Eternals premiered in cinemas on November 5, 2021, and despite the divisive movie suffering a lot of online backlash at the time, Marvel fans have been celebrating the anniversary of the film’s release. Arriving as one of the early movies in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Eternals held only a limited connection to the previous movies of the MCU and instead took on the huge task of introducing a whole new group of heroes to the Marvel ranks.
Eternals featured an ensemble cast, which included Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, Gemma Chan and even a cameo by Harry Styles, and not only introduced the Eternals group but also gave a better look at the Celestials and hinted at a cosmic clash coming in a future MCU saga beyond the Multiverse Saga.
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Despite receiving a lot of negative reviews, and many online troll comments over its massively diverse cast and inclusivity, the film was still a strong hit for Marvel, especially coming in the middle of the Covid pandemic. For that reason, there were plenty of fans looking to celebrate the anniversary of the movie’s release on social media as you can see if the posts below.
Which MCU Movies Does Eternals Set Up?
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Kevin Feige is well known for taking his time when developing future Marvel Cinematic Universe storylines. The first mention of Celestials came back in the early appearances of the Guardians of the Galaxy almost a decade ago, and they were given their first major role since then in Eternals, with a cliffhanger promise that they will feature sometime in the future. However, they are unlikely to play a big role in the Multiverse Saga, and are much more likely to be part of a future saga based around the cosmic aspects of the Marvel canon, which have previously been touched on with the Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel movies.
Another big tease from Eternals came in the post-credits scene when Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman heard a warning from the voice of Blade while about to pick up the Ebony Blade. While Mahershala Ali did not appear in the scene, reportedly due to the final details of Blade’s look not being completed, it was his voice that was heard ahead of his first outing as Blade in 2024.
Although one year on from its release Eternals is still mostly disconnected from the rest of the MCU, but that is perfectly fine as any plan for the characters would likely detract from Marvel’s build up of Kang the Conquerer and the Multiverse Saga. However, Eternals producer Nate Moore recently promised more from the now separated Eternals group, commenting, “I don’t want to spoil anything, but we have not seen the last of those characters.”
There was very little chance that Eternals would ever be a one-shot appearance, even before the movie ended on its cliffhanger and post-credit teases. The real question is when these teases will be paid off, as Marvel already has quite a hefty schedule of releases, and with other incoming groups like the X-Men and Fantastic Four on the horizon, fans will need to be patient to get their next look at the Eternals.
