Where Are The Eternals In Phases 5 & 6? MCU Future Explained

After a lot of speculation about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kevin Feige revealed the full Phase 4 and 5 slates as well as three movies from Phase 6, and as exciting as these announcements were, there were some big absentees, such as the Eternals – so what’s next for the team in the Multiverse Saga? With the Infinity Saga now over, the MCU moved forward with its highly-anticipated Phase 4, which continued the stories of well-established characters and introduced new heroes, villains, concepts, and events – however, Phase 4 felt disconnected and the MCU’s future was unclear, and that continues to be the case with the Eternals.

With the original Avengers team no longer active, the MCU introduced a new superhero team in Chloé Zhao’s Eternals, and it’s one that has been around for longer than any other team in the MCU. The Eternals are a group of synthetic beings created by the Celestial Arishem the Judge and who were sent to Earth centuries ago to protect it from the Deviants, their evil counterparts. Once the Deviants were defeated, the Eternals stayed on Earth waiting for a sign to return “home” and helped humanity evolve, though they weren’t allowed to interfere in their conflicts. The Eternals parted ways and re-teamed many decades later after the death of their leader, Ajak (Salma Hayek), the return of the Deviants, and the fast approach of an apocalyptic event called “The Emergence”, which was the birth of a new Celestial, Tiamut, from the center of Earth. The surviving Eternals managed to stop Tiamut’s birth and the team was divided into two groups, but Eternals left the audience with a major cliffhanger.

At the end of Eternals, Sersi (Gemma Chan), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), and Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) decided to stay on Earth but were taken by Arishem to judge their actions and see if humans were worth saving, while Thena (Angelina Jolie), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), and Druig (Barry Keoghan) left Earth on the Domo and came across Eros/Starfox (Harry Styles), a fellow Eternal offering his help to find the rest. Eternals was different from previous MCU movies and turned out to be quite divisive, and the MCU so far has failed to integrate them and has ignored the events of their movie, leaving a huge question mark over their future… and their absence from the rest of the plans for the Multiverse Saga only made their future more complicated.

Is Eternals 2 Happening?

Marvel doesn’t take too long to tease or confirm sequels, but that hasn’t been the case with Eternals. Given its more somber tone, slower pace, and more, Eternals was met with mixed reviews that led to it being the lowest-rated MCU movie to date, with critics praising its themes and visuals but criticizing its pacing, story, and character development. At the box office, Eternals performed better than previous MCU Phase 4 movies, but that alone hasn’t been enough to grant it a sequel. Not long after its release, Eternals screenwriters Ryan and Kaz Firpo expressed interest in a prequel series for Disney+, but there haven’t been any updates on that ever since, while Feige has only shared that they are excited to further explore the characters of Eros and his assistant Pip the Troll (voiced by Patton Oswalt). The future of Eternals, then, remains unknown, and while there’s still hope for Eternals 2 to be greenlit, it might take long for viewers to learn what happened to Sersi and company.

Will The Eternals Return In Other Phase 5 & 6 Movies?

The Eternals standing together as a team on a beach.

Marvel Studios made a triumphant return to San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H in 2022, and as expected, Kevin Feige arrived with a lot of surprises to share. During the panel, Feige revealed that the MCU’s Phase 4 will end with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will kick off Phase 5. Feige also unveiled the full Phase 5 slate, which just like Phase 4, is formed by movies and TV shows, and there seem to be no gaps that need to be filled. Last but definitely not least, Feige revealed three movies from Phase 6, of which two will be the big events that close the Multiverse Saga: Fantastic Four, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers: Secret Wars.

As exciting as these announcements were, there are some big names absent from Marvel’s Phase 5 and 6 plans so far, such as the Eternals, but it’s still possible for them to show up in some of those confirmed movies. Movies like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Marvels are part of the MCU’s cosmic side, so they could drop some references at the Eternals, connect to their story, or tease their future in a post-credits scene. Of course, there’s also the possibility of Eternals 2 being one of the movies yet to be confirmed as part of Phase 6, which would give Marvel more time to integrate them and finally address the events of their first movie.

Will The Eternals Appear In Avengers: Kang Dynasty & Secret Wars?

Kang will appear next in The Eternals before Antman and the wasp

The Infinity Saga saw a major event split into two parts with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and the Multiverse Saga will follow these steps with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. Details on the next two Avengers movies are unknown, but from what the titles imply, they will see all the MCU heroes joining forces once more, and that should mean that the Eternals will be included. The Eternals weren’t allowed to interfere in the problems of humans because Tiamut needed a certain amount of energy from humans to be born, but with his birth stopped, there shouldn’t be a reason for the Eternals not to join the rest of the MCU’s heroes in the next Avengers movies – but first, half the team has to be rescued and Eros has to be properly introduced.

What About Black Knight? Where Is He In Phases 5 & 6?

Dane Whitman in front of the Black Knight's Ebony Blade

The title team weren’t the only characters introduced in Eternals, as there’s also Dane Whitman (Kit Harington), whose transformation into Black Knight was teased in a mid-credits scene. In the comics, Dane Whitman becomes Black Knight after his uncle’s death, who passes the mantle onto him and gives him the Ebony Blade, a sword forged by Merlin and Sir Percy from the Starstone meteorite. The Sword was enchanted to cut through any object, prevent the death of its wielder, and deflect any magic, but all this comes with a big price: the Ebony Blade carries a curse that slowly corrupts those who use it and causes a lust for violence, bloodshed, and death. The Ebony Blade appeared in the aforementioned mid-credits scene in Eternals, where Dane opened the chest containing the blade and was about to touch it when he was interrupted by Blade (Mahershala Ali).

Unlike the Eternals, Black Knight has bigger chances of coming back in Phases 5 and 6 of the MCU due to his link to Blade and the supernatural side of the MCU. Among the rumored future appearances of Black Knight in the MCU is the Halloween special starring Werewolf By Night (Gael García Bernal), but given Blade’s voice cameo in Eternals, it’s more likely that Black Knight will return in Blade, either in a secondary role or a cameo appearance. Depending on the direction the MCU takes Black Knight in, he could join the rest of the MCU in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, or he could form his own team with the supernatural characters of the MCU, thus becoming the rumored Midnight Sons.

Next: MCU Phases 4-6 Now Have 6 Different Superhero Teams