How does Eternals fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? (2024)

FAQs

How does Eternals fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? ›

The Eternals are sorta the origin of the Marvel Universe

In the Marvel Universe, the Eternals are an offshoot of humanity known as hom*o immortalis which were created one million years ago by the enigmatic alien Celestials to defend Earth with their superhuman powers and abilities.

Despite its divisive nature, Eternals set up many huge events for the MCU's future, including Arishem's judgment of Earth and the emergence of the Celestial Tiamut. The Eternals could reappear in potential MCU projects such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.

The film takes place in November–December 2023, shortly after WandaVision and months before Shang-Chi. During the flashback to the day Ajak died, she states that the events of Infinity War happened five years prior to the present day.

Shortly after Starfox joined the team, the first encounter between the Avengers and the Eternals unfolded in AVENGERS (1963) #246-248. When Sersi resisted a summons from her people, she was forcefully returned to Olympia, with Starfox and Wasp accidentally taken along with her.

How does Eternals fit into the Marvel timeline? While there are plenty of flashbacks, Eternals is mostly set in the present day after Thanos' defeat in Avengers: Endgame. This is made clear in dialogue, and the film's creators have suggested that the film is set around eight months after Endgame.

Eternals largely stands alone—its narrative spans millennia and contains a rich history, just one that doesn't really retread any of the ground the preview MCU films had already covered. While Eternals doesn't have many ties to the MCU's past, it does set up what's coming next in the franchise in some big ways.

Despite significant events in Eternals, the MCU has not addressed the Emergence, leading to continuity questions in Phases 4 and 5. Tiamut's emergence could play a vital role in Phase 5, hinting at a potential war to take place in the MCU.

Marvel's Eternals franchise has revealed a pretty tragic connection to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – a connection that has been established by Marvel itself.

In the comics, Eternals aren't allowed to conceive a child. But this was proven otherwise when Thanos was born from two Eternals. As a result, he becomes host to the Deviant Gene, which alters his appearance but still technically makes him an Eternal.

Was Thanos saving Earth from Celestials? ›

Thanos wanted to preserve life in the universe (with very questionable methods, though), and The Emergence, which meant the destruction of entire planets, went against that. The snap would have become even more important to him as it meant the delay of The Emergence, thus saving planets and lives.

The film, The Eternals, occurs in the timeline after the Avengers defeat Thanos in upstate New York. At this point, there are no Avengers. The Super Team was no longer, after their two charter founders (Captain America and Iron Man) had passed on.

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.

After the Eternals set up their colony on Titan, A'lars and his wife Sui-San gave birth to two Eternals, Thanos, and Starfox. Meanwhile on Earth, Zuras gave birth to multiple children, one of them being Thena. This is how The Mad Titan is connected to Thena and the other Eternals on Earth.

The Eternals

So, Marvel's intergalactic team of god-robots didn't exactly set the world on fire when their movie released last year, but Feige isn't one to just give up on the characters he puts in play. Because of that, we expect to see at least some of the Eternals pop up again, likely in these Avengers movies.

The abilities of the Eternals - their strength, speed, power, intelligence, experience - outmatch the Avengers' at almost every turn.