Marvel has had a massive year in 2019, with Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home beautifully concluding the Infinity Saga and making a boatload of cash at the box office, especially the former. Come 2020, the next phase of MCU adventures will begin, and Phase 4 will be a sort of reset for the cinematic universe. Marvel will introduce plenty of new heroes and villains, and thanks to Disney+, it’ll tell multiple stories in a new format. Some of the upcoming MCU TV series are already in the works and they’ll star the same actors who portray our favorite heroes on the big screen. The best thing about these TV series is that they’ll be intertwined with the upcoming Phase 4 films, adding more depth to those stories.
The MCU reset starts with a movie we’ve been waiting for years to arrive, a sort-of-but-not-quite origin story. Black Widow will mostly take place chronologically between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, and give us a better look at Natasha when she’s not a part of the Avengers. But the most exciting MCU film of 2020 will be the one that follows Black Widow, and Marvel finally revealed more details about the movie that’s expected to redefine the MCU.
As I’ve explained before, Eternals will be the biggest non-Avengers film in the MCU since Civil War when it comes to the cast. Marvel lined up an impressive list of actors to bring to life a Marvel story that not many people are familiar with. Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Kit Harington, Kumail Nanjiani, Barr Keoghan, Lauren Ridloff, and Lia McHugh will play several characters that will undoubtedly appear in other MCU films down the road, including future Avengers sequels.
We shouldn’t expect a teaser trailer for the film until next year, as Eternals won’t be released until November 6th. But Marvel has finally revealed a few exciting details about the film, which might convince some people to actually read the comics while waiting for the movie to hit cinemas.
Marvel boss Kevin Feige took the stage at CCXP19 over the weekend to talk about the MCU going forward, which is where he teased that the next Endgame is already well-underway at Marvel. He also spoke about the Eternals movie, as those in attendance were treated to scenes from the film. Those clips aren’t likely to make their way online, MCU Cosmic says, as is the case with plenty of Marvel footage showed at other conventions. But Feige did share with the audience some information about the film’s plot.
Eternals is set over the course of 7,000 years, from Mesopotamia to modern-day. Fans of the comics likely expected that, and we did have an Eternals leak a few weeks ago that confirmed as much. What’s more exciting is that the Eternals are very much aware of the Avengers, but not the other way around. And some of these Eternals might show up in future Avengers team-ups, including Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Black Knight (Kit Harington), who were members of the team in the comics.
The Celestials will also appear in the film with their “true enormous power.” The Celestials have already been referenced in the MCU — Star-Lord is half Celestial, because his father Ego is a Celestial.
Eternals might also feature a connection with the Eternals of Titan, which are relations of Thanos, but we might not see Thanos in the film, Feige said.
The scenes that Marvel showed at the CCXP featured the Eternals meeting with Druig in a cabin. Druig (Barry Keoghan) is a Deviant, but the Deviants of the MCU will not look anything like in the comics. Created by the Celestials, the Deviants and the Eternals will be at war with each other throughout the next phases of the MCU.
MCU Cosmic also notes that the film might introduce the first love triangle of the MCU, featuring Sersi, Black Knight, and Ikaris (Richard Madden). Ikaris and Sersi are in a relationship. Meanwhile, Black Knight and Sersi are expected to be the leads of the film. The report also claims that the Ikaris won’t be gay in the movie, as expected, although Feige previously said there will be at least one gay character in the film. While Valkyrie is the first gay character to have appeared in a Marvel movie, Eternals is said to feature the first character who will be openly gay. It might take 25 movies, but Marvel will finally get there.
Marvel might show more Eternals scenes at Disney’s shareholders’ meeting in a few months and at San Diego Comic-Con in July, at which point we should learn more details about the film. In fact, by July, the first Eternals trailer might even have been released.
