In some ways, Marvel's Eternals is very much a standalone movie, but that doesn't mean it shies away from establishing itself as being part of the wider MCU, and, despite reports to the contrary, it very much leaves the door open for a sequel.
Major spoilers follow!
Following the events of the final battle, the world goes back to (relative) normality, and Sersi reconnects with Dane Whitman. As the pair stroll through the park, darkness falls across the sky as the gargantuan Celestial Arishem returns for some answers. He teleports Sersi, Kingo and Phastos(?) away somewhere (the rest of the surviving Eternals are off jawing with Eros), vowing to come back to deal out judgement should humanity prove unworthy of being spared. The final shot of the film is a somewhat bemused-looking Whitman.
It's clearly left wide open for a follow-up, but the box office will likely determine the chances of a sequel. If Eternals 2 did come to pass, though, would Chloé Zhao be interested in returning to the director's chair?
"I was encouraged to make a good standalone film, very encouraged to do that," she tells JoBlo. "I think now the film belongs to you, not me, and we want to see how this child grows in this scary, wild, and beautiful world. And then we need to watch and listen and learn and then see where we go from there. But I think, maybe I'm wrong about this, but I feel like filmmakers, it doesn't matter what genre, they tend to make the same movie over and over and over (laughs)."
Zhao then indicated that she does have an idea for how the story could continue, but doesn't necessarily feel she'd have to be the one at the helm.
"I also think that there's something could be cool — I'm not maybe pitching this to Marvel, not necessarily with me — but the world is expanding real fast," she added. "If they do anything set in the past, any time in history, these guys could show up because they've been here the whole time."
Marvel Studios’ Eternals follows a group of heroes from beyond the stars who had protected the Earth since the dawn of man. When monstrous creatures called the Deviants, long thought lost to history, mysteriously return, the Eternals are forced to reunite in order to defend humanity once again.
The outstanding ensemble cast includes Gemma Chan as humankind-loving Sersi, Richard Madden as the all-powerful Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as cosmic-powered Kingo, Lia McHugh as the eternally young, old-soul Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as the intelligent inventor Phastos, Lauren Ridloff as the super-fast Makkari, Barry Keoghan as aloof loner Druig, Don Lee as the powerful Gilgamesh, with Kit Harington as Dane Whitman, with Salma Hayek as the wise and spiritual leader Ajak, and Angelina Jolie as the fierce warrior Thena.
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