Seeing Salma Hayek as Ajak in 'Eternals' felt like a deliberate, thoughtful choice. I tend to notice casting decisions that shift a character’s cultural or emotional center, and this one stood out: Ajak becomes not only a liaison to the Celestial mandate but also an empathetic anchor for the team. Hayek’s previous film work, which often mixes intensity with vulnerability, gave her the tools to make Ajak more human without losing the sense that she’s older than civilization.
From a storytelling perspective, the change from the comic’s male Ajak to Hayek’s version opens avenues for mentorship and maternal symbolism, which the movie leans into during scenes about purpose and loss. I noticed subtle touches—timing, lowered voice, calm facial reactions—that made Ajak a linchpin for other characters’ development rather than just a plot device. Personally, I appreciated that choice; it made the ensemble feel more emotionally varied and gave several quieter scenes much-needed heartbeat.
Salma Hayek portrays Ajak in the live-action film 'Eternals'.
I loved seeing her bring a calm, almost maternal gravity to the role—Ajak is reimagined from the comics (where the character was originally male) into a wise, spiritual leader for the group. The film leans into that nurturing, translator-of-the-divine vibe, and Hayek sells it with small gestures and a steady presence rather than flashy heroics. The director's quiet style gives her moments to breathe, and she uses them to make Ajak feel ancient and compassionate without turning the character into a stereotype.
Beyond just who plays the part, I enjoyed how the movie used Ajak to anchor the Eternals’ moral compass. Watching Hayek interact with the rest of the cast—especially the quieter scenes where she explains purpose and history—made the cosmic stakes feel human. Personally, I walked away appreciating that casting choice; it made the character more emotionally resonant for me.
If you watched 'Eternals' and wondered who plays Ajak, that’s Salma Hayek. Her take is a softer, wiser version of the character compared to the original comic depiction, and it’s interesting to see the gender swap used to give the team a different dynamic. In the film she’s the group’s guide, someone who communicates with their creator and keeps the team grounded, which Hayek handles with a quiet authority.
I liked how she balanced warmth with a kind of inscrutable age—you can tell she’s carrying knowledge nobody else has. It changes the tone of some scenes in a good way, making the philosophical parts feel less like exposition and more like genuine concern between immortal beings. For me, her presence added emotional weight to the movie’s big moments.
Salma Hayek plays Ajak in the live-action film 'Eternals', and I thought she brought a grounded, gentle authority to the role. The movie reframes Ajak from the classic comicbook version, and Hayek’s warm, wise presence helps sell those changes—she makes the character feel ancient but approachable.
Her scenes where she explains the Eternals’ mission or comforts other characters were the ones I found most convincing; they added emotional weight to the big, cosmic moments. For me, that casting choice made the team’s dynamics richer and gave the film a softer emotional center, which I really enjoyed.
2026-02-08 12:59:53
3
View All Answers
Scan code to download App
Related Books
The Last Immortal
Tikali
10
6.6K
Akira, daughter of fruit vendors, was living happily with her family in Ehtrehto Edis. A world far from the human world. Her family got killed by the Aquans, headed by the cruel general of Aqua Edis. She was able to escape but she was chased by his men. Marcus, the son of Aqua Edis King, helped her to escape to the human world where Martin and Margarette adopted her and allowed her to use their lost daughter's identity. She was then known as Adele Brown. When they died, she was left alone in their house. Her life is set to one ultimate goal. That is, finding the real Adele as Martin's last wish. Akira happened to help a woman from wicked men. It's Catherine whom she later became friends with. One incident leads her to suspect that Catherine is the real Adele. That same day, the nightmares from her fast flipped backward. She crossed paths with some Ehtrehtians, who together with his long been friend, Hunter, persuaded her to flee back to Ehtrehto Edis. Akira's identity was then revealed. She's Lady Amara, one of the four Guardians of Lights and the last immortal. She was faced with many battles when she came back to her world. The Aquan king is determined to kill her and even sent an assassin to kill her. In Manhakan, a village where people who do not surrender their loyalty to any of the four empires of Ehtrehto Edis live, she had a face-to-face encounter with General Thud, the one who headed in the killing of her known family. Just when they were about to be defeated, Hunter, Ignis Hella Knights, and her biological father King Suxx came.
Will they be able to save their world? Is Catherine the real Adele as she suspected?
The students of Darkson University are on a high school field trip to a camp called Ever Realms. Legend has it that the Ever Realms camp was once ruled by powerful wizards and witches, each with unique elements. The four kingdoms each represent their own elements. The element of Humility, Empathy, Courage and Judgement. These elements are called the Elements of Concord, which have special magic that can only work if wielded by the possessor of the corresponding trait.
Four misfit students find themselves embroiled in a magical world. Here they must unleash their powers and face the untold story of the legend.
Will they be lost over time or will they be part of history?
Will they know why they were chosen?
Will the story be told, or will it remain a mystery?
Will they do something fantastic
with the time they have there?
Will they leave their mark?
Will they overcome what they fear?
"Do you think four misfits can save... the ending world?"
"A thousand years is all it takes to see you again. A thousand years of pain is all it takes to pay for my mistakes. And a thousand years is all it takes to return to our rightful places.~"
Set in an ancient dynasty, a lonely princess fell in love with the enemy's king. Princess Everly fell in love with King Dominique, the ruler of the enemy's kingdom. Both of them sacrificed everything for their forbidden love. Until a war evoked causing King Dominique to lose his life to save the princess.
Left in despair, Princess Everly decided to follow him in the afterlife until the Moon Goddess appeared in her sight. The Moon Goddess took pity on their unforgettable love and gave Everly a chance to meet her love once again. Everly has to find the reincarnation of King Dominique before the red moon appears for them to have their second chance in love happen.
Failure to complete the condition will result in her existence vanishing forever. Everly accepted it wholeheartedly since she's confident that his reincarnation will still fall in love with her.
But what if the love you knew changed? What if the man you once loved is different from the man you knew? Would you take the risk to fulfill the love you once had or move on and accept that you two aren't destined with one another?
Evie is an Immortal, not an ordinary Immortal but the daughter of the Evermore leader. Her parents expected their first daughter together to be destined for greatness, as were their sons. All Evermore and Immortals expected her to be a Chosen Immortal just like her brothers, it was expected.
But shortly after her birth, a book of destiny with a red and gold cover appeared beside her, shattering all the expectations they had for her. Since the books of destiny are destined for ordinary immortals, her family was deeply disappointed and ended up neglecting her.
Evie was raised by her older half-sister and her brother-in-law. Being exposed to rigorous education and heavy training since she was little, so she could prepare for when she was sent to the reality of her book of destiny. And finally, on her twentieth birthday, the day of her departure has arrived.
She was physically ready and psychologically prepared to change Danika, the reality of her book of destiny, and to find her soulmate.
But more than anything, she was eager to get away from all the gods who neglected her in her twenties.
And as much as she was aware that her life in Danika was not going to be easy, she didn’t expect the family she was going to end up in to cause so much trouble for her. Nor that she would be exposed to pains that she would not wish for even her worst enemy.
When the Supreme God of Heavens disappeared, the gods of the Greeks, Norse, Mayans, Egyptians, Chinese, and many more sent their young mortal champions to a magical world in order to participate in the Game of Heavens and Earth on their behalf to win the divine throne. However, the young mortals used their powers, weapons, and tools that were bestowed upon them to form themselves into guilds and create a paradise for everyone. To any kid from Earth, an exciting adventure and new beginning await them, and Sam Roche is one of those lucky chosen ones — or is he still unlucky?
Since everything is in peace, Sam tries to build a new life in the City of New Beginning while hiding his dark secrets from his new friends about the sins he committed back on Earth. Eventually, Sam and his friends discover that the strongest guilds have long controlled the paradise, and their rivalry might spark a war that will engulf the land. Wanting to get away as much as possible, they decide that they form their own guild and leave the city. However, a powerful guild is threatening the fragile peace of the magical world in order to win the Game of Heavens and Earth. Sam must either run away to save himself or become a hero to save not only his friends but both worlds.
Once upon a time, in a land hidden where immortals exist, Alessia Condor was killed as Lady Elena, the woman destined to marry the king of Valeria. Reincarnated in modern Philippines, Alessia finds herself again in the world she doesn't belong in--or so she thinks.
***
Alessia was applying for a job when she drowns with her sister and wakes up in a strange land where immortality, demons, and monsters exist. To protect herself, Alessia disguises as the boy Ales, who later becomes Elijah Rafael El Valeria's royal doctor-the more than four thousand year-old king of Valeria, the first immortal. In her game of deception and lies, who is bound to lose-Elijah, who slowly falls in love with Ales, or Alessia, who can only watch while her sister, thought to be the reincarnation of Elena, gets married to Elijah to end the curse.
Right away I’ll say it plainly: Druig in the live-action movie 'Eternals' is played by Barry Keoghan. I remember being struck by how he made a morally slippery, introspective character feel oddly relatable — that low-key menace mixed with vulnerability is straight Barry's wheelhouse.
Watching him, I kept thinking of his smaller, intense roles in films like 'Calm with Horses' and 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer'; he brings that same jagged energy to 'Eternals' but lets it breathe under Chloé Zhao’s quieter, epic framing. The film gives Druig a fascinating place: not purely villainous, more like someone wrestling with power and ethics, and Barry sells those internal conflicts without resorting to spectacle.
If you’re curious about the guy behind the face, he’s Irish, became more widely noticed after 'Dunkirk' and a string of acclaimed indie parts, and he nails that balance between charisma and unpredictability here. Personally, his take on Druig is one of those performances I keep thinking about long after the credits rolled.
I can get a little giddy comparing the two—there’s a neat, old-school vs. modern film vibe to Ajak’s portrayal. In the comics Ajak was originally written as a male Eternal, one of Jack Kirby’s cadre of towering, mythic figures who served as an emissary between the Celestials and humanity. He comes across in the comics more like a classic Kirby archetype: stately, enigmatic, and tied into the grand, sometimes sterile cosmic bureaucracy of the Celestials. His role was often institutional—liaison, leader in certain missions, and part of sprawling, serialized continuity that changed shape depending on the writer.
The movie flips and humanizes that template. In 'Eternals' Ajak is female and given a warmer, maternal energy; she’s still the Celestials’ communicator, but the film leans into emotion, cultural nuance, and interpersonal leadership rather than purely cosmic duty. The film compresses decades of comic continuity into a tighter, more character-driven arc, reworking loyalties and motivations so Ajak feels like the emotional anchor for the team. Visually and thematically, the film gives her a grounded spirituality and cultural resonance that the original comics didn’t emphasize in the same way. For me, it’s fascinating to see the core idea—the liaison to the Celestials—kept intact while the character’s gender, tone, and function are reshaped to serve a very different story, and I liked how the change made Ajak feel more human on screen.