MCU Theory: Knowhere's Dead Celestial Comes Back To Life

It's possible Marvel's What If...? will bring Knowhere's long-dead Celestial back to life. On the face of it, Marvel's What If...? animated series on Disney+ seems to be an anthology series - with each episode set in a different timeline. But so far, each episode has taken great effort to introduce a timeline that shows remarkable promise. What If...? episode 1 ended with Captain Carter awakening 70 years after she had become trapped in an interdimensional portal, while episode 2 teased a plot in which the villainous Celestial Ego attempted to consume the universe.

The late Chadwick Boseman recorded four episodes of What If...?, and while executive producer Brad Winderbaum has confirmed Boseman played different versions of T'Challa, that doesn't mean the variant seen in episode 2 won't return. In fact, trailers have shown shots of the various Multiversal heroes working side-by-side, including T'Challa's Star-Lord - and tie-in merchandise has teased the emergence of a new team called the "Guardians of the Multiverse," with this variant of T'Challa numbered among them. So it looks as though this timeline will be revisited in some way.

The obvious "sequel" story in the timeline established by What If...? episode 2 features Ego. But, surprisingly, another plot may have been seeded - the restoration of an ancient being on Knowhere.

Marvel's Knowhere Explained

Knowhere-Origin-Celestials-Eternals Cropped

In the comics, the Celestials were cosmic beings who were ancient when the Earth was young. They were created by the legendary Jack Kirby back in 1976, and he envisioned them as the ultimate "space gods," who traveled the stars creating life and judging the races that evolved on the planets they had touched. On Earth - and many other worlds - they created two evolutionary offshoots of the main race, Eternals and Deviants, who were destined to war forevermore. The Celestials have already been incorporated into the MCU, and they are tied somehow to the history of the Infinity Stones; a recording seen by the Guardians of the Galaxy showed one Celestial using the Power Stone to judge entire worlds, while in Avengers: Endgame Nebula described the planet Vormir - where the Soul Stone was found - as "the center of Celestial civilization." The Celestials are believed extinct in the modern MCU, although it's possible they will return in Marvel's Eternals.

Introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy, Knowhere is a mining colony based in the severed head of a Celestial who died millennia ago. In the comics, the Celestial whose head became Knowhere was slain by Knull, God of the Symbiotes, when he used the Necrosword to kill it; but the Celestial origin of Knowhere in the MCU remains a mystery. In both the main timeline and the one seen in What If...? episode 2, Knowhere has become the base of operations for the Collector - but his operation is much more impressive in the timeline where T'Challa became Star-Lord. In that timeline, he has become a galactic gangster whose agents have scoured the galaxy, and he has even succeeded in acquiring such remarkable objects as Hela's Necrosword, Thor's Mjolnir, and Captain America's shield. The episode ends with one of his more impressive artifacts being unleashed.

What If...? Episode 2 Introduced The Embers of Genesis

What If...? episode 2 saw T'Challa break into the Collector's base on Knowhere. His goal was to acquire something called the "Embers of Genesis," which were described by Nebula as "nutrient-rich cosmic dust from an ancient supernova with the power to transform entire ecosystems." According to Nebula, just an ounce of the Embers of Genesis could heal an entire planet within minutes. There's no direct comic book equivalent for the Embers of Genesis, although the effects associated with them are evocative of ideas seen in the X-Men franchise - notably of a living island named Krakoa.

Whatever the Embers of Genesis may truly be, though, a small amount of them were ultimately released on Knowhere. The effect was dramatic, with lush vegetation springing from the surface, spreading across the entirety of the Celestial head. The Embers of Genesis essentially created a brand new biome within Knowhere, consuming everything that had been there before. The Embers brought life back to this place again - and it's entirely possible they resurrected a Celestial.

The Celestials Could Be Returning In Marvel's What If...?

The Celestial Arishem the Judge hovers in space in in Marvel's Eternals

In fact, it is even possible the Embers of Genesis resurrected the Celestial being who had been slain millennia ago - and whose head had become Knowhere. As seen in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, in the MCU a Celestial is a comic entity whose physical form is basically just a shell woven together by their ability to manipulate matter on a molecular level. That is why Celestials can appear in any shape, or can possess any size - with Ego manifesting as a human when he encountered Peter Quill, while another seen in the second Eternals trailer was large enough to dwarf the galaxies it was creating. A Celestial only dies when the "living light" within it has been destroyed somehow; presumably whatever actually happened to the Celestial whose head became Knowhere did just that. But the Embers of Genesis can restore that which is barren and lifeless. That means the release of the Embers on Knowhere could well have actually resurrected this ancient being, beginning a process of restoration that will see a reborn Celestial walk the stars.

It's easy to see how this idea could factor into any sequel episode to What If...? episode 2, because that is already set up to be all about the Celestials. Ego believes himself the last Celestial, and his insane plan to absorb all of creation into himself is at heart an attempt to deal with the loneliness and isolation he has endured for as long as he has been aware. But the return of a long-dead Celestial would change everything, because no longer would Ego be alone. What's more, this being would presumably retain all the memories it once possessed, including of the Celestials' original mission. It's quite possible Ego's story in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will play out completely differently in the timeline seen in What If...?, with two Celestials working together - for a purpose that is yet to be revealed.

More: Every MCU Easter Egg In What If? Episode 2