The Eternals Features Kumail Nanjiani In A Bollywood Dance Number

Kumail Nanjiani in The Big Sick

It's a difficult time for Marvel fans, as we're currently occupying the interim period between phases. But while there are no new movies hitting theaters until Black Widow kicks things off in May, there's tons of exciting projects to look forward to. In addition to the TV series heading to Disney+, the fandom is eagerly anticipating big screen adventures like The Eternals. Kumail Nanjiani got ripped for his role in Chloé Zhao's Marvel debut, and he recently revealed that we should expect some Bollywood action in the upcoming blockbuster.

The Eternals recently wrapped principal photography, after a long shoot that included multiple locations and countries. Kumail Nanjiani is able to speak vaguely about his upcoming superhero role, and he recently revealed some backstory to his character Kingo, including the Bollywood number we should expect. As he put it,

A lot of it is set in the present. By this point, we’ve been on Earth for a long time. And my character, for instance, we are all like ‘Alright, keep a low profile, no one should know.’ So I go and become a Bollywood movie star. That’s my secret identity. We were all supposed to be quiet and I’ve become the biggest Bollywood movie star.

Talk about a subtle secret identity. It looks like Kingo didn't decide to really blend in this time around, and became a Bollywood movie star during his time on Earth. I guess he's hiding in plain sight?

It should be interesting to see how The Eternals have adapted to life on Earth for a thousand years. While Kingo became a dancing romantic lead in Bollywood musicals, the rest of his companions likely had very different plans. The Eternals has a strong ensemble cast, the most diverse group of actors the MCU has ever seen. And they'll be distinctly different characters, with unique (but powerful) abilities.

Kumail Nanjiani opened up about The Eternals while appearing on the New Hollywood podcast while promoting his new Apple TV+ series Little America. When speaking about the Bollywood element of the upcoming movie, the Silicon Valley alum explained the training necessary, saying:

I took months of Bollywood dance classes to prepare for that. It’s really a workout, and you know, there’s 52 dancers, and 51 of them are professional dancers, and then there’s me!

Kumail Nanjiani clearly put a ton of work and hours into his role in The Eternals. He physically transformed himself for the role, on a strict diet and exercise regimen. But the movie also required him to take dance classes and keep up with professional dancers while filming Kingo's scenes as his secret identity.

The Eternals is clearly going to have a massive scope, and will greatly expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the process. The movie will include cosmic elements, a long time span, and an extremely powerful team of superheroes. While the narrative remains a mystery at this point, comments like Kumail Nanjiani's are only going to help increase hype and anticipation for the movie.

The Eternals will arrive in theaters on November 6th. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.