The Eternals continues to round out its cast ahead of production as Richard Madden is in talks to star in Marvel's latest. Marvel Studios and Disney have been very quiet regarding the details of the Marvel Cinematic Universe beyond Avengers: Endgame. The only title with an actual release date set is Spider-Man: Far From Home, which arrives on July 2. However, we know for sure The Eternals is coming and now it appears they've recruited a big up-and-comer to join the cast of the cosmic adventure.

According to a new report, former Game of Thrones star Richard Madden is currently in talks to join the cast of The Eternals. It's said that Madden will play a character by the name of Ikaris, should the deal make. The character first appeared in Jack Kiby's first issue of the Eternals comic back in 1976. Ikaris has superhuman strength, flight, regenerative healing, teleportation abilities and basically everything one might associate with a powerful, godlike cosmic being. Ikaris also has the look associated with such a creation and that might explain why Madden is up for the role, aside from his acting talents.

Richard Madden has asserted himself as a serious up-and-comer. Though best known for his work as Robb Stark in Game of Thrones, he also appeared in the acclaimed BBC series Bodyguard. He's also set to appear in the Elton John biopic Rocketman this summer as the musician's manager, John Reid. Madden will join a cast that also includes Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley), Ma Dong-seok (Train to Busan) and Angelina Jolie (Maleficent). Again, assuming all of the deals close, but these are the stars the studio is gunning for at present.

The Eternals, for those who may not be familiar, first appeared in the pages of Marvel Comics in 1976. Their debut series was written and illustrated by comics legend Jack Kirby. Put simply, the story in the comics centers on a group of individuals gifted special powers through accelerated evolution by the Celestials. That particular powerful group has been teased in the MCU, albeit briefly, in the past. The group has been at war with The Deviants for thousands of years in an attempt to determine the superior race. Similar to Guardians of the Galaxy, this is a rather obscure title in the Marvel Comics library that most people outside of hardcore comic book readers probably don't know very well, if at all.

Chloe Zhao (The Rider) has been tapped to helm the project. While an official release date hasn't been revealed, it's expected this will be one of the next MCU movies to enter production. Disney did, however, reveal release dates for Phase 4 for the MCU recently. The dates announced are set for May 1, 2020, November 6, 2020, February 12, 2021, May 7, 2021, November 5, 2021, February 18, 2022, May 6, 2022, and July 29, 2022. We'll be sure to keep you posted as further details on the project are made available. This news was previously reported by The Wrap.