Kumail Nanjiani: Eternals is completely Chloe Zhao's movie

Kumail Nanjiani insists that 'Eternals' is very much Chloe Zhao's movie.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker has helmed the new Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project and Kumail – who stars as Kingo in the flick – has dismissed suggestions that the 'Nomadland' director has been swallowed up by the superhero machine.

He told The Times newspaper: "She swallows the machine! This is her movie. Right from the beginning Chloe was so in charge.

"(If you have seen her other films) you will realise, 'Oh, this a Chloe Zhao movie.'"

The new flick features a diverse cast that also includes Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden and Gemma Chan and Kumail has recalled how this was visible during a wedding scene.

The 43-year-old star said: "We did one shot that was a wedding and it was all ten of us and I remember looking at the monitor and going, 'Look at that – we look like the whole world!' It's awesome.'"

Kumail also explained how Chloe wanted the film to be shot in real locations to get better performances from the cast.

He said: "If you're getting sand blown in your eyes, you know for sure that you are where you are. You don't have to pretend."

Salma also believes that 'Eternals' marks a shift in tone for Marvel as it is more artistic and less commercial than previous superhero blockbusters.

She said: "It's amazing that we can have something so beautiful that can touch the masses.

"It's kind of messed up that the film industry is the only industry where the more artistic something is, the cheaper it should be.

"There is no other art that does that. Something has a high artistic level – oh, let's make it for a couple of bucks!"