The Eternals: Salma Hayek is excited to play the leader of the superheroes, and rightly so

Salma Hayek teases as to what you should expect from her portrayal of Ajak, the leader of the superheroes, in The Eternals movie.

Black Widow‘s unfortunate but understandable delay resulted in all other films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Four being pushed back as well. The film arguably most affected is The Eternals as Black Widow unfortunately had to take its release date.

The film is one of the most highly anticipated films right now, so it’s safe to say than many are excited at the prospect of seeing it. But it seems that nobody is more excited than Salma Hayek herself.

The Like a Boss actress chatted with Total Film and teased her role as the leader of the god-like defenders of Earth, Ajak . She commented:

"“At 53 – finally! I can be a superhero… I play Ajak, who is the leader of the superheroes and all of them are people you would never have imagined. Except for Angelina [Jolie.] Angelina – she was born to be a superhero!”"

The Eternals, co-written by Matthew and Ryan Firpo, with Chloé Zhao at the helm has a grand ensemble cast including Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Angelina Jolie, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff and many more.

More from Marvel Cinematic Universe

• Loki season 2 finale does set the stage for Kang Dynasty
• Marvel: (Spoiler) exits Avengers: The Kang Dynasty
• Will Loki air a new bonus episode tonight? (November 16, 2023)
• What If…? season 2 gets premiere date (and there’s a major twist)
• Marvel rumors hint Pedro Pascal has been cast in key Fantastic Four role

The film completed principal photography in February and moved post-production remotely – Scanline FX – from one of the film companies in charge of visual effects. It is due for release on February 12, 2021.

Mayek discussed what attracted her most about the superhero film. The Mexican-American actress said it was “the director” and showed her appreciation for the Beijing-native filmmaker, Zhao, and her award-winning contemporary western film, The Rider. Hayek recalled how she was “blown away” by the picture which centered on self-discovery. Hayek went on to concur that Zhao is “incredible,” then added:

"“The rest of us [Eternals] are like misfits, and we’re all superheroes, and I get to be the leader. That sounds really appropriate! Yes, why not? Let’s go! It just made me feel like, ‘Maybe they’re doing something different.’ And they are.”"

With the adaptation based on the comics published by Marvel, they are deviating slightly away from the source material as originally in the comics Ajak was a male instead of female and was not the de facto leader of the higher evolved sect of humanity. That role belonged to someone else: Thena, the daughter of Zuras and Cybele, who served as the Prime Eternal.

Hayek’s interpretation of Ajax is clearly different compared to what had been portrayed in the comics. It sounds like the script’s depiction of Ajak is what attracted the esteemed actress to the role.

Are you looking forward to The Eternals next year? Are you excited to see Hayek’s portrayal of Ajak? Let us know in the comments below.