Jim Krueger has built up quite a legacy in the comic industry, most notably with his work on the Earth X trilogy alongside Alex Ross. It explored a dystopian take on the Marvel universe, where that version of Earth is implanted with a Celestial egg. Now, watchers of the recent MCU film Eternals might remember that very plotline being a central element of the recent release.
In a recent interview with Bleeding Cool, the creator of Earth X revealed that he may have planted a seed of his own in the head of Kevin Feige almost 20 years ago. Krueger shared that he discussed the potential of this concept working with the Eternals all the way when his comic was just released in paperback.
Well, what’s funny, is that I first met Kevin Fiege years ago, after the first trade paperback of Earth X had come out. We sat down a number of times and Kevin shared his love for Earth X. He also shared that it was at a time when many of the Marvel heroes, including X-Men, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. At the time, Kevin told me how much he wanted to make Earth X. And I told him that I thought he could do it with the Eternals. Talk about seeds being planted. It didn’t take hundreds of thousands of years like a Celestial, but it took almost 25.
Jim Krueger
It’s always crazy to look back at conversations or ideas that take years to actually grow into something. Marvel Studios’ growth alone into the studio that it is today would make it a reality that Eternals is the fourth-highest opening film of the year and that during a pandemic. Earth X is a very obvious inspiration for the film and to think that Kevin Feige and Jim Krueger first planted the idea so long ago.
Source: Bleeding Cool
