By developing the Celestials in Eternals, Marvel Studios may have already found a replacement for one massive Fantastic Four villain. The Celestials have been a force in the background of the MCU for a number of years, most notably getting featured during moments in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Thor: Love & Thunder, but Chloé Zhao's debut film in the Marvel sandbox fleshed out the motivation for these monumental, godly beings. Eternals' Celestials were introduced as the creators of the super-powered Eternals, overseeing their operation on Earth to ensure the emergence of the Celestial Tiamut, which the Eternals thankfully stop from occurring.

The primary Celestial featured in Eternals was Arishem the Judge, a giant, statuesque figure who keeps in contact with the Prime Eternal on Earth, first Ajak (Salma Hayek) and then Sersi (Gemma Chan). Arishem reveals the Celestials' origins in the MCU, stating that a Celestial seed is planted within a host planet and absorbs energy from the planet's growing population until it's ready to emerge, wiping out the planet and everyone living on it, but allowing new worlds to be created by the new Celestial. The Celestials' reliance on planets for their growth sounds strikingly similar to another major villain, so Eternals might have already made this much-anticipated adversary redundant.

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Arishem Shares Big SImilarities With Galactus

Arishem the Judge Celestial from Eternals in the MCU holding onto some Eternals

Since the confirmation of the Fantastic Four officially coming to the MCU, which is set to take place in Phase 6's Fantastic Four, many fans have been waiting patiently to see Galactus introduced to the MCU. In Marvel Comics, Galactus started out as Galan, a survivor of the destruction of a pre-Big Bang universe, who found himself transformed in the 616 universes, with the need to devour entire planets in order to maintain his existence. Galactus, and his most famous herald, the Silver Surfer, were regular adversaries to Marvel's First Family, with the pair even making a divisive appearance in 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer at Fox.

Eternals proved that there are many similarities between Galactus and the Celestials of the MCU, with a particular focus on Arishem. Both are gigantic, humanoid beings who tower over planets and use the planets themselves to extend their own survival, though this isn't out of a desire to harm or kill any other beings. Galactus devours worlds in order to survive, and Arishem and the Celestials destroy planets to enable their species to continue. These huge similarities suggest that Arishem could easily replace Galactus in the MCU, as if the latter were to appear in his traditional form, there'd be little distinction between Galactus and the Celestials.

How Arishem Can Fill Galactus' Role In The MCU

Galactus eating planets coming to the MCU

Along with several other projects in the MCU's Phase 4, Eternals came under a lot of scrutiny, primarily because of Zhao's attempt to introduce ten new heroes and expand the mythos of the entire MCU in only a short amount of time. Even so, the storylines started in Eternals are hugely exciting for the future of the MCU, especially those concerning the development of the Celestials. Arishem was only just introduced, and Eternals' cliffhanger ending leaves many doors open for his story to grow even further. Galactus' debut in the MCU runs the risk of overshadowing the godlike Celestials, so perhaps Arishem could replace Galactus as the next major villain.

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