Among all the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, there is one that stands out for how little we know about it. That movie is The Eternals. When it comes to upcoming blockbusters like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, and literally all the other scheduled releases through 2023, we have at least some idea about the films, based on trailers and the popularity of the characters in the comics. But, the Eternals aren’t as well known, so even the characters are a bit unknown right now. We do have a theatrical trailer that helps explain some aspects of the film, but due to its lack of familiarity to the Eternals storyline, we wanted to deliver a bit of a primer.
Let’s dig into what we know and what we can guess about the upcoming MCU movie.
Release Date
The Eternals was originally scheduled to be released in November 2020, but the pandemic pushed it back several times. The current release schedule has it pushed back an entire year and now coming out on November 5, 2021.
What’s it About?
The trailer gives us some reasonable clues that the film will focus on a group of ancient alien beings (The Eternals) who have been secretly living on Earth for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, they are forced out of the shadows to take on mankind’s most ancient enemy, The Deviants. The Deviants appear to have been given a gateway into our world or universe through the Avenger’s success in undoing Thanos’ snap.
Where were the Eternals During Infinity War and Endgame?
This was a big question for a lot of fans as this movie was coming together and Marvel was being fairly tight-lipped about the plot. But, the trailer now lets us know that the Eternals are have been instructed not to interfere in the lives of humans unless Deviants are involved. This may seem like a convenient way to keep them out of the Infinit War story, but we’ll take it for now.
Characters and Cast
Part of the success of the MCU movies is Marvel’s ability to draw a mix of well-known actors, along with relative newcomers to take on roles in the various films. That is on full display in The Eternals, as they have reeled in some big-name stars among the cast.
- Angelina Jolie – Thena
- Salma Hayak – Ajak
- Kumal Nanjiani – Kingo
- Kit Harrington – Dane Whitman
- Gemma Chan – Sersi
- Richard Madden – Ikaris
- Laruen Ridloff – Makkari
- Brian Tyree Henry – Phastos
- Barry Keoghan – Druig
- Ma Dong-seok – Gilgamesh
- Lia McHugh – Sprite
The Eternals from the Comics
To give a little context for the level of power The Eternals have, it might help to note that Thanos was an Eternal in the comics. Although, his backstory in the MCU seems to have shifted a bit. In the comics, The Eternals were a group of people created by the Celestials as powerful defenders of Earth and humanity, with extremely long lifespans.
This is an update to an article we originally posted on May 4, 2021.
