Every Deviant In The Eternals Trailer Explained

The final Eternals trailer teased several previously unseen Deviants for the upcoming MCU movie. The 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Eternals promises to introduce a plethora of new characters to the franchise, following Thanos' snap reversal in Avengers: Endgame. Eternals will bring a star-studded cast to portray at least 10 new Eternals, with heavy hitters such as Angelina Jolie, Kit Harrington, Richard Madden, and Salma Hayek portraying some of Earth's immortal guardians.

In the Marvel Comics canon, the Deviants exist in direct opposition to the Eternals and as a foil to their heroics. The Celestials created both races, with the god-like biomechanical life-forms experimenting with human DNA, splitting it into two sub-species. While the Eternals are blessed with immortal beauty, the Deviants appear as monstrous, mutated humanoids, although both sub-species possess an array of potent powers with which to do battle.

The final MCU's Eternals trailer revealed three new Deviants upon release. The most notable of these is Kro, a shapeshifter who also acts as the de-facto leader of the Deviants. The new trailer also gave a brief look at two unnamed Deviants, whose Marvel Comics inspiration appears more clouded. Here's every Deviant in the Eternals trailer explained.

Warlord Kro

Kro looks at an offscreen Thena in a cave in Marvel's Eternals.

In Marvel Comics, Kro is one of the oldest Earth Deviants, having lived for over 100,000 years before the MCU Eternals movie's events. His immortality sets him apart from others of his kind, making him perhaps the wisest of the living members of the Deviant race. Kro is also a shapeshifter capable of altering the process and structure of his body at will, which allows him to take many forms. He primarily utilizes his shapeshifting to hide his immortality from the other Marvel villains and Deviants, pretending to be the descendant of a long line of warlords with the right to lead the Deviant race. Kro has also been known to take the form of a demon to frighten humans and emulate the appearance of other Eternals in acts of trickery.

Like all Earth Deviants, Kro resides in the sunken city of Lemuria, which in the Marvel canon is at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The inhabitants of Lemuria often lay dormant, where they revere the Dreaming Celestial and plot against Earth's Eternals together. Kro is somewhat different in this regard. In addition to concealing his longevity from his brethren, he also has a tempestuous, 100,000-year-long relationship with Thena - the leader of the Eternals, with whom he also has two children. Thena (Angelina Jolie) is shown in the Eternals trailer interacting with Kro, first emploring him to spare humanity before being held in a trance by Kro, who tells her, "you can't protect any of them." While it remains to be seen how much Kro and Thena's relationship (and their two children) will play a part in the upcoming Eternals movie, what is clear is that his motivations and complexities far outstrip those of standard Deviants.

One of the biggest changes to the Kro seen in Marvel Comics is his physical appearance in the upcoming Eternals movie. While Kro's original design is very humanoid in nature, the MCU Eternals showrunners have clearly decided to up the ante for their assumed villain and bring his Deviant mutations to the fore in comparison to the comics' Kro. Comic book Kro's facial structure represents an ape's, but in Eternals, he has an extra set of eyes, and his body is warped with tendrils and sinew. His iconic pink armor from the comics is also done away with in favor of showing his mutated form, with MCU showrunners assumedly very keen to differentiate the Deviants from the Eternals for modern audiences.

Yet Kro's defining characteristics from the comics mean the entity presented in the final Eternals trailer may not be the only version of Kro seen by audiences. As aforementioned, Kro has the ability to alter his appearance at will, meaning Eternals could still be holding alternate Kro forms or even other Marvel Deviant characters up to their sleeve. The Kro shown parlaying with Thena may well be his true form, with his humanoid form brought back for the inevitable scenes in which he interacts with human characters throughout the course of the Eternals. Whatever the outcome here, Kro remains a compelling, multi-faceted villain who will be sure to enrich the Eternals movie, and by extension, the MCU by his very presence.

Bestial Deviants

Alongside Kro, there are two feral-looking Deviants shown in the final Eternals trailer. One of them, a winged creature with a gaping maw, emerges from the sea during the cataclysm event to fight Richard Madden's Ikaris. The same Deviant is also shown fighting Ikaris again over a jungle canopy in a different scene, hinting that it may have a bigger role in the movie. The second Deviant, a horned, shambling creature, fights Kumail Nanjiani's Kingo briefly in the desert before falling from a cliff.

One of MCU's Eternals' most jarring production decisions is to revert all Deviants (aside from Kro) into feral creatures. In Marvel Comics canon, all Deviants, regardless of their mutations, are sentient beings with great intellects capable of incredible scientific feats. This is exemplified by the Deviant's ability to genetically engineer and enhance living creations, with the most prominent example being Thanos' Deviant origin ability to amplify himself bionically. In the Eternals trailer, however, the two Deviants we see in battle are bestial in nature, with no indication they are capable of higher thought. Of course, the showrunners could be holding this reveal back for a big moment in the Eternals movie, but it seems more likely that the other Deviants have been stripped of their intellect to make the main villain, Kro, that much scarier.

While details on these Deviant's identities remain scarce, there has been rife speculation on what Marvel Comics Deviant characters inspired them. In particular, the winged-beast shown fighting in several clips from the Eternals final reveal trailer looks to have drawn some inspiration from the character of Ereshkigal. In the comics, Ereshkigal is a winged Deviant who appears to many Marvel characters in differing timelines due to her ability to move between dimensions. Ereshkigal's spider-god form, in particular, looks closest to the current Deviant design in Eternals, particularly its facial structure, with the only difference being the color palette and amount of legs on the Eternals model. In addition, Ereshkigal's dimensional travel could explain why the winged Deviant shown in Eternals is present both during the cataclysm and in the present day. Whatever the rationale, it will be fascinating to see what the MCU's Eternals does with such a rich trove of resources to base the Deviants on.

More: Every Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie