Credit: 20th Century StudiosWhat’s next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Unfortunately for fans, rumors about the death of this MCU franchise are now being proven true.
Related: Marvel President Kevin Feige Shares Exciting ‘Spider-Man’, ‘X-Men’ Update
Following Robert Downey Jr.’s selfless sacrifice as Iron Man/Tony Stark and Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers passing the Captain America mantle to Anthony Mackie’s Falcon/Sam Wilson, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is now preparing to confront even more significant challenges.
During Super Bowl LVIII, Marvel Studios made a significant announcement via Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool/Wade Wilson) and “frenemy” Hugh Jackman (Wolverine/Logan): the eagerly awaited third film in the Deadpool series has been titled Deadpool & Wolverine.
Directed by Shawn Levy, who also helmed Deadpool 2 (2018), this third Deadpool film will be incorporated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (currently in its Multiverse Saga phase) after The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, now 20th Century Studios.
Now that Deadpool & Wolverine has opened in theaters to a positive audience response (and a less-enthusiastic critical response), Disney and Marvel are looking ahead to shape the MCU’s future — and trim down oversaturated Marvel offerings.
Is This Farewell to an Anticipated Marvel Hero?
Former One Direction member Harry Styles made an unexpected debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with a surprise cameo, introducing his character Eros in a post-credits scene after the somewhat controversial Eternals (2021).
Related: Disney Reportedly Scraps Harry Styles’ ‘Eternals’ Sequel
Directed by Chloé Zhao, the Marvel Comics-inspired film explores the adventures of the Eternals, a group of godlike extraterrestrials created by the Celestials to guide planets towards growth, development, and (spoiler alert) the propagation of more Celestials through the death of their host planets.
The Eternals movie featured a star-studded cast, including Gemma Chan as Sersi, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Salma Hayek as Ajak, and Kit Harington as Dane Whitman (and the future wielder of the Ebony Blade, Black Knight).
Additionally, Harry Styles joined the ensemble as Eros, another member of the Eternals, alongside Patton Oswalt’s Pip the Troll in the film’s post-credit scene — with a future story teased in a potential Eternals sequel.
Speaking to Inverse, Marvel President Kevin Feige broke his silence on the future of the Eternals franchise.
Unfortunately for fans of the film series, it seems as if the anticipated Harry Styles-centric (Eros/Starfox AKA Thanos’ brother from Marvel Comics) Eternals 2 is unlikely to happen at all:
There are no immediate plans for Eternals 2. There are, and I think you’ve seen maybe in a trailer we’ve released recently, an acknowledgment of some of those events. Certain giant things came out of the ocean.
Feige here is referring to the fact that the fictional metal, Adamantium, will likely come from the deceased body of the Celestial Tiamut seen at the end of Eternals.
This is the same super-strong metal that was fused to the X-Men mutant Wolverine‘s skeleton (and claws) and also teased during the recently dropped Captain America: Brave New World trailer, set to debut in theaters February 14, 2026, starring Anthony Mackie as former-Falcon Sam Wilson/Captain America, and Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus Ross AKA Thunderbolt Ross (likely the Red Hulk) following the late William Hurt.
It definitely appears that the MCU, and by extension, Disney and Feige’s Marvel Studios, are planning to streamline their franchise’s future. That means cutting out potentially more superfluous stories, films, and characters that have not immediately gone over well with general audiences.
Who knows whether this elimination of risks will serve Marvel well in the future? Could playing it safe come back to bite the precarious Marvel studio in the behind? Only time will tell.
What do you think about Marvel no longer planning to produce Eternals 2? Could Harry Styles’ Eros still join the big Avengers team-ups? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!