Credit: Marvel StudiosAs Bob Iger makes a major directional shift at the Walt Disney Company, many potential projects have been shelved or otherwise gotten the axe, especially over at Marvel Studios. However, one fantastic flop might be resurrected with a new direction and possibly a new lead.
Marvel’s The Eternals (2021) was one of the studio’s first post-Infinity-Saga superhero teams outside the Avengers. A group of celestial beings from across the galaxy gathered together to fight an evil alien menace. It sounds like the plot of a great summer blockbuster but was met with lackluster reviews and the studio’s first “rotten” rating.
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With that information in mind, why on earth would Marvel want to revisit something that supposedly bombed? Even with its flaws, The Eternals still had a unique flavor that (at least in this writer’s opinion) offered a unique alternative to the likes of Captain America, Thor, and the Hulk. A rumor on social media (shared below) suggests it’s time to give them one more chance.
Eternals 2: Back From the Marvel Void?
ETERNALS 2 is NOT canceled, it TRANSFORMED (into another project) pic.twitter.com/p2pyzSLWNz
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) March 15, 2024
Described as a “scoopster,” @MyTimeToShineH shared that the Eternals sequel wasn’t cancelled, but simply “transformed” into another project. While it’s easy to point this out as hearsay, they aren’t the only ones sniffing around this claim.
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A report from ComicBookMovie.com shared a similar train of thought, following the tweet above with the following statement,
“We’d assume this means the heroes will either be joined by a much bigger character as lead – Thor or the Guardians of the Galaxy, for example – or that they’ll become supporting characters in another movie.”
If the Eternals are following a bigger character’s lead, that might make some suspect where they tie into the more recently announced MCU projects. Given the fact that Celestials are already a part of the universe at the time of writing, we already have two big leads.
The Legendary Star-Lord
Although his tenure with the Guardians of the Galaxy might be over, it’s safe to say that Marvel is far from finished with the legendary Star-Lord. Considering Peter Quill already has more than adequate experience dealing with celestial entities, it’s safe to assume that any activity involving the Eternals will get his attention.
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That being said, it’s probably more likely that Quill will be used to usher NOVA into the MCU rather than lead an entire team of alien immortals on their next adventure. Be that as it may, one other option was hinted at way before a certain new team of heroes was announced.
The Fantastic 4
It might be a little bit of a stretch, but it may have already been suggested that Marvel’s first family will eventually go toe to toe with their own celestial villain in the form of Galactus. Although the team has not needed the aid of the Eternals in the past, consider the image below. Doesn’t that horned crown look familiar?
While the image above is of the remains of a stone Celestial in the original Eternals movie, there’s more than a little resemblance to Galactus. It’s neither been confirmed nor denied that this is indeed the same character, but the resemblance and similarities between Galactus and the gigantic cosmic beings aren’t that much of a stretch.
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Ultimately, it’s still based on rumors and fan suggestions. Even so, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t evidence supporting these claims. With any luck, and fingers crossed that Iger doesn’t act too rashly, we’ll see Thena, Druig, Makkari, Sersi, Kingo, Phastos, Sprite, and even Eros again in some corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
What’s your Eternals theory? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!