"Eternals" is expanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe like few movies have before it,
with a huge cast of characters, a grand scope, and backstory that spans thousands of years.
It's also full of Easter eggs and references to other movies in the MCU and beyond.
In playing Sersi, Gemma Chan joins the once rare,
now-growing “Two-Timers Club” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In case you don’t recall, Chan played the Kree sniper Minn-Erva in 2019’s “Captain
Marvel,” although you could be forgiven for not realizing it,
with the “Crazy Rich Asians” actor being basically unrecognizable under layers of blue makeup.
She's one of the few actors who played different characters within the Marvel
Cinematic Universe. But when you include other movies based on Marvel Comics, from Fox, Sony,
or Marvel Studios' non-MCU Marvel Knights brand, many actors have suited up for double duty.
That includes Chris Evans, who played Johnny Storm in Fox's "Fantastic Four" movies before
suiting up as Steve Rogers; Josh Brolin, who played Cable in Fox's “Deadpool 2" in
addition to the MCU's Thanos; Idris Elba, who appeared as in Moreau in “Ghost Rider:
Spirit of Vengeance” the same year he began playing Heimdall in the “Thor” movies;
Michael B. Jordan, who also played Johnny Storm before he became Killmonger, and even more.
This group will soon be joined by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, slated to play "Kraven the
Hunter" for Sony, previously seen as Quicksilver in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and Mahershala Ali,
soon-to-star in “Blade,” after previously being seen in “Luke Cage."
"Eternals” is said to take place roughly eight months after “Avengers:
Endgame,” around the same time as the events of “Spider-Man: Far From Home.”
When Ajak meets with Ikaris, she mentions the seismic events of “Avengers:
Infinity War” and "Endgame." According to her, the disruptive erasure and return of
so many people in the universe provided the energy necessary to kickstart the
emergence -- the world-destroying threat at the center of "Eternals'" plot.
“Thanos erased half of the population of the universe. But the people of this planet
brought everyone back with the snap of a finger."
Later, Dane Whitman brings up a big relevant question about
the Eternals' involvement -- or lack thereof -- in those events.
“Why didn’t you guys help fight Thanos? Or any
war, or all the other terrible things throughout history?”
Sersi justifies the Eternals' absence by saying that humanity would have never had a chance to
develop if the super-beings had spent thousands of years intervening in every crisis -- which
makes sense, even though it's not a good look -- even Pepper Potts suited up to fight Thanos.
Among other references to recent events in the MCU,
there's a news broadcast about the movie's suspicious earthquake,
and someone can be heard speculating that it might have something to do with “The Blip.”
Though it's happened plenty of times in comics, so far,
the Marvel and DC universes have yet to collide on screen.
That lends some significance to a couple of conspicuous lines in “Eternals.”
The first comes when most of the Eternals get together for a feast in modern-day Australia,
with some of the group catching up for the first time in centuries. When Gilgamesh meets
Kingo's documentarian friend, he asks if he serves the same function as Alfred in Batman.
"Don't wait up, Al!"
"I'll cancel the pizza!"
The second instance comes later in the film, as Ikaris visits Chicago and the human
family of Phastos. When Ikaris meets the son of Phastos, the boy remarks that he has seen him in
TV reports about the Deviants attacks, and that he recognizes him as a very specific superhero.
"Dad! That's Superman! With the cape! And you were shooting laser beams out of your eyes!"
"I don't wear a cape."
Now more than ever, it seems safe to say that most characters in the MCU know who Superman,
Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the rest are — if
only because they’ve seen many of the same movies and TV shows that we have.
"What's your superpower?"
The MCU has been going strong since 2008, but Marvel Studios is still trying to rile
up today's teens with timely references as the years go on. Fortnite, anyone?
"Thor, he's back. That kid on the TV just called me a dickhead again."
The most obvious example of this in "Eternals" is the movie's post-credits scene,
which brings Harry Styles to the MCU. But another mega-popular musical act
also gets a shout out in this movie -- the worldwide phenomenon known as BTS.
When we first catch up with modern-day Kingo, he seems to be having a blast.
The Eternal is a Bollywood star who has convinced the world that his father
(secretly him) and grandfather (also secretly him) were Bollywood actors
from generations past. Because he never looks any older, Kingo has been starring
in Bollywood movies for decades with names like “Shadow Warrior 2: Voyage of Time.”
As he explains his career in show business to his so-called “friends from college,” Kingo
makes reference to BTS. Within moments, we cut to the next scene — scored by the BTS song “Friends.”
"Eternals assemble."
As “Eternals” builds to its conclusion,
the reunited group pulls out all the stops in an attempt to stop the emergence of Tiamatk.
Phastos speculates that if all the Eternals were to combine their powers, it could be enough
to create something he dubs “the Uni-mind,” allowing them to stop the end of the world.
If you’re familiar with the Eternals in the comics, you know this is no mere speculation.
The Eternals have indeed employed the Uni-Mind on multiple occasions, which has sometimes
manifested itself on the comic book page as a gender-less being of light, mind and pure energy.
Typically, only the Prime Eternal can summon the Uni-Mind, which is why in the film you see Gemma
Chan’s Sersi taking the lead. The Uni-Mind never seems to take the form of a being,
yet it is clear that remaining Eternals have come together to support the hypothesis of Phastos,
linking their minds and becoming more powerful as a team than they ever could be apart.
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