Eternals producer Nate Moore explains how the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will recontextualize how fans view existing characters. Based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name, director Chloé Zhao's Eternals stars an ensemble cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, and Dong-seok Ma, Don Lee, Lia McHugh, and Lauren Ridloff. As part of the MCU’s Phase 4, the film will introduce a new team of heroes in the post-Avengers era.

Eternals will follow its eponymous group of immortals, who have been secretly residing on Earth for 7,000 years. As addressed in the movie’s trailers, the Eternals were instructed by their creators, the Celestials, not to interfere in any human conflicts unless their evil counterparts, the Deviants, are involved. Therefore, the Eternals stayed relatively impartial throughout history, including Thanos’ attack on the planet in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. When Hulk reversed the Mad Titan’s snap in the latter, an “emergence” occurred, which will prompt the Eternals to re-assemble.

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During Screen Rant’s visit to the Eternals set last year, producer Nate Moore explained how the film will recontextualize existing MCU characters. The Eternals have been around since long before the WWII events of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), setting them up as more than well-informed. Read what Moore had to say below:

“These characters again, have been around for all of the movies that we've loved and know the characters that we know to some degree, so there is a notion that it might recontextualize a couple of characters and how you view them. But again, it is also very self-contained to some degree.”

Eternals Poster

Suffice to say, the Avengers are famous in the MCU. Even though the Eternals have sworn an oath of non-interference, like What If…?’s The Watcher, they’ve presumably played close attention to the adventures of Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and the rest of the Avengers, and have most likely seen things audiences haven’t. The first Eternals trailer ends with the Eternals at a family dinner, discussing who will lead the Avengers now that “Captain Rogers” and Iron Man are gone. Madden’s Ikaris says “I could lead them,” prompting laughter from his fellow immortals. In the most recent trailer, Ikaris utters "Eternals assemble"—it’s clear that not only is he aware of existing characters, but maybe even a fan (or envious?).

Both the Avengers and the Eternals assemble out of necessity. Eternals is sure to outline the backstories and motives of each immortal, similar to the MCU’s first phase before they ultimately come together. It seems safe to assume that the events of the film will lead to other MCU characters becoming aware of their existence—whether this is revealed in a cameo capacity or mid/post-credits scene—changing the power structure and dynamics of the franchise as we know it.

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