Kumail Nanjiani has revealed that signing on for Marvel Studios’ ‘Eternals’ came with a six-film deal — but the film’s lukewarm reception left him devastated and ultimately seeking therapy.

The actor shared these details during an appearance on Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out podcast, where he also discussed how his Marvel experience plays a major role in his upcoming stand-up special, set to debut on Hulu later this year.

Nanjiani: “I talked about how I was in this big movie. It came out right after COVID, so I had a year and a half at home to just be like, ‘Oh, when this thing comes out!' But then it came out and it got really bad reviews and it didn’t do that well. It shattered me too much. That’s when I was like, ‘Oh I need to go to therapy to figure this out.'”

The project in question was, of course, ‘Eternals.’ Nanjiani admitted that he believed the role of Kingo would keep him busy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for years to come.

“I was like, ‘Oh, this is going to be my job for the next 10 years,'” Nanjiani said. “I signed on for six movies. I signed on for a video game. I signed on for a theme park ride. They make you sign up for all this stuff. And you’re like, ‘This is the next 10 years of my life, so I’ll be doing Marvel movies every year and, in between, I’ll do my own little things, whatever I want to do.’ And then none of that happened.”

Released in November 2021, ‘Eternals’ became the lowest-rated entry in the MCU to date and earned $402 million worldwide — considered underwhelming for a film with a $200 million budget and Marvel’s usual box-office dominance. Since then, neither Kingo nor the other Eternals have appeared in any live-action Marvel follow-up.

Reflecting on the experience, Nanjiani acknowledged the personal impact of the film’s reception: “For me, what really hit me was just realizing that too much of my self-esteem is tied up in other people’s reaction to my work… Also, other people have way bigger problems than this!”

Marvel is currently preparing for ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ slated for 2026, which will feature a large crossover cast. However, no members of the ‘Eternals’ ensemble have been announced as part of the lineup so far.

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