Marvel’sEternalsfilm, directed by Chloé Zhao upon release, was the most standalone project in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film, which was Marvel’s most existential and theological to date, was released in the fall of 2021 to mixed reactions from audiences and critics. It was the first film of the MCU to receive a rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it currently has the lowest Cinemascore of the franchise, with audiences giving the film a B-rating (tied with Quantumania). However, the stark new tone and direction thatEternalsbrought to the MCU has certainly earned it a dedicated cult fan base.
Even with Kevin Feige’s detailing of Phases Five and Six, along with the unveiling of The Multiverse Saga at San Diego Comic-Con a couple of years back, there has yet to be any word of when (or even if) the characters introduced inEternalswill ever show up again in the MCU. Despite the film’s less-than-stellar reception, Feige and other Marvel Studios producers have continued to speak about the impact of the film on the MCU.
In the documentaryMarvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Eternals, which was released in February 2022, Feige teased that “The impact the Eternals will have on the MCU will be nothing less than redefining the cinematic universe entirely.” Zhao also states in the documentary, “The film is going to have a big effect on the future of the MCU to a point where it makes me geek out so much as a fan that I was able to make a film that could ripple through the MCU like this.”
With statements like that, it seems likely that the Eternals are bound to show up again in the MCU at some point, even if those plans have yet to be announced by Marvel Studios. Now that The Multiverse Saga has been mostly following through on its solid roadmap, here is where the Eternals could show up again:
Update June 24, 2025: With theEternalstwo year anniversary fast approaching, this article has been updated with projects the team could show up in to reflect the future of the MCU.
Marvel Animation (Marvel Zombies, What If…?)
Although there is debate around the canonicity of the animated shows produced by Marvel Studios, the studio seems to treat the series as asides within the MCU under the overall umbrella of their multiverse approach. The first season ofWhat If…?is the only animated series Marvel Studios has released thus far, but they laid out their plans for a second season, as well asMarvel Zombies,X-Men ’97andSpider-Man: Freshman Yearat Comic-Con last month. It is yet to be seen howX-Men ’97will relate to the MCU, but the rest of the shows directly pull from and are inspired by the events of the live-action films and shows in the primary film universe.
Season one ofWhat If…?showed that the studio’s animation team has a strong desire to revisit as many characters as possible from the MCU, so it stands to reason that the Eternals could show up in the second and third seasons as well. Potential “What If” stories with the Eternals could be “What if the Eternals helped fight Thanos?” or “What if Ikaris joined the Avengers?”.
While it’s extremely unlikely that any Eternals will show up inX-Men ’97orSpider-Man: Freshman Year, there has already been one character from the film confirmed to bereturning forMarvel Zombies: Ikaris. The MCU’s Superman-like Eternal, played by Richard Madden, will return in a half-zombie form inMarvel Zombies, which holds a gritty TV-MA rating. This marks the first official instance of anEternalscharacter appearing in another property after their debut film. Though Ikaris’s fate in the core MCU is unknown, considering he flew directly into the sun at the end of that film, the character’s inclusion inMarvel Zombiesshows that Marvel Studios is interested in continuing his story in some capacity.
An Eternals Sequel
A direct sequel toEternalsis the most obvious point at which audiences would see the Eternals again. The ending and post-credit scenes ofEternalsleave a lot of dangling threads for their story in the MCU, which shows that Feige, Zhao, and the rest of the Marvel Studios team certainly had plans for continuing their story. There has been no official announcement about anEternals 2, and there have yet to be any reports about the development of a sequel. With the film’s underperformance at the box office and it’s less-than-stellar reception from critics and audiences, there’s a possibility that Marvel Studios has pulled the plug on their plans to develop anotherEternalsmovie altogether.
However, if Feige has shown anything over his nearly 15-year tenure as the head of Marvel Studios, it’s that he almost always looks for ways to follow through on what he sets up in the MCU’s films. He didn’t give up on theThorfranchise when it hit rocky waters withThe Dark World, and now the God of Thunder has experienced a massive second wind withRagnarokandLove and Thunder.
There are still many open spaces on the release calendar for Phase Six, and one of those spots could easily go to anotherEternalsfilm. It’s apparent that everyone who worked onEternalswas passionate about the material, and even Feige believed the film wasone of the best the MCU had made. Considering that, there’s a chance that Feige wants to see anotherEternalsfilm just as much as those who love the movie. So, not all hope is lost for a proper sequel toEternals.
In terms of the MCU’s live-action films, it seems that the most likely imminent appearance of a character fromEternalswill be in Mahershala Ali’sBladefilm, which is currently set for release on July 13, 2025. Although Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman was a human, not an Eternal, one of the post-credit scenes forEternalsteased a connection between him and Blade. In the Marvel comics, Whitman is one of a few characters to dawnthe mantle of the Black Knightand wield the Ebony Blade.Eternalsteases a complicated family history for Dane, which likely centers around the Black Knight and the cursed (and creepy) sword. The post-credit scene in question shows Dane opening a case with the Ebony Blade in it. As he goes to grab the sword, the voice of Ali’s Blade is heard off-screen asking, “Are you sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?”.
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While this doesn’t outright confirm that Harington’s Dane will be in theBlademovie as the Black Knight, and there has yet to be any official confirmation from Marvel Studios regarding Harington’s involvement in the upcoming film, it does create a connection between the two that is likely to be developed upon sooner rather than later. Marvel is always looking for ways to interweave their films together, even when the movies in question aren’t the most well-received. They even revisitedThor: The Dark WorldinAvengers: Endgame,their biggest film to date. The inclusion of the Black Knight inBladewould be an excellent way to introduce Marvel’s vampire hunter into the MCU while connecting him to preexisting material within the universe.
The Marvels
The crossover sequel toCaptain MarvelandMs. Marvelseems like a more likely place in which the Eternals could pop up again. The firstCaptain Marvelfilm is one of the most space-oriented films that the MCU has produced, andThe Marvelswill be the same. The character of Captain Marvel has been established as an Avenger whose primary focus is on helping the people of other worlds and galaxies. That is why she was absent for much of The Infinity Saga, and theMs. Marvelseries establishes that the public is aware of her interstellar heroics so Carol Danvers might come into contact with the Eternals who were taken by Areshem.
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On top of that, theMs. Marvelshow was also the first MCU property to directly referenceEternals, as Kamala Khan and Kamran discuss Kingo’s various in-universe films. While The Marvels might not feature a direct appearance by Kingo, Kamala could find out one of her favorite movie stars is also a superhero, which would make for an incredibly humerous moment. So far, there have been no mentions of the Eternals appearing inThe Marvels, but they could always be snuck into things as a welcome surprise.
Fantastic Four
This one is sort of out there, but it still is not out of the realm of possibility. While not much is known about TheFantastic Four, including a cast, as due to the SAG-AFTRA strike going on, no talks can be had; there are many rumors circulating around the film. One is that the movie will feature Galactus as the primary villain, and given that he devours planets, it is safe to assume he would come into conflict with the Celestials and might tie the Fantastic Four and Eternals together.
This would be a nice twist on the material. In the comics, the Fantastic Four have connections to the Inhumans, but after that series bombed, Marvel has pivoted away from those characters. With the Eternals also being a species of ancient alien super beings the Eternals could fill that void. They could transition into becoming supporting characters for the Fantastic Four characters and allow the Fantastic Four a bigger link to the wider MCU.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars
Even in a world where nothing from theEternalsis referenced in the entirety of Phases Five and Six, it would be hard to believe that these characters wouldn’t show up at all inAvengers: The Kang DynastyandAvengers: Secret Wars.TheAvengersfilms always mark the occasions of the most crossover between MCU properties, and withEternalsbeing a part of Phase Four, there’s a very good chance that these characters will factor into The Multiverse Saga’s climatic events ofThe Kang DynastyandSecret Warsin some way. Even if they only show up for a brief appearance, similar to the unexpected inclusion of the Red Skull inInfinity WarandEndgame, including the Eternals in these two films is a sure-fire way to ensure that everything from The Multiverse Saga is relevant to the ultimate two-parter finale.
ConsideringSecret Warsis likely to be a crossover event that surpasses the character count of evenAvengers: Endgame, there’s a high likelihood that the characters fromEternalswill show up during the film in some capacity. If they don’t, and these characters are entirely left out of The Multiverse Saga moving forward, that would then make theEternalsfilm a massive weak spot of the entire MCU’s story. Over the last 15 years, Feige has built the MCU into a franchise in which every entry, whether it be a film or Disney+ series, is important or expanded upon at some point. It’s doubtful thatEternals(again, a film that Feige loves) would be entirely left behind. So, for anyEternalslovers out there, take a deep breath, trust in Feige’s plan, and know that, at most, you’ll probably only have to wait until 2026, or a bit later than that, to see these characters again.
