Zhao says Eternals budget was dangerous, shapes Hamnet at TIFF

Chloé Zhao said this week that the vast resources and near limitless budget she was given on Marvel Studios' Eternals ultimately proved "dangerous," a lesson she says has shaped her return with the historical drama Hamnet, which is set to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival beginning Sept. 7 and opens in U.S. theaters on Nov. 27. Zhao made the remarks in interviews as she promoted Hamnet, which stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley as William and Agnes Shakespeare grieving the loss of their 11 year old son.

Zhao told Vanity Fair that Eternals, which she directed and which was released in the fall of 2021 after a pandemic delay, offered a rare exercise in expansive worldbuilding but came without the constraints she normally favors. "Eternals had, like, an unlimited amount of money and resources. And here we have one street corner that we can afford, to stand in for Stratford," she said. "Eternals didn't have a lot of limitations, and that is actually quite dangerous. Because we only have that street corner in Hamnet, suddenly everything has meaning."

Eternals grossed about $402 million worldwide, but it was divisive. Critics and many Marvel fans rated the film...