Sam Wilson Was Planned For Eternals After-Credits Scene

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Eternals

Kaz and Ryan Firpo, the writers of Marvel Studios' Eternals, say that Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) was originally going to make an appearance in the film's end-credit sequence. The Chloé Zhao-directed film, overall, was one of the more isolated entries into the MCU mythos, largely steering clear of familiar faces and events from previous films. The two end-credit sequences that are present in the final cut of the film do connect to other corners of the Marvel universe, though they are forward facing in that they introduce brand new characters such as Thanos' brother, Starfox (Harry Styles), as well as the MCU's take on the vampire hunter, Blade (Mahershala Ali). No Avengers make an appearance in Eternals – an uncharacteristically bold choice for the franchise.

Prior to Eternals, every project of Marvel Studios' Phase 4 slate has tied into the overarching Avengers storyline in some way. Black Widow, along with the three original Disney+ MCU series, all explored characters that were previously introduced in the Avengers films. Shang-Chi followed an entirely new cast of characters, though it also ultimately tied into the events and characters of previous films like Iron Man 3 and Doctor Strange. Eternals marks a stark departure from this tradition by remaining largely insulated within the lore of the Eternals and their Celestial overlords. While the absence of legacy characters is one of the most unique aspects of Zhao's film, this was not necessarily always the plan.

In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Eternals writers Kaz and Ryan Firpo revealed their scrapped ideas for the film's end-credit sequences. According to them, early iterations of the film included an appearance by "Sam [Wilson] [...] at the very, very end, in one of the post-credits." However, the writers ultimately nixed this idea in order to delay the gratification of seeing the Eternals meet up with their Avengers-affiliated peers. Check out the full excerpt below:

There was a version where Sam [Wilson] turned up at the very, very end, in one of the post-credits, but I think it was something that... You're going to see these worlds collide, but it's gonna take a little bit longer than people are gonna expect.

Plus, I think in terms of the timeline, we just lost Tony, we just lost Cap, Natasha's gone, Hulk is currently working on himself I think to make himself human rather than smart Hulk, so I think that all the Avengers were just pretty busy.

I think we're happening more or less concurrently with Falcon and Winter Soldier, so everyone's got their hands full and I think you're gonna start to see the groundwork has been laid for something that's gonna happen in a very big way soon.

Sam Wilson practicing with the shield in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier

They go on to explain that the other Avengers were unable to appear as they "were just pretty busy." Given the interconnected nature of expanded superhero cinematic universes, the question of "where was X hero during this movie?" will always persist. Fortunately, thanks to Marvel Studios' uncanny ability at juggling their countless projects, the flood of post-Endgame stories in the past year make the Firpos' explanation rather plausible.

The writers' decision to exclude Avengers cameos from Eternals will undoubtedly have a satisfying payoff later down the line. The first meeting between the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy proved to be one of the most iconic moments from Avengers: Infinity War, despite the lengthy runtime and bloated cast of characters. Hopefully, the first meeting between the Eternals and the Avengers will prove to be just as memorable.

More: All 6 MCU Movies Set Up By Eternals