Why Eternals Star Kumail Nanjiani Thinks Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Is So Special - Exclusive

The newest Phase 4 MCU entry, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," has an unenviable task. Following the rampant success of the first film and the tragic untimely death of its star, Chadwick Boseman, the movie must certainly serve as an entry in Marvel's canon. Its arguably most important task, however, is to honor Boseman's legacy, a priority for Marvel Studios heads, the movie's stars, and fans alike. So far, it's a success both with critics and its first wave of fans.

An earlier Phase 4 entry, Chloe Zhao's "Eternals," highlights a set of cosmic heroes tasked with keeping the Earth's population safe on the orders of the cosmic deities known as the Celestials. One of the Celestials' most popular heroes is Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), a Bollywood superstar with loads of charisma and the power of some magnificent finger guns. In an exclusive interview with Looper, Nanjiani notes his thoughts on the current state of the MCU, alongside the reasons why he thinks "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is such a special entry.

The "Eternals" star begins by noting that, regretfully, he cannot confirm his character's future. Producer Nate Moore recently added fuel to the speculative "Eternals" fire when he admitted in an interview with Comicbook.com, "I don't want to spoil anything, but we have not seen the last of those characters." When asked about the comment, Kumail Nanjiani told Looper, "Genuinely, I have no idea what's going on." 

"I have heard truly nothing," Nanjiani clarifies, "I heard that from Nate when you heard that from Nate." About the future of the "Eternals" team, and his own character's future, "I haven't heard anything specific." What he does know, however, is that he's keen on the MCU's current future. 

"I think the MCU is going in such an exciting direction," Nanjiani explains. "I've never seen a big blockbuster that has so much feeling and emotion in it."  Despite the scale, he finds it a nuanced and emotionally grounded cinematic work. "It's such a magical movie," he notes, "so I love the way MCU is headed." But the sequel to "Black Panther" isn't the only Marvel project he became attached to noting that "Ms. Marvel" is a project he "really fell in love with too."

Nanjiani proclaims he "genuinely [has] no idea" about his specific character's future but he hopes "Kingo comes back soon." This writer would be more than surprised if he doesn't.

Nanjiani's latest project is the new Hulu series, "Welcome to Chippendales" which premieres Tuesday, November 22nd.