"Eternals" is the most sci-fi of all Marvel films: Kumail Nanjiani

Actor Kumail Nanjiani, who is part of the star-studded cast of Marvel Studio's "The Eternals", says the big budget superhero saga gave him the feeling of working on a "independent movie".

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, "The Big Sick" star called the film an "epic" project that eclipses all of the other Marvel superhero films made till date.

"It's really, really an epic. And it's really such a science-fiction story. It's a superhero story, but in some ways, it's the most sci-fi of all the Marvel movies and it's the most epic of all the Marvel movies.

"And the story spans thousands of years. So it's really not like any of the other Marvel movies," Nanjiani said.

The story of "The Eternals" is set millions of years ago when the cosmic beings known as the Celestials genetically experimented on humans to create super-powered individuals known as the Eternals along with the villainous Deviants.

The film, being directed by Chloe Zhao, will also feature Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Brian Tyree Henry, Gemma Chan and Kit Harington.

Nanjiani, 41, said despite being a superhero movie mounted on a huge scale, the film sometimes came across as a small budget film.

"Making this massive movie in many important ways still feels like you're making an independent movie, in the sense that it really feels like a family and it feels like it's really about characters and relationships and very small moments.

"So while you have certain scenes where you're hanging up on a wire fighting bad guys and you have all these superpowers, the rest of it does feel like you're making something really small," the actor said.

"The Eternals" is scheduled to be released in November this year.