10 Most Exciting New Faces Coming To The MCU

Actors doubling up on roles within the MCU is nothing new. Paul Bettany went from voicing Tony Starks AI programme J.A.R.V.I.S to becoming Vision; Benedict Cumberbatch appeared as Dr Stephen Strange and his first on-screen enemy Dormamu; even Taika Waititi decided directing Thor: Ragnorok wasn’t quite enough, inserting himself into the film as the loveable, revolutionary rock alien Korg.

Gemma Chan’s reappearance is a little different, however, since her two MCU roles have nothing to do with each other. She was first cast as the blue-skinned Kree Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel, where she certainly was not Carol Danvers’ biggest fan. This year, she returns in The Eternals as part of the titular team. The Eternals are born of Celestial experimentation on early humans, which essentially created super-powered humans through mutation. They’re far more powerful than any human, but nowhere near as powerful as their creators the Celestials.

The Eternals appear in Marvel canon as any and every pantheon of gods, from Greek, to Atlantic, to Egyptian (not the Asgardians, though. They’re something else.) Chan’s character Sersi is apparently the very same witch with a penchant for turning people into pigs from Homer’s The Odyssey, which you’ll know all about if you’ve ever had anything to do with the ancient epic.

The Eternals’ introduction to the MCU spells some potential big changes for the franchise, which might expand on the type of reality-bending that Peter Quill’s dad (a Celestial in the MCU canon) hinted at in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. It’s of paramount importance that this plot progression be in safe hands.

Thankfully, we’ve got Gemma Chan: one of the most exceptional actors to crop up in the past decade. She popped up first in hit TV shows, including Doctor Who, a brief but influential cameo in BBC’s Sherlock, and a starring role as the highly realistic android Anita in the critically-acclaimed dystopian sci-fi show Humans.

Humans especially demonstrated her acting ability, being able to effectively convey the complexity of a synthetic human concealing real emotions for fear of her life. With such success on the small screen, it’s no surprise it didn’t take long for her to transition into huge franchises, from Harry Potter’s spin off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Transformers. Gemma Chan may well be a relative newcomer compared to other MCU names, but she’s proven to be more than capable of this megalith of a part.