For one of Marvel Studios' biggest upcoming movies, Eternals is keeping a pretty low profile.
If you're still in the dark on the MCU's newest superhero team, here's everything you need
to know about them, and how their film fits into Phase 4 — from its far-reaching connections
to existing characters to its diverse and exciting cast.
Eternals was officially announced on July 20th, 2019 at San Diego Comic-Con, and Marvel
wasted no time in confirming a few details about the movie — namely, that it's scheduled
to premiere on November 6th, 2020.
Although the film was only just confirmed at Comic-Con, Marvel fans had been hearing
news about an Eternals film being in the works since at least the spring of 2018.
By 2019, word began getting out about which actors were in talks to star in the film,
and before the film was even announced at Comic-Con, production was already in its early
stages in London.
Of course, November 2020 may feel like a long wait, but Marvel fans will be able to tide
themselves over with the release of Black Widow on May 1st, 2020 and The Falcon and
the Winter Soldier on Disney Plus in the fall of that year.
"I'll do my best."
"That's why it's yours."
Even long-time Marvel fans might not be too knowledgeable about exactly who the Eternals
are, or the exact details of their role in the Marvel Universe.
After all, they only first appeared in a relatively limited run of comic books in the mid 1970s
and '80s.
Their storyline was revived for a miniseries by Neil Gaiman in 2006, however, which brought
the characters into the modern Marvel universe.
So who are the Eternals, and what is their significance to the Marvel universe?
According to Marvel lore, an alien species called the Celestials visited Earth millions
of years ago and began carrying out experiments on early humans.
One off-shoot of these experiments were the Eternals, beings that looked like humans yet
possessed abilities like flight, mind reading, and an almost unbelievable level of strength
and endurance.
Their superpowers and resilience made them essentially immortal and indestructible.
But the Celestials' experiments were also responsible for the creation of the Deviants,
another group of humanoids who were burdened with genetic mutations and grotesque appearances.
Humans mistook the Eternals for gods, and the Eternals often clashed with the Deviants
to protect humanity.
However, the Eternals weren't unfailingly perfect, either — as will likely be depicted
in the film, they can often be misled and instigate conflicts among themselves.
At this point, the MCU has introduced a countless number of characters from the original Marvel
comics.
But have fans been introduced to any of the Eternals yet?
Well, kind of.
In the comics, Thanos, who destroyed half of all life in the universe and was finally
defeated by the Avengers in Endgame, was actually an Eternal.
And yeah, that might seem a little confusing — especially since the Eternals were supposed
to be protecting humanity, not wiping it out, and tend to be able to physically blend in
among humans, too.
But Thanos was a bit of a wildcard, because he also possessed a recessive Deviant gene,
explaining his appearance.
His status as an outlier, however, means you can reasonably expect that most of the characters
in Eternals will be entirely new to the MCU.
In fact, given that the MCU has never shied away from streamlining their characters' dense
histories for the screen, it's entirely possible that Thanos may not even come up.
Then again…
"I am inevitable."
Eternals actually shares a connection with one other film in the MCU.
In Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, Peter Quill's father, Ego, tells Peter that he is
a Celestial, and is portrayed as possessing god-like abilities.
Ego is millions of years old, and is also able to manipulate the matter of the universe
around him.
By the time we meet him in Guardians Volume 2, he has managed to form a whole planet around
himself, but he can also inhabit a human body.
"I don't know where I came from, exactly.
First thing I remember is flickering, adrift in the cosmos, utterly and entirely alone."
If you've seen Guardians Volume 2, you'll know what happens next — and if you haven't,
then let's just say that Ego isn't quite as benevolent as he first appears.
It's also probably safe to say that Celestials clearly aren't an all-powerful force for good
in the universe.
There's a good chance they're going to show up once more during Eternals too, and judging
by how they've come across so far, there's a good chance they could be driving the movie's
primary conflict.
Unfortunately for spoiler-hungry Marvel fans, pretty much everyone involved with Eternals
is keeping the movie's exact details largely under wraps.
As of right now, the only real clues anyone has about the plot come from a few vague comments
from studio president Kevin Feige after Comic-Con.
He told ComicBook.com:
"It will be a story that will introduce you to this incredibly eclectic group of immortals,
they're the focus of the story.
[...] The Celestials go back a long way.
We know a little bit about them.
The Collector told us about Celestials, Knowhere is the severed head of a Celestial.
Ego was involved with them, but we learn much more about their agenda and what they've been
up to."
If you want to form your own predictions about what might happen in the film this early on,
you'll have to turn to the original comics.
There's a good chance the plot will be inspired by the more recent Neil Gaiman miniseries,
in which the Eternals have assumed normal human identities and forgotten their origins.
Sources have also told The Hollywood Reporter that the film will include a love story between
Ikaris and another Eternal, Sersi — but at this point, this is all just speculation.
As of right now, what could actually happen is anyone's guess.
The cast of The Eternals is rounded out with A-listers and rising stars alike, and while
big names alone can never guarantee a movie's success, it seems like Marvel have given fans
a lot to look forward to nonetheless.
For example, Richard Madden, who rose to fame playing the ill-fated Robb Stark in Game of
Thrones, has signed on to play Ikaris.
Ikaris is known as the "Prime Eternal" in the comics, meaning that he is more powerful
than the other Eternals.
He is fueled by cosmic energy, and can move at superspeed and communicate telepathically.
His sheer physical strength and agility also makes him a formidable opponent in combat.
In fact, there's little that Ikaris can't do, and there's a good chance that Eternals
will be centered around Ikaris as one of the main protagonists.
If it seems like Madden's name has been everywhere lately, you're not imagining things.
He starred in the critically-acclaimed British TV series Bodyguard, and also played John
Reid in Rocketman, the musical biopic of Elton John's life.
"Get in the studio and make some music or don't.
I don't care."
From the looks of it, being killed off in Game of Thrones was one of the best things
that could ever have happened to his career.
When word got out that Angelina Jolie was in talks to appear in The Eternals, the prevailing
rumor was that she would be signing on to play the Eternal Sersi.
But at Comic-Con, it was confirmed that Jolie was actually playing a different Eternal,
Thena.
In the Marvel Universe, the city of Athens, Greece was reportedly built for Thena, not
the goddess Athena, as is the case in our universe.
In Marvel's history, human beings confusing Thena and Athena bred hostility between the
Eternals and the Olympic gods of Greek mythology, eventually leading to an all out war.
In Gaiman's Eternals comics, Thena works as a researcher at Stark Enterprises and starts
remembering her past as an Eternal through a series of recurring nightmares.
Jolie is definitely the biggest name attached to this film right now, and she's ecstatic
to be part of the MCU.
She told The Hollywood Reporter:
"I'm going to work ten times harder.
I know what we all need to do, we have all read the script, we all know what the task
ahead is, and we know what you deserve, so we are all going to be working very, very
hard."
Madden and Jolie joining the MCU is definitely big news, but the Eternals casting getting
the most positive buzz right now is Lauren Ridloff's role as Makkari.
You may know Ridloff from her previous work on The Walking Dead, or her former title as
Miss Deaf America, which she held from 2000 through 2002.
Ridloff was born Deaf, and as one of the few Deaf actors in Hollywood, she has always wanted
to see more representation for her community on screen.
Now, she has made film history as the first deaf superhero in the MCU.
Her casting represents a major change from the original comics — Makkarri was actually
a male character, and he wasn't written as deaf.
But the reception to this change has been positive so far, and fans are looking forward
to seeing Ridloff's portrayal of Makkari, an Eternal with the power of super speed.
At Comic-Con, Ridloff was asked about her feelings on playing Makkari and becoming Marvel's
first Deaf superhero.
She replied:
"I do have a son.
And he asked me after he read Greek mythology, he was reading through that, and he's like,
'What does honor mean?'
This.
This is what honor means.
I'm so honored to be here."
Overall, the rest of the cast of The Eternals is pretty stacked.
Kumail Nanjiani will be playing Kingo, an Eternal who rarely uses utilizes his actual
superpowers.
Instead, he spent years studying with the Samurai in Japan and now wields a sword with
the ability to cut through any material.
Brian Tyree Henry will be appearing as Phastos, who basically develops all of the high-tech
gear and equipment that the Eternals need.
Salma Hayek has signed on to play Ajak, who often has to serve as a diplomat between the
Eternals and the Celestials.
This is because Ajak was originally the only Eternal with the ability to directly communicate
with their creators.
Don Lee is taking on the role of Gilgamesh, an Eternal who has fought alongside the Avengers
on numerous occasions, but has been largely overlooked until now.
Lia McHugh, the youngest member of the main cast, is playing Sprite — as the name suggests,
she's a mischievous trickster whose pranks have always gotten her into trouble.
New cast members will undoubtedly be announced as production continues.
Director Chloe Zhao will be at the helm of Eternals.
Zhao is a newcomer to the world of Marvel.
In fact, she's relatively new to Hollywood in general — she directed her first feature
film, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, in 2015.
She's best known for her 2017 contemporary Western film The Rider, which follows a young
cowboy after an accident nearly kills him and brings an end to his riding career.
The Rider was nominated for both Best Feature and Best Director at the 33rd Independent
Spirit Awards.
Zhao's history as an indie filmmaker makes her an interesting choice for director.
This film definitely represents a new artistic direction for Zhao, but considering her numerous
accolades, there's no doubt that the movie is in good hands.
Cousins Matthew and Ryan Firpo teamed up to write the script.
The two have one film, Ruin, in pre-production already, but a release date is yet to be announced,
and this movie will most likely be their feature writing debut.
In short, it's clear Eternals is filled with fresh talent — both behind and in front
of the camera.
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