Elizabeth Olsen Faces Afterlife Dilemma in Eternity

If you’ve noticed Elizabeth Olsen popping up in stories about loss and the supernatural lately, you’re not alone. After her turns as a grieving Scarlet Witch in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Olsen is back in familiar territory with the romantic comedy Eternity. This time, she steps into the shoes of Joan, a woman who finds herself in the afterlife with a decision that’s anything but straightforward. Sitting down in London with her co-star Miles Teller, Olsen says she didn’t set out to revisit similar themes.

“I also don't even mean to pick projects that are about grief, and I did all of them for different reasons,”

she explains.

Olsen points to her work on His Three Daughters, a 2024 Netflix drama, as another example. That film, directed by her mate Azazel Jacobs, was a personal project for him as he grappled with his own parents’ mortality.

“He was kind of trying to prepare himself for his parents' passing, because they were getting quite old, and it was almost like an emotional preparation for him, and I loved getting to work on that with him, with Natasha [Lyonne] and Carrie [Coon],”

Olsen shares. But for her, Eternity is less about mourning and more about what comes next.

Afterlife Choices and Old Flames

The world of Eternity doesn’t let things end with death. Instead, you get a week to pick where you’ll spend forever—no second chances, no changing your mind. Joan, played by Olsen, is confronted with a choice that’s as tricky as they come. She discovers that not only is her husband Larry (Miles Teller), who she spent six decades with, waiting for her, but so is Luke (Callum Turner), her first love who died young in the Korean War. Suddenly, Joan is forced to reckon with feelings she thought she’d left behind, and the life she might have had with Luke.

It’s a set-up that brings up all sorts of questions about love, loyalty, and the paths not taken. Teller puts it simply:

“There's such an emphasis on, 'Where do you want to go, which eternity do you want to choose?' And at the end, really, it's about, 'But who do you want to spend it with?' And I think that's beautiful.”

On Grief, Love, and Moving Forward

For Olsen, the film’s focus isn’t just on what’s been lost, but on the idea of continuing on—even after death. Eternity asks its characters to look at their lives, loves, and regrets, and make a call that will shape their forever. It’s a different take on the usual rom-com fare, blending humour and heartache in a way that feels both fresh and familiar.

The film is already screening in the US, with UK punters able to catch it from December 5. For those keen on what’s next, there’s a whole line-up of new releases on the horizon for 2025 and beyond.