Kumail Nanjiani says Marvel’s ‘Eternals’ led him to seek therapy

Actor Kumail Nanjiani has revealed that the negative response to Marvel’s ‘Eternals’ led him to seek therapy for his mental health.

Nanjiani starred as superhero Kingo in the 2021 title alongside a star-studded cast, including Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek and Kit Harington, among others.

However, the film proved to be a disaster for Marvel, becoming the worst-reviewed film by the studio at the time.

At the worldwide box office, ‘Eternals’ generated $402 million against a reported budget of around $200 million.

Unlike other superheroes in Marvel, Kumail Nanjiani and other ‘Eternals’ actor never featured again in any of the following projects.

During a recent interview, the actor revealed that he had signed a deal for as many as six Marvel films at the time of his casting as Kingo.

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“I talked 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 and 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,’” he said.

The actor maintained that he was under the impression that he would be involved in Marvel films for a long time after the film.

However, the negative response to ‘Eternals’ cut his superhero career short and he was never seen in the role again.

“I signed on for six movies. I signed on for a video game. I signed on for a theme park ride. 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,” Kumail Nanjiani  said.