Kumail Nanjiani To Star In Marvel Movie The Eternals - Report

Avengers: Endgame releases later this month, marking the end of the Infinity Saga. We don't know a ton about what the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will entail, but Marvel has enlisted more comedic talent to join its ranks. Comedian and Oscar nominee Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, The Lego Ninjago Movie) will star in the forthcoming The Eternals.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Nanjiani will star alongside Angelina Jolie (Maleficent, Unbroken) in The Eternals. Jolie, as stated in the report, is said to play a character named Sersi, an outgoing Eternal who is willing to brush shoulders with humans. Nanjiani's role, however, has yet to be revealed. The project is led by director Chloe Zhao (Songs My Brothers Taught Me, The Rider), with writing by cousins Matthew K. (Zombie High School, The Agency Blues) and Ryan Firpo (Bet Raise Fold, Baalin: Control).

The first Eternals comic was published in 1976 by late writer and artist, Jack Kirby (1917-1994). The Eternals, an offshoot of life created by an alien race called the Celestials, were established to protect the Earth from the Deviants, a dastardly project by the Celestials gone awry. 30 years later, eclectic writer Neil Gaiman gave the superheroes a facelift in 2006, bringing them and their universe to the modern era with a seven-issue miniseries that concluded in 2007.

Nanjiani, who was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 90th Academy Awards for the romantic comedy The Big Sick--he co-wrote the movie with his wife, Emily V. Gordon--has a busy year ahead of him. Along with appearing in Men In Black: International (June 14) and Stuber (July 12), he's starring in two other films currently in post-production, The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle and The Lovebirds, both slated for a 2020 release. A new trailer for Stuber, in which he stars alongside Dave Bautista, was just released.

Along with Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and Black Widow's standalone movie, The Eternals is one of several movies we know are coming to the MCU. However, the only one with a specific name and date is Spider-Man: Far From Home, which releases in July. For more, check out our roundup of what we know about Marvel's Phase 4.