The &34;Eternals&34; star has since turned his Marvel experience into content for his upcoming comedy special. Kumail Nanjiani says he signed on for 6 MCU movie

The "Eternals" star has since turned his Marvel experience into content for his upcoming comedy special.

Kumail Nanjiani says he signed on for 6 MCU movies, theme park ride but 'none of that happened'

The "Eternals" star has since turned his Marvel experience into content for his upcoming comedy special.

By Shania Russell

Published on August 25, 2025 11:26AM EDT

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Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo in 'Eternals'. Credit:

Sophie Mutevelian/Marvel

What do you do when your superhero dreams fall through? Turn it into fodder for your comedy special, of course.

Kumail Nanjiani is getting candid about his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which was a much shorter stint than he expected. Four years after making his franchise debut in *Eternals*, the actor has yet to make his return. But on a recent episode of Mike Birbiglia's "Working It Out" podcast, Nanjiani shared that it wasn't all for nothing because his experience with the film has become the "last 15 minutes" of his upcoming stand-up special.

"I talk about how I was in this big movie, it came out right after COVID, so I had a year and a half at home to just be like, 'Oh, when this thing comes out!' But then it came out and it got really bad reviews," Nanjiani shared. "It didn't do that well. It shattered me too much. That's when I was like, 'Oh I need to go to therapy to figure this out.'"

After confirming that the project in question was 2021's *Eternals*, Nanjiani noted that the disappointment only continued. The comedian explained that he expected to be much more involved in the MCU at this point, because his contract lined up several future projects.

Kumail Nanjiani, Gemma Chan and Lia McHugh in 'Eternals'. Sophie Mutevelian/Marvel Studios

"I was like, 'Oh, this is going to be my job for the next 10 years. I signed on for six movies. I signed on for a video game. I signed on for a theme park ride," Nanjiani shared. "They make you sign up for all this stuff. And you're like, 'This is the next 10 years of my life, so I'll be doing Marvel movies every year and, in between, I'll do my own little things, whatever I want to do.' And then none of that happened."

He continued, "But for me what really hit me was just realizing too much of my self esteem is tied up in other people's reactions to my work. First of all, people have way bigger problems than this."

Birbiglia then chimed in, joking, "Not everyone's in *Eternals*."

"Not everyone's in *Eternals*," Nanjiani agreed with a laugh, before quipping, "Honesty, too many people are though. There were a few too many people in *Eternals*, if the reviews are to be believed."

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Kumail Nanjiani says he went to counseling after negative 'Eternals' reviews: 'Some s--- has to change'

Indeed, the sprawling cast was a point of frustration for many viewers: Nanjiani was one of 10 eternal beings in the starry epic, alongside Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie. The film additionally starred Kit Harington and featured brief cameos from Harry Styles and Patton Oswald.

But star power wasn't enough to keep the film above water. Not only did *Eternals* mark one of the MCU's lowest box office earners ever (ending with $402 million globally), it is currently the third worst reviewed films in the franchise, with a 47 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (*Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania* and *Captain America: Brave New World *are tied for last place with 46 percent).

Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Don Lee, Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, and Barry Keoghan in 'Eternals'. Marvel Studios

Despite the negative reaction, Nanjiani made it clear that he remains "very proud of the movie." The comedian previously expressed this sentiment in 2024, telling *Inside of You* host Michael Rosenbaum that he viewed the project as "a slam dunk" and "had the best time doing that movie."

He added that the issue was always with the response to the film and how it affected him, especially because he was "too aware of it" and "reading every review."

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He explained, "It was really hard, and that was when I thought it was unfair to me and unfair to [my wife] Emily, and I can't approach my work this way anymore. Some s--- has to change, so I started counseling."

As for the six movies he signed on for, the film did end with a very confident "The Eternals* *will return…" proclamation, but a sequel to the film is not currently on Marvel's Phase Six slate nor were the characters listed among those popping in for *Avengers: Doomsday. *Marvel boss Kevin Feige last addressed the issue in a 2024 conversation with *Inverse*, stating, "There are no immediate plans for *Eternals 2*."

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Source: "AOL Movies"

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