Upcoming Marvel outing, Eternals, will introduce audiences to the MCU's newest team of superheroes. Among them is Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, an Eternal with the power of super-speed who is also deaf. The actress was recently asked about the pressures of becoming the MCU's first deaf superhero, and the first deaf superhero of any high-profile superhero movie, in fact, with Ridloff hoping that there is more to come.

"I am more thrilled than overwhelmed about being given the opportunity to represent the deaf community. I'm very thrilled about that - just to bring in that storyline within the MCU. I think there's plenty of room for more stories like that."

Lauren Ridloff, who was born deaf, is understandably excited to bring some of her real-life experiences to the world of the MCU, as well as being the first to bring some representation of the community into the comic book movie genre. The member of the Eternals, Makkari, who is not deaf in the comics, is often the central character who kicks off the story, meaning that Ridloff is likely to be integral of the upcoming big screen adaptation.

Eternals also finds Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Thena, and Ridloff discussed what it was like working with such a huge Hollywood star. "Angie is both gentle and strong," she said. "I was so grateful and appreciative to have her there with us, because I feel like she really is very aware of what our needs might be - she's always thinking about the cast."

Eternals picks up following the events of last year's comic book blockbuster event, Avengers: Endgame. The Eternals are a species of immortal aliens from a distant planet who arrived on earth thousands of years ago and have been protecting humans since the dawn of time. Created by the Celestials, a race of powerful extra-terrestrial cosmic beings who have secretly lived on Earth for over 7000 years, The Eternals must reunite to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the Deviants.

Eternals is being directed by Chloé Zhao with a screenplay by Matthew and Ryan Firpo. The movie stars Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Gemma Chan as Sersi and Kit Harington as Dane Whitman, aka the Black Knight.

The movie will further explore the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with actress Lia McHugh, who plays the Eternal, Sprite, recently teasing the epic scope of the movie. "Oh my gosh, every day was a surprise. It was completely insane," she said speaking with ComicBook.com about her role. "The budget and the [production] level, they're so extravagant on so many things, and the people I've worked with were amazing. I had the greatest time in London. I got to explore so much and travel, like the Canary Islands and shot on cliffs and on volcanoes. It was the experience of a lifetime."

Audiences will sadly have to wait a little longer than expected before meeting the Eternals, with Marvel Studios announcing a significant delay for some of their most anticipated movies. Both Black Widow and Eternals were due to open in theaters this year, but this will no longer happen, with the former now due to hit theaters on 7 May 2021, with the latter being released on November 5, 2021. Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has also been delayed and is now due for release in between Black Widow and Eternals on 9 July 2021, with Spider-Man 3 set to swing into cinemas December 17, 2021. This comes to us courtesy of HeyUGuys.