Summary
Deadpool and Wolverineis on track to become a box office hit for Marvel Studios. However, Kevin Feige indicated one MCI flop wouldn’t get a sequel despite setting up significant plot points:Eternals.
Eternalspremiered to great anticipation, as director Chloé Zhao had just won the Best Director Academy Award for her work on the Best Picture-winning filmNomadland. WhilesomeEternalsreviews praised the filmfor its ambition and offering a different type of MCU film, the consensus was mixed at best.Eternalsalso underperformed at the box office, grossing $402.1 million worldwide against a $236.2 million budget, meaning the film was likely unprofitable after factoring in marketing costs. Consequently, fans wonder ifEternals 2will happen, especially considering the first film’s unresolved loose threads.
During an interview withInverse, Marvel Studios boss Feige confirmedEternals 2won’t happen anytime soon. However, Feige confirmedEternals' events will be addressed in an upcoming MCU film. “There are no immediate plans forEternals 2,” Feige said. “There are, and I think you’ve seen maybe in a trailer we’ve released recently, an acknowledgement of some of those events. Certain giant things came out of the ocean.”
Eternals Won’t Be Getting a Sequel Anytime Soon
Feige referred to theCaptain America 4trailer, which briefly featured Tiamut Island, an island mass formed when the Eternals stopped a Celestial from emerging from the Earth.Captain America 4plot rumors claim the film will at least partly revolve around a conflict over the resources on the island. However, this island is not the only unresolved storyline thatEternalsset up.
Eternalsended with Sersi, Phastos, and Kingo being taken into a singularity by Arishem, a Celestial who was displeased that they committed treason by preventing Tiamut’s emergence. Arishem decides to spare humanity of the Eternals' memories, showing humans are worthy of living, vowing to return for judgment. In the mid-credits scene, Harry Styles appears as Eros, the brother of Thanos, and offers to help the remaining Eternals find their friends. Lastly, the post-credits scene also hints at Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman becoming the Black Knight, with Mahershala Ali’s Blade making a voice-over cameo appearance. However, Harington has said nothing is planned regarding his character’s return, leaving some fans to believeBlack Knight has been dropped from the MCU. All of these cliffhangers have not been addressed, much less resolved, in any MCU project since.
Of course, just becauseEternalsprobably won’t get a sequel doesn’t mean these storylines can’t be resolved. AsCaptain America 4demonstrates, the lingering plotlines could be addressed in other MCU films, particularly team-up films like the upcomingAvengers: Secret Wars. AnEternalsanimated series was rumoredto be in development at Marvel Studios, though this remain unverified by official sources. So, there’s still hope for fans who want to see the Eternals return, but how and when remains a mystery.
Eternalsis available on Disney Plus.
MCU
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a sprawling movie and television franchise that weaves together individual stories of superheroes including Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Widow, and many more. The first film in the franchise, Iron Man, was released in 2008. The MCU has garnered critical praise and financial success, earning billions at the box office and becoming a cultural phenomenon.
