older stories and set up new characters for the future. But honestly, Eternals really didn’t land for me, and it felt like a warning sign that things might be getting shaky for the MCU.

Despite featuring a star-studded cast including Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, and Richard Madden, the movie Eternals received generally unfavorable reviews, scoring only 47% on Rotten Tomatoes. While audiences seemed to enjoy it more (with a 77% rating), this didn’t lead to strong ticket sales, and the film only earned $402 million worldwide.

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe now facing a shift in its dominance at the box office, the performance of films like Eternals doesn’t seem as significant. Recent releases such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) underperformed, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), despite receiving good reviews, didn’t perform strongly at the box office.

The movie Eternals hasn’t had much follow-up within the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it doesn’t seem like Kumail Nanjiani’s character, Kingo, or any of the Eternals will be appearing in future films soon. Marvel Studios is currently concentrating on the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday next year and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027. However, Nanjiani says his time working on Eternals will always be a memorable experience.

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2025-12-22 19:31