The runtime for Marvel Studios' Eternals has reportedly been revealed, and it is longer than Avengers: Infinity War. Following the releases of Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the Marvel Cinematic Universe's next movie in Phase 4 is Chloé Zhao's Eternals. The film stars Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, and more as a group of superhumans created by the Celestials. They've been described as the MCU's most powerful characters to date.

Despite most of the general public having no knowledge about the Eternals from the comics, Marvel Studios is betting big that Eternals can be the next MCU franchise. Most fans of the MCU have continued to become more interested in the movie's potential as time has passed, with the final Eternals trailer offering a better look at the superpowers and Celestials it includes. It also continued to tease the massive scope of the film's story, as the Eternals' involvement in human history will see the movie take place across 7,000 years. Now, it sounds like fans will have plenty of time to experience Eternals based on the reported runtime.

Related: Eternals: Every Change To Marvel's New Superheroes We Already Know

The first reported runtime for Eternals has surfaced online and points to the Phase 4 MCU movie being 2 hours and 36 minutes long. The Russian "Film Distributor Bulletin" Kino Metro (via The Direct) lists Eternals with a 156-minute runtime. It is not currently confirmed if this is the final runtime for the third Phase 4 MCU movie. Tickets are expected to go on sale rather soon, so it shouldn't be long before this runtime is either confirmed or debunked as theater chains begin listing Eternals showtimes. Zhao was still working on the movie's edit in April, but with the release less than two months away, it is quite likely that the final edit is complete.

Eternals Poster

If Eternals' 2 hours and 36 minute runtime is accurate, that will make it the second-longest MCU movie to date, as it is 7 minutes longer than Avengers: Infinity War's runtime. Avengers: Endgame currently holds the top spot with its 3 hours and 1 minute length. This makes Eternals somewhat of an oddity in terms of what the MCU has done in the past, but it also speaks to the grand nature of the movie's story. Depending on what the official runtime for Eternals ultimately is, there is a chance it could drop behind Infinity War and Captain America: Civil War if it comes in 8 minutes shorter.

Eternals having the MCU's second-longest runtime shouldn't be too surprising, though. The film has ten main characters, plus Kit Harington's Black Knight, as well as the Celestial and Deviants. This puts the cast size more on par with an Avengers film than a more traditional first installment in a franchise like Guardians of the Galaxy or Black Panther. All of these characters and a story that spans thousands of years means Eternals needs a longer runtime to properly build out this new corner of the MCU without rushing through important moments.

More: Shang-Chi's Success Bodes Well For Eternals

Source: Kino Metro [via The Direct]

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