Eternals Screenwriters' Next Movie Is 'The Matrix Meets The Virgin Suicides' [Exclusive]

So much debate surrounding superhero movies tends to revolve around how directors are affected, both negatively and positively, from their experiences on these incredibly large blockbuster platforms. Ideally, up-and-coming talent can use these franchise films to raise their profile, gain a global spotlight, and go on to get their smaller, more personal passion projects greenlit and funded while studios get the positive publicity of giving opportunities to promising filmmakers with a voice and reams of talent. But what about the actual screenwriters of these movies who are very much hoping for the same results, yet aren't in a position to be the public face of a given movie the same way directors are?

"Eternals," directed by Chloé Zhao from a screenplay by herself, Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Firpo, has led to quite a bit of discussion among both superhero fans expecting another conventional installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and those who have paid close attention to Zhao's career to this point. /Film was recently able to talk to screenwriters Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo, who were excited to mention their storytelling ambitions about what comes next for them after their contributions to the MCU. If you ask us, we couldn't be more intrigued by their pitch.

The "Eternals" writing team, made up of siblings Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo, provided a wealth of insights and information about the movie. The duo talked about the process of bringing Kit Harington's Dane Whitman into the film, the characters that were nixed from the final draft but could potentially return down the line, their thoughts on the mid- and post-credits scenes featuring two very unexpected cameos, and their perspective on Kingo's big moment of choice late in the story. In an interview with /Film's Jacob Hall, Kaz Firpo revealed some fascinating details about their debut feature that they plan on directing.

"That's something we're really passionate about. We just started talking about it. It's called 'The Motor City Girls.' And for us, it's a really personal story. It's ultimately about these five teenage half-sisters in a rundown house on the outskirts of Detroit. And they have these strange and dangerous powers and are sort on this mission, this lifelong mission, to find and dismantle the cult that they were born in. And that's sort of where their powers came from. It's like a supernatural detective story. These girls are kind of trying to figure out their origin story, where they came from, and sort of in that way, grapple with the trauma that was handed down to them.

"It's really a grounded film. We always kind of describe it a little bit as 'The Matrix' meets 'The Virgin Suicides.' It's a lot of stuff going on, but it's a very unique story. And yeah, we really began our journey as filmmakers coming to Hollywood. And we had the great pleasure of writing a lot of really powerful stories that we're really passionate about. And this is sort of our return to that process of telling stories start to finish, and being filmmakers like we always set out to be, so appreciate you giving us a chance to talk about it."

Given their work on "Eternals," it's perhaps not too surprising that the Firpos' passion project would remain generally in the realm of superheroes. This fascinating original idea feels like precisely the kind of hard-hitting story we simply couldn't get within mainline franchise universes, especially with the comparisons to the Wachowskis and Sofia Coppola. Consider us interested in seeing "The Motor City Girls" make it to the finish line some day.

"Eternals" is in theaters now.