Black Widow
is set to hit theaters around the world on May 1st, and there are plenty of reasons to be excited about it. This is going to be the film that both the hero and the actress who has played her for nearly a decade deserve. Also, while it may be a prequel, Black Widow will deliver new elements of the overall story, and it might even help introduce a significant new team of heroes that will be explored in future TV series and films — that’s what a plot leak for the movie claims, at least. However, Black Widow is not the most spectacular MCU Phase 4 story of the year, and that’s because Marvel has scheduled a different kind of movie that will premiere in November. We’ve talked about this movie before, and we’ve explained why it stands out. We’re looking at the most impressive cast for a Marvel movie that’s not part of the Avengers franchise since Captain America: Civil War. That’s The Eternals, of course, with its massive roster of stars who will play several outstanding superheroes, some of whom will influence future Avengers stories. And it so happens that the Eternals plot may have just leaked in full. This is where I should tell you that you might want to avoid what follows below if you hate spoilers.
Before we look at the purported plot of the film, I’ll remind you that we have seen very little information about the film so far. We know the story will explore the history of the Eternals on Earth, and that it will span a few millennia. We also know that the Eternals are aware of the Avengers, but not the way around, which is an interesting detail that’s worth exploring in the film. What were these Eternals doing during Infinity War and Endgame, and — most interestingly — during the five years between those events?
More recently, we learned that two of the movie’s many heroes will be the crucial Marvel characters going forward, and we speculated that we might see them in future Avengers crossovers. After all, once the existence of these beings becomes known to regular humans, they’ll probably want to use their abilities to do some good.
This brings us to Kumail Nanjiani, the comedian who underwent a massive and astonishing physical transformation for the movie. he talked about the film on a podcast without spoiling any major plot points — or so he thought. A Redditor compiled all the information and for the most part, we’re looking at harmless details that Nanjiani shared. However, we’ve emphasized a couple of points that might turn Nanjiani into a Marvel leaker on par with Tom Holland and Mark Ruffalo, both of whom have accidentally let spoilers slip time and time again:
Mentions that they did most of the action filming in the second half of filming
Spoiler gets bleeped
Mentions they filmed mostly practical effects and not a lot of green screen work
Gives a bit of a rundown of who the Eternals are and gives a bit of a background of Kingo and his Bollywood star ways
Mentions he went to do rehearsals for a Bollywood dance, and he walked into a room of 50ish South-East Asians and was blown away that this was going to go on screen.
The talk about the diversity of the cast
Chloe Zhao just started editing about a week ago, and they showed the cast clips as they wanted if they wanted to.
Zhao was not intimidated by the size of the project and ran the ship as a director would
Brazil footage had a Lord of Rings sheen to it according to the host. Kumail says Zhao shot a lot during magic hour.
The way Kumail talks about Eternals living a low profile life, it doesn’t sound like there’s an amnesia thing going on like what has been speculated. They’ve been living on Earth for thousands of years to protect world from deviants.
Why is that Bollywood dance important for the film? Well, about five months ago, Redditors pulled some potentially big Eternals plot leaks from 4chan. According to those leaks, the movie will include Bollywood action:
Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) is the Eternals’ wisecracking, fun-loving fighter. While the others have chosen to lead unassuming lives on Earth, Kingo has used his abilities to become a world-famous Bollywood movie star.
At the time, there was nothing to confirm it. But now that Nianjiani mentioned this Bollywood detail, that whole leak is a lot more interesting. That’s not to say that Nianjiani is a Marvel leaker akin to Tom Holland or Mark Ruffalo, actors who have willingly or unwillingly spoiled big events from Marvel films. The entire Bollywood detail is so insignificant for the film’s plot that it can’t be considered a major spoiler. And Nanjiani likely had no idea about the 4chan leak, to begin with.
That said, here’s the entire Eternals plot, as taken from the infamous message board a few months ago:
The Eternals are a group of superpowered immortal alien warriors created by the cosmic engineers known as “Celestials” and sent to Earth to protect humankind from the Deviants, monstrous creatures also created by the Celestials that have gone rogue.
The Eternals arrived on Earth in ancient times and lived among humans throughout the centuries, always keeping their true nature a secret.
Sersi (Gemma Chan) is the Eternals’ spy and has psychic powers. Her mission is to protect their secret, but she enjoys living among humans and wishes her family could reveal their existence to the world.
Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) is an archaeologist who learns about the Eternals. Sersi is sent to erase his memories, but they instead fall in love, leaving Sersi divided between Whitman and her family.
Ajak (Salma Hayek) is the leader of the Eternals and has healing powers. She regards the Eternals as her family, particularly because they are not allowed to have children of their own.
Ikaris (Richard Madden) is the mightiest of the Eternals and can manipulate cosmic energy. He is loyal and protective of his family and fiercely devoted to their mission.
Thena (Angelina Jolie) is deadliest of the Eternals and has superhuman reflexes. She is brash, rebellious, and prone to breaking the rules, and carries a great secret.
Gilgamesh (Don Lee) is the strongest of the Eternals and has superhuman strength and endurance. He is sensitive and humorous despite his massive size and cares deeply about the others.
Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) is the Eternals’ scout and has superhuman speed. Her function is to travel the world, storing knowledge about the humans and the planet. She is deaf-mute and communicates through sign language.
Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) is the Eternals’ wisecracking, fun-loving fighter. While the others have chosen to lead unassuming lives on Earth, Kingo has used his abilities to become a world-famous Bollywood movie star.
Phastos (Bryan Tyree Henry) is the Eternals’ inventor. He is the most rational of the group and was once very optimistic, but has since lost his faith in humanity. He is gay.
Sprite (Lia McHugh) is the Eternals’ storyteller and can create illusions. Despite being permanently trapped in the body of a child, she maintains an upbeat demeanor.
Druig (Barry Keoghan) is the most dangerous of the Eternals and can control people’s minds, particularly their fears. Unlike the others, he despises humans and has his own plans.
The movie will span thousands of years and explore how the Eternals influenced the history of the MCU before arriving in modern times when Dane Whitman discovers the ‘Tomb of the Space Gods,’ which is capable of summoning the Celestials to Earth to pass judgment on humankind.
– The Eternals and the Deviants battle for control of the Tomb of the Space Gods, with Whitman caught in the crossfire. Unbeknownst to the Eternals, Druig is manipulating both sides to advance his own agenda.
Again, nothing is confirmed for certain at this point, but Nanjiani’s seemingly innocent remark has definitely made this earlier leak seem far more plausible. Eternals opens on November 6th, but we’ll undoubtedly learn a lot more about the movie before then.
