Eternals Movie Writers Explain Why [SPOILER] Had To Die

This article contains major spoilers for Eternals

Kaz and Ryan Firpo, writers on the Marvel film Eternals, explain why one of the group’s key members had to die. The cousins share attribution for the screenplay with director Chloé Zhao and Patrick Burleigh, while they are the sole holders of the movie’s story credit. Eternals was filmed pre-pandemic but only just made it to theaters this past weekend, with its official premiere coming earlier in October.

While the movie’s titular group of superheroes is immortal, having lived among humans for 7,000 years prior to the present-day events, they turn out not to be entirely incapable of dying. In a confrontation with the power-absorbing Deviant Kro, voiced by Bill Skarsgård, the super-strong Eternal Gilgamesh (Don Lee) sacrifices himself to protect Thena (Angelina Jolie), his incapacitated true love. The kind character had been an emotional anchor for Eternals leading up to that moment, and many fans might’ve questioned the decision to kill him off.

In their exclusive interview with SR, the Firpos assure Marvel viewers that he wasn’t selected at random from the ensemble. From a plot standpoint, showing the Eternals could die was important, but Gilgamesh’s death was also a crucial part of Thena’s character arc. Choosing someone whose death would have real meaning within the story, says Kaz, ensures that the audience felt its impact as well. Check out the quote below:

The Gilgamesh death… we wanted to make sure that you really cared about the people we were losing, that was really important to us. It wasn’t like we just went and reached into the Eternals cap and said, “Sorry, Gil, it’s your turn.” I really knew that for Thena’s journey, for her arc to really mean something, that she had to lose someone. And we also needed to make sure that the stakes were high. That, yes, you are… you’re immortal, but you’re not invincible, and I think that was an important thing. If you can’t kill them, then why are we watching this movie?

Of course, Gilgamesh wasn’t the first Eternal to die, as Salma Hayek’s team leader Ajak is introduced in the present-day storyline as already having been killed by Kro. This, however, was more “obviously essential” according to Ryan, as the impetus driving the movie’s plot forward. Her death created a “power vacuum” in the team that put Ikaris, Ajak’s assumed second-in-command, and Sersi, her surprise choice to succeed her, at odds, propelling Eternals to its eventual conclusion.

While the reasoning behind Ajak’s early demise was probably apparent to Marvel fans, Gilgamesh’s death might’ve been harder to square away, and Firpo’s insight offers a clear path to understanding the creative choice. There were other options that would’ve elicited a similar response from audiences, but none would have impacted a character the same way as Thena was, setting her up for a final confrontation with Kro that hinged on the loss of her beloved. Of course, MCU characters sometimes have trouble staying dead, and with Eternals revealing the heroes are synthetic beings, Lee could always return in a future project – though most likely, and heartbreakingly, without his memories.

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