Eternals is a 2021 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics race the Eternals. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Chloé Zhao, who wrote the screenplay with Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Firpo. It stars an ensemble cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie. In the film, the Eternals are immortal beings who emerge from hiding after thousands of years to protect Earth from their ancient counterparts, the Deviants.
In April 2018, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced that a film based on the Eternals was in development and would explore the group as ancient aliens living throughout human history. Ryan and Kaz Firpo were hired to write the script, and Zhao was set to direct in September. She was given significant creative freedom to rewrite the script, taking particular inspiration from Terrence Malick's films, and to use more locations and natural lighting than previous MCU films had. Casting began in early 2019 and Burleigh joined to work on the script ahead of principal photography, which took place from July 2019 to February 2020 at Pinewood Studios and on location in England and the Canary Islands.
Eternals premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on October 18, 2021, and was released in the United States on November 5 as part of Phase Four of the MCU. It grossed $402.1 million worldwide and received several awards and nominations, but it also became the first MCU film to not receive generally positive reviews. Particular criticism went to the screenplay and pacing, with commentators feeling it did not live up to Zhao's previous work or to previous MCU films. The themes and visuals received some praise.
Plot
In 5000 BC, ten superpowered beings known as Eternals—Ajak, Sersi, Ikaris, Kingo, Sprite, Phastos, Makkari, Druig, Gilgamesh, and Thena—are sent to Earth by Arishem, a Celestial, on the starship Domo. They are charged with exterminating invasive entities known as the Deviants. After the last Deviants are killed in 1521, the group's opinions differ over their continued relationship with humankind. Over the next 500 years, they mostly live apart, waiting for Arishem's orders.
In the present, Sersi and Sprite live together in London. After Sersi's partner Ikaris left her without explanation centuries earlier, she is now in a relationship with human Dane Whitman who works at the Natural History Museum. When the trio is attacked by the Deviant Kro, Ikaris arrives and chases the creature away. The three Eternals travel to South Dakota to reunite with their leader, Ajak, only to find her dead. Sersi is posthumously chosen by Ajak as her successor, granting her the ability to communicate with Arishem.
Sersi learns that the Eternals' mission was actually to prepare Earth for the Emergence of a new Celestial. Arishem explains that, for millions of years, he has been planting Celestial seeds inside planets where the energy from large populations allows new Celestials to be born. The Deviants were sent to destroy the apex predators of each planet to ensure the development of intelligent life, but when they evolved and began hunting the planets' native populations, Arishem created the Eternals to counter them. With the recent end of the Blip restoring Earth's population, humankind has reached the necessary size to allow the Celestial Tiamut to be born, which will result in Earth's destruction.
Hoping to delay the Emergence, the Eternals reunite. At Druig's residence in the Amazon rainforest, they are attacked by the Deviants. They kill them all except for Kro, who kills Gilgamesh before fleeing. Phastos proposes they use the Uni-Mind, a connection between all the Eternals that would give Druig enough power to put Tiamut to sleep with his mind-control abilities. However, Ikaris is loyal to Arishem and refuses to help stop the Emergence. He reveals that Ajak wanted to stop the Emergence and save humanity, so he led her to the Deviants and allowed them to kill her. Sprite joins Ikaris due to her unrequited love for him while Kingo chooses to leave, agreeing with Ikaris but not wanting to hurt his friends.
Makkari locates the site of the Emergence, an active volcano in the Indian Ocean, where Ikaris and Sprite attempt to stop them. Druig knocks out Sprite, and Phastos restrains Ikaris. Kro arrives and is killed by Thena. Druig is unable to put Tiamut to sleep, and Sersi instead attempts to turn him into stone. Ikaris breaks free of his restraints and goes to kill Sersi, but is unable to due to his love for her. Both he and Sprite join with the others in the Uni-Mind, and Sersi gains enough power to turn Tiamut into stone. Guilt-ridden, Ikaris flies into the Sun. Sersi uses the remaining Uni-Mind energy to turn Sprite into a human, ending her permanent childlike state.
Thena, Druig, and Makkari depart on the Domo to warn Eternals on other planets of the Emergences. Whitman professes his love for Sersi and is about to reveal a secret about his family history when she, Phastos, and Kingo are lifted into space by Arishem. Displeased with their treason, Arishem says he will spare humanity if the Eternals' memories show that humans are worthy of living. He vows to return for judgment and takes the trio into a singularity.
In a mid-credits scene, Thena, Makkari, and Druig meet the Eternal Eros and his assistant Pip the Troll. In a post-credits scene, an unseen person questions whether Whitman is ready to wield the Ebony Blade.
Cast
Gemma Chan as Sersi:An empathetic Eternal with a strong connection to humanity and the Earth, who can manipulate and transform matter through physical contact. Sersi has been in love with Ikaris for centuries and has a strong connection with Sprite. In the present day, she is a museum curator on Earth and dating Dane Whitman. Producer Kevin Feige said Sersi was the lead character of the film. Director Chloé Zhao said she and Chan were interested in creating the kind of nuanced female superhero that they felt was rarely seen in the genre, and Zhao felt Chan had imbued the character with gentleness, compassion, and vulnerability that would "invite viewers to rethink what it means to be heroic". Chan said Sersi was free-spirited and loved being around humans. Richard Madden as Ikaris:A powerful Eternal who can fly and project cosmic energy beams from his eyes. Speaking to the relationship between Ikaris and Sersi, Madden said the fact that they had loved each other for centuries showed a "deep level of romance" between the two. They are on opposing sides of how the Eternals connect to the world, with Sersi having compassion for humans while Ikaris is more disconnected. The biggest struggle for Madden was showing that Ikaris has "seen everything and done everything" without the character coming across as bored. Zhao's take on Ikaris was influenced by director Zack Snyder's interpretation of Superman in Man of Steel (2013) which left a strong impression on her for its "authentic and very real" approach. Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo:An Eternal who can create cosmic energy projectiles. Enamored with fame, Kingo becomes a popular Bollywood film star to blend in on Earth. Nanjiani wanted to combine the wisecracking attitude of John McClane from the Die Hard film series with the look of Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan. He studied Errol Flynn films and some of the original Zorro films to emulate "old school Hollywood stars whose characters really enjoyed fighting". Nanjiani, who is not a dancer, grew up watching Bollywood dances and spent several months training for the film's own such sequence in hopes of capturing the same energy and joy. He underwent rigorous fitness training to build muscle for the role, despite Marvel Studios being happy for him to look "normal", because Nanjiani saw an opportunity to create a South Asian superhero with a comparable physique to Superman and Thor. Nanjiani signed a contract to appear in six films, a video game, and a theme park ride. Lia McHugh as Sprite:An Eternal who can project life-like illusions. Sprite is in a permanent childlike state, appearing as a young girl despite being thousands of years old. The film explores her struggles with this, including her jealousy of humans who can grow old, know love, and have families. She has an unrequited love for Ikaris which Kingo compares to that of Tinker Bell for Peter Pan. Similarly, Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr.'s 2006 Eternals comic book miniseries compared Sprite to the never-aging Peter Pan and gave them similar short, red hair, which the film also uses. The film ends with Sprite becoming human and being able to grow old. Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos: An Eternal and an intelligent weapons and technology inventor. He is the first superhero to be depicted as gay in an MCU film. Lauren Ridloff as Makkari:An Eternal who can move at superhuman speed. The character is the first deaf superhero in the MCU. After starting to run more in anticipation of the role, Ridloff shifted to muscle building to have "the symmetry of somebody who looks like a sprinter". Barry Keoghan as Druig: An aloof Eternal who becomes frustrated with the inaction of the other Eternals in human affairs. He can manipulate the minds of others. Don Lee as Gilgamesh:The strongest Eternal, with a deep connection to Thena. Lee pursued the role to be an inspiration to the younger generation as the first Korean superhero, and was able to use his boxing training for the role. Kit Harington as Dane Whitman: A human who works at the Natural History Museum in London as a history professor and is dating Sersi. Salma Hayek as Ajak:The wise and spiritual leader of the Eternals, who has the ability to heal and is the "bridge" between the Eternals and the Celestials. Changing the character from a man in the comics allowed Hayek to lean into Ajak's femininity and make her the "mother figure" of the Eternals. Hayek was initially hesitant to work with Marvel, assuming she would have a supporting or "grandmother" role. Angelina Jolie as Thena:An elite warrior Eternal who can form any weapon out of cosmic energy and develops a close bond with Gilgamesh over the centuries. She also suffers from a psychological condition called Mahd Wy'ry. Jolie trained with various swords, spears, and staffs for the role, as well as taking ballet.
Additionally, Bill Skarsgård provides the voice of Kro, one of the Deviants, and David Kaye voices the Celestial Arishem. Harish Patel appears as Karun Patel, Kingo's human valet; Haaz Sleiman and Esai Daniel Cross respectively portray Phastos's husband Ben and son Jack; and Zain Al Rafeea plays a villager who comes across the Eternals when they first arrive on Earth. Harry Styles appears in the mid-credits scene as Eros / Starfox, the brother of MCU character Thanos, while Patton Oswalt voices Eros's assistant Pip the Troll. Mahershala Ali has an uncredited voice-only cameo as Blade in the post-credits scene ahead of a subsequently unproduced film for the character.
Production Development In April 2015, Marvel Television was working with screenwriter John Ridley to craft a new television series for ABC, "reinventing" an existing Marvel Comics character or property. This was revealed years later to be the Eternals, a race of long-lived superheroes created by Jack Kirby. Ridley said he was trying to make a superhero series that viewers had not seen before, differentiating it from Marvel's other projects, and said his approach would have been a "really weird story" that may not have been entertaining for everyone. It ultimately did not move forward with Ridley, and Marvel Television was folded into Marvel Studios in December 2019.