Eternals’ Original Ending Would Have Killed A Potential Sequel

Chloé Zhao has revealed the original ending for Eternals, which would have killed the potential for a sequel. After its release in 2021 as part of the MCU's Phase 4, Eternals became one of Marvel Studios' most divisive projects, with Zhao's trademark cinematography and intense character focus being praised, but with many feeling as though there simply wasn't enough time in the film to properly introduce ten new superheroes and monumentally expand the history of the MCU. Though Eternals had its issues, it's been reported that a sequel is in development, which could answer some burning questions left after the film.

Eternals director Chloé Zhao recently spoke to Empire about working with Marvel Studios and debuting this more obscure superhero team into the MCU, and revealed that the project originally had a very different ending. In the released version of Eternals, the action ends after the Eternals link using a Uni-Mind, transmuting Eternals' emerging Celestial Tiamut into marble, working against their purpose. This garners the attention of the Celestial Arishem, who steals Sersi (Gemma Chan), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), and Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) from Earth, with the other Eternals searching for them, and Earth's survival hanging in the balance, but this ending was almost wildly different.

Eternals Originally Had A Much Darker Ending

celestial arishem taking sersi phastos and kingo to be judged

Zhao revealed that they "had another ending that is really bleak," stating that while she is used to melancholy stories, the original ending didn't go down well with audiences, perhaps being too removed from the tone of the MCU. The lore laid out in Eternals confirmed that the team had visited various planets over their long lives, having their memories wiped after each Celestial emerged, before moving on to the next world. This trend was broken on Earth with the Celestial Tiamut, but the original ending would have in fact featured the Eternals having their memories wiped, and going to another planet in a scene reminiscent of Eternals' opening moments.

This would have made for a far darker ending for Eternals, and would have made the events of the film and the introductions to each of the characters practically inconsequential. The MCU's newest superhero team would have simply forgotten about their time on Earth and moved on as if nothing had ever happened. This would mean that the team would have no reason to return to Earth and fight alongside the Avengers in future battles, and would have also made the emotional deaths of Ajak (Salma Hayek), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), and Ikaris (Richard Madden) mean very little since they simply would have been replaced by the Celestials with new Eternals.

Eternals Had Its Problems, But Sequels Can Fix Them

richard madden as ikaris and gemma chan as sersi falling in love

The MCU's Phase 4 has been widely received as one of Marvel Studios' most divisive selection of projects, with many feeling as though the quality doesn't live up to the likes of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and some expressing "Marvel fatigue" because of the sheer volume of content being produced. Eternals became one of Phase 4's biggest casualties, despite being something completely new for the MCU, and expanding the franchise in a way no other project has done. Out of any upcoming project at Marvel Studios, Eternals 2 is perhaps one of the most anticipated, since it has the opportunity to fix the problems from the original film.

Eternals helped to flesh out the history of the MCU like no other project, so it would benefit Eternals 2 to use more historic flashbacks featuring the team's time living on Earth. The sequel could also be a more in-depth look into the mythos surrounding the Celestials, since they have been around in the MCU for years, but have received very little explanation. Eternals' post-credits scene also introduced Harry Styles to the MCU as Thanos' brother, Eros, so putting him front-and-center during Eternals 2 could help to connect the project better to the wider MCU, and also elaborate on Thanos' own Infinity Saga plan since this never really got explained.

Eternals’ Original Ending Would Have Ruined Eros’ MCU Future

harry styles debuting as eros in eternals post-credits scene

Eros was an interesting character to debut in the post-credits scene of Eternals, since his very existence as an Eternal in the MCU seems to complicate the new MCU origins of the Eternals. In Marvel Comics, the Eternals aren't robots, but an offset of humanity, with Thanos himself being an Eternal, though he carries the Deviant gene. This has been changed significantly for the MCU, meaning Eros must be a robotic Eternal, so his relation to Thanos will certainly need to be explained in a sequel. If Eternals' original ending had been produced, however, this would have been ruined, since Eros wouldn't have received a true introduction.

In Zhao's Empire interview, she mentions that she always wanted to debut Eros in Eternals, and always pictured Harry Styles in the role, but the original ending for the film would have almost swept this under the rug. Since three Eternals died during the film, and one was transformed into a human, there were several empty spaces on the team which would have been filled in the original ending, one of which would have been occupied by Eros. So while he still would have been introduced, there would have been no mystery surrounding his character, he would have simply been another mind-wiped member of the Eternals.

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