Despite the movie not releasing yet, many have posted hateful comments for the representation
Marvel’s Eternals faces opposition, not from Deviants, but from an act of review bombing. The movie consists of an all-star cast and is the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s entry after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It is directed by Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao and has received mixed reviews so far. It received a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but still got rated the lowest out of all MCU movies.
Bringing a change
Eternals brings many changes which the MCU had not brought in the last 12 years. The movie will feature the first openly gay superhero in the MCU (Phastos, played by Brian Tyree Henry) and first deaf superhero (Makkari, played by Lauren Ridloff). Zhao and MCU president Kevin Feige have spoken about diversity and inclusion in the new movie, and Zhao hopes that overseas theatres won’t censor some of these scenes. It is important for everyone to see themselves as a superhero, and Marvel understands it.
However, a group of people didn’t like the inclusion of a kiss between Phastos and his husband, and decided to review bomb the film. As reported by The Direct, IMDb’s rating for the movie was flooded with more than 400 1-star reviews. It forced the site to take down the audience rating section until the movie releases and actual reviews start coming in.
Not the first time
Review bombing is an act by a coordinated group of people who give negative reviews for a product, sometimes even without seeing it. Sadly, it’s not a new thing, and Marvel knows it. Previously, 2019’s Captain Marvel got review-bombed for being the first female-led project. However, it still grossed over $1 billion worldwide, so Marvel Studios won’t be affected by the small group of haters.
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