Warning: Spoilers ahead!
The Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it has been forever changed by the introduction of an ancient team of heroes from beyond the stars in director Chloé Zhao’s Eternals. Challenging what we’ve come to expect of the MCU from Phase 1 to now, Eternals is a beautiful, fresh take on the superhero genre. The film unleashed an epic new story, which was carried by a powerhouse ensemble cast.
Following the credits, a promising message was relayed to audiences: “Eternals will return.” So what plot threads could we potentially expect to see revisited in a sequel film?
1. The search for other Eternals
When Arishem revealed the true purpose of the Eternals’ existence, we learned that they have been used as tools to increase the population on planets in order to create new Celestials (and thus destroying the host planet and all of its inhabitants in the process). While some Eternals, like Ikaris and Kingo, understood this methodology and remained loyal to it to varying extents, others like Sersi couldn’t bear the thought of sacrificing planet Earth. Given that the birth of Celestials is key to the continued existence of the universe as a whole, this created quite the conflicting conundrum, though the Eternals ultimately decided to stop the emergence of Tiamut and save Earth.
The end of the film saw Thena, Druig, and Makkari take the Domo in order to seek out other Eternals to tell them the dark truth that has been repeatedly wiped from their memories over countless eons. Although this mission might temporarily be put on the back burner — because Sersi, Phastos, and Kingo have been taken by Arishem — we can likely expect to see them return to this search at some point.
2. Harry Styles as Eros
The film’s mid-credits scene had an extra special surprise in store for audiences — the introduction of Harry Styles as the Eternal Starfox aka Eros, brother of Thanos and the Prince of Titan. When Eros arrived on the Domo, Thena, Druig, and Makkari had been expressing their concerns over the fact that they hadn’t heard from the others in weeks. Eros informed them that Sersi, Phastos, and Kingo were all in trouble, but he also said he knew where to find them.
If Eternals gets a sequel, it’s likely that some of the plot will potentially revolve around this rescue mission, meaning that we would see Styles reprise his role.
3. Arishem’s judgement and the Eternals’ memories
As punishment for going against his direct orders, Arishem the Judge pulled Sersi, Phastos, and Kingo into space shortly following the diversion of the emergence. He told them that he was going to study their memories to determine if humanity was worth saving, promising to return for justice afterward.
Earlier in the film, it was revealed that all of the Eternals’ memories — which are wiped after each mission — are stored in some sort of large, organic honeycomb structure. Arishem’s judgement could likely incorporate this, taking a dive into a comparison of the previous lives that the Eternals have lived across various planets.
4. More on Druig and Makkari’s relationship
While much of Eternals focused on the multi-millennia love story between Sersi and Ikaris, another pairing in the background quietly stole the hearts of audiences. Many found themselves enamored by the sizzling chemistry between Druig and Makkari. Despite the fact that the two never actually kissed on-screen, their scenes together oozed with a cozy, undeniable level of intimacy.
There was a harrowing moment during the final battle when it appeared as if Druig was killed by Ikaris, which was heartbreaking both for Makkari and viewers alike. However, he ultimately survived, much to relief of literally everyone. The two opted to stay together as the group mostly parted ways at the end, joining up with Thena to seek out other Eternals outside of Earth. Looking to the future, we can hope to see the Eternals further explore the blatant and promising sparks of romance and affection shown between Druig and Makkari.
5. An explanation for Sersi’s enhanced powers
When the Eternals sought out Druig in the Amazon, they were ambushed by Deviants. While Sersi normally doesn’t engage directly in hand-to-hand combat, because her powers of matter manipulation don’t extend to sentient beings, she ended up tumbling into a pool of water while fighting one of them off. In the process, she managed to turn the Deviant into a tree, which was something she had never been able to do before. When the others asked her about it, Sersi had no explanation for this new and improved facet of her abilities.
Later, with the added help of the surge of power afforded to her through the Uni-Mind, Sersi was also able to kill Tiamut, and she turned Sprite into a human. Dane was disappointed to find that she still couldn’t turn him into a giraffe, though. This new facet of Sersi’s powers was never fully explained, and she didn’t seem to understand it either. In a future installment, we could hope to see a deeper dive into this.
6. Dane Whitman, the Black Knight
The second credits scene picked back up on what Dane had been on the verge of explaining to Sersi before she was taken by Arishem — he discovered he has an interesting family history. In the scene, Dane is shown psyching himself up to open a case that contains the Ebony Blade, a powerful, cursed sword that has historically driven those who wield it to madness. In the comics, this blade was forged by Dane’s ancestor, Sir Percy of Scandia, and the wizard Merlin.
Seeing as the sword has now come into Dane’s hands in the MCU, it’s likely that we’ll see him take on the mantle of the Black Knight. Before he can touch the Ebony Blade, an off-screen voice asks, “You sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?” The mysterious actor was none other than Mahershala Ali, who is set to enter the MCU as the human/vampire Blade. While this seems to hint that the Black Knight and Blade will be connected, it would be surprising not to see Dane potentially try to get involved in whatever’s going on with Sersi in a sequel film if he has newly discovered power at his disposal.
7. Additional flashbacks of the Eternals throughout history
The Eternals have been protecting Earth since 5000 B.C., and while the film takes place in the present day, much time is also dedicated to showing flashbacks of them throughout various stages of human history, detailing the advancement of mankind and the team’s growing and changing relationships with one another. These leaps through time serve as a foundation of the film, enriching both the story and the scale tenfold.
Given that the movie could only scratch the surface of 7,000 years of history, there’s still plenty of room in future installments to further utilize these flashbacks.
8. Crossover with other MCU teams and characters
Looking to the future, now that the Eternals have officially been introduced in the MCU, it’s likely that we’ll see them cross paths with various existing teams and characters. Considering their collective disillusionment with their 7,000-year mission after their true purpose was revealed, the Eternals may allow themselves to start “interfering” in non-Deviant threats on Earth moving forward — if they escape Arishem’s judgement. They would certainly prove to be useful given the state of the Avengers post-Endgame.
While this may not happen in an Eternals sequel film, we could easily see Eternals popping up individually or in small groups in various projects across the MCU.
Bonus: Karun’s Eternals documentary
Throughout the movie, Kingo’s loyal (and hilarious) valet, Karun, documented the Eternals’ adventures with a seemingly endless stash of video cameras (much to the dismay of the others). So … we’ll be waiting on the premiere date for that.
What else are you hoping to see in an Eternals sequel? Let us know in the comments!
Eternals is now playing in theaters. Make sure to check out our review.
