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Thermae Romae Manga Creator Draws Poster For Marvel's Eternals
posted on by Kim Morrissy
Thermae Romae manga creator Mari Yamazaki tried her hand at drawing the characters on the Eternals film poster. The drawing, which was released on Friday, was created with the approval of the cast of the Marvel Studios live-action film.
In her comment, Yamazaki spoke of her respect for Eternals director Chloé Zhao and praised the film's diverse representations and themes. Her comment is translated below:
Chloé Zhao won an Academy Award for Nomadland, a film that made me feel the difference in human values and living on earth. I was surprised when I found out that she was filming a Marvel superhero film. Because of my respect for her, I accepted the offer to draw a promotional illustration for the film, but I was even more surprised when I found out that each cast member personally approved the characters I had drawn.Chloé Zhao's appeal is in portraying the so-called "Magic Hour" just before sunrise or sunset, with natural lighting and landscape shots that make you feel the vastness of Earth as a planet. Her characteristic style of direction was a wonderful match with the concept of this film, and I was deeply impressed by it.
The warriors, an immortal space race that has protected humanity for over 7,000 years, have names related to ancient gods and lyric poetry. They hold immense energy within them, but when the time came for me to start drawing them, I was most conscious about bringing out the charm of each actor. Eternals is the first superhero film to include warriors with LGBT elements, which is a sign of the times, but it's also fascinating to see how each of these alien races acclimatizes to Earth. Another big appeal to the film is the diverse nature and behaviors of the 10 warriors, such as Kingo, a Bollywood star, and Sersi, a museum curator.
Among the 10 warriors, I especially liked Ajak, who played the role of the motherly and protective deity of humanity. I was a fan of her actress Salma Hayek even before she became active in Hollywood, so I drew her first. I was also intrigued by Druig; in contrast to Ajax, he is disappointed in humanity and lives deep in the Amazon without mixing with the other members. Each of them has different characteristics and lives in a different way, but they're all motivated and act towards protecting the earth, which is perhaps the most important thing that we humans living in this age should learn from. I believe that Eternals is a film that strongly inspires that kind of self-awareness.
Eternals opened in Japan and in the United States on November 5. The film tells the story of the Eternals, an immortal alien race that has secretly lived on Earth for over 7,000 years.
Earlier this month, the film also revealed a crossover poster with the Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night anime film.
Yamazaki ended her Thermae Romae manga in March 2013. The manga inspired a three-episode anime in 2012 and two live-action films starring Hiroshi Abe and Aya Ueto. Yen Press publishes the manga in North America, while Discotek licensed the anime in North America. Crunchyroll is streaming the anime with English subtitles and an English dub. The manga is inspiring a new anime series, titled Thermae Romae Novae, that will debut on Netflix in 2022.
