How the Eternals will take the MCU to another level

Marvel is heading back to space — and now it’s going cosmic, immortal and god-like

THE MCU HAS done space opera before, in Guardians Of The Galaxy. It’s even explored cosmic characters with near-infallible powers, like Captain Marvel. But

The Eternals — a comics deep-cut that even well-read aficionados won’t be too familiar with— looks set to deliver a full-on gods vs gods adventure on an entirely different scale for the MCU.

Introducing the new team to the Hall H stage, Kevin Feige described the Eternals as super-powered “immortals who have been on Earth for 35,000 years”. In the comics they were created by another, even older race called the Celestials. We’ve actually already met a couple of Celestials on screen before — Kurt Russell’s Ego in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, and the enormous severed head/ecosystem of Knowhere in the first film. Concept art from Comic-con suggests that the Celestials will play a key role in the film.

The Eternals, however, were charged by their creators with protecting our planet against their warlike cousins, the Deviants — a race that, on the page at least, included Thanos. Could The Eternals be laying the groundwork for the MCU’S next big bad?

Whatever happens, director Chloé Zhao will be sure to keep such wild cosmic concepts grounded. She helmed one of the best films of 2017 with The Rider, and the potential merging of her intimate, arthouse sensibilities to a universe-andmillennia-spanning story could pay dividends. Marvel has gotten better at letting directors have more of their own imprint on the final product in recent years, and Zhao’s is a voice they’d do well to let shine. The cast is also impressive, and diverse, with Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie and Lauren Ridloff all set to star. Ridloff’s casting as Makkari is particularly significant, making her the MCU’S first deaf superhero.

There’s potential for ties to past and future films too. We’ve seen two Celestials already but Marvel loves to bring back characters in unexpected ways: don’t be surprised if Knowhere’s origins are explored. And since the Eternals represent the beginnings of human mutation, could this be how the X-men are finally introduced into the MCU?

Main: Marvel’s concept art for the planet-protecting immortals The Eternals (plus a few Celestials). Above: The cast, featuring Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Lia Mchugh, Angelina Jolie, Don Lee and Lauren Ridloff, who will play the first deaf superhero, Makkari.