Posted in: Marvel Studios, Movies, Phase 4 | Tagged: eternals, marvel, movies

Eternals Is a More "Stand-Alone" Movie & Might Not Get a Direct Sequel

Published Thu, 04 Nov 2021 13:28:09 -0500

The longer the Marvel Cinematic Universe goes on, the harder it becomes to get into it. This is a problem that comics have run into for many years and why we have so many line-wide reboots. It's inevitable that things become more and more confusing to new fans as time goes on. That's just the thing that happens with interconnected storytelling. Eternals makes its way to the big screen tonight, and according to producer Nate Moore to the Toronto Sun, this is probably one of the most stand-alone Marvel movies that we've seen in a long time.

"I think the Infinity Stones fell into our lap and really helped connect things in ways that felt unexpected and earned," he says. "If you just watch Eternals, you can enjoy Eternals, you can understand Eternals and you're good to go."

14 HQ Images from Eternals Showcases the Entire Cast, 2 BTS images — (L-R): Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) and Sersi (Gemma Chan) in Marvel Studios' ETERNALS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

A more self-contained story makes sense considering the angle that this movie is coming from. Because of that new and different angle, Eternals could end up being one of those Marvel movies that don't need a direct sequel the way that so many other Marvel movies do.

"It's not something that is a must-have. Obviously, we have ideas of where we could go, but there isn't a hard and fast rule where we have to have three of these things and this is the first."

So far, the critical reception to Eternals has been pretty lukewarm, but we'll have to see how audiences end up reacting to it. Honestly, even if this movie ends up being a flop, there are only six weeks until Spider-Man: No Way Home comes out and less than a month before Hawkeye drops on Disney+. There is a very good chance that the Marvel machine will take an underperforming movie, both critical and commercially, and just keep rolling on.

Marvel Studios' "Eternals" follows a group of heroes from beyond the stars who had protected the Earth since the dawn of man. When monstrous creatures called the Deviants, long thought lost to history, mysteriously return, the Eternals are forced to reunite in order to defend humanity once again.

Eternals, directed by Academy Award Winning director Chloé Zhao, and stars Gemma Chan as humankind-loving Sersi, Richard Madden as the all-powerful Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as cosmic-powered Kingo, Lia McHugh as the eternally young, old-soul Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as the intelligent inventor Phastos, Lauren Ridloff as the super-fast Makkari, Barry Keoghan as aloof loner Druig, Don Lee as the powerful Gilgamesh, with Kit Harington as Dane Whitman, with Salma Hayek as the wise and spiritual leader Ajak, and Angelina Jolie as the fierce warrior Thena. It will be released in theaters on November 5, 2021.