On Monday, Marvel Studios released the first trailer for Eternals. The response from fans was mostly positive, but there was some disappointment that the focus was so much on the visuals rather than any big reveals. Despite that, the sneak peek clearly drew a lot of interest, something that's evident from the 77 million views it racked up during its first 24 hours.
Deadline reports that this was the biggest online trailer drop for a Marvel Studios movie in the 14 months of the pandemic, meaning it beat WandaVision and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier trailer racked up 125 million views after airing during last year's Super Bowl, but it obviously had the benefit of debuting during the biggest sporting event of the year. The Eternals trailer even tops pre-theatrical Disney releases like Aladdin and the Maleficent sequel.
Eternals features an exciting new team of superheroes in the MCU, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. However, following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind's most ancient enemy.
The outstanding ensemble cast includes Richard Madden as Ikaris, Gemma Chan Sersi, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayak as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Barry Keoghan as Druig, and Angelina Jolie as Thena. Kit Harrington, meanwhile, will take on the role of Dane Whitman.
Check out the trailer for Eternals by clicking here.
Click on the "Next" button below for the biggest reveals
missing in the Eternals trailer (and 3 major leaks from the movie).
8. Why Didn't They Get Involved In Endgame?
The trailer mentions that the Eternals have deliberately stayed out of the affairs of humankind, but are we really supposed to believe that they sat by and did nothing when Thanos wiped out half of every being in existence?
We can probably forgive them for not knowing that the Mad Titan returned in the present for that final battle at the New Avengers Facility, but unless they were all victims of the Blip, this is a little hard to buy.
Marvel Studios wants us to buy into this team of heroes being a crucial part of the MCU's history, but not addressing this question in the teaser seems strange. It's hard to get too on board with this lot when they're sitting around joking about Captain America and Iron Man being gone!
We're sure the film will tackle this in some way, but it's a big omission from the trailer.
7. Who, Or What, Is The Lead Villain?
In some ways, it makes sense for Marvel Studios to focus on the title heroes in this first look at Eternals.
However, with their powers only teased, it doesn't feel like we know any more about them now than we did earlier this morning. This wasn't the strongest introduction to the characters, and overlooking the villains feels like another mistake.
We can't imagine the Celestials and Deviants will be kept hidden until the film arrives in theaters, so why not end this sneak peek with an epic shot of either one standing tall. Even the most casual of fans will be aware of the Celestials after Guardians of the Galaxy, and those sort of visuals would help Eternals look like more than just a nicely shot Indie film with funky costumes.
Here's hoping more is revealed in the next trailer.
6. Is Black Knight In The Film?
Kit Harington is an exciting addition to the MCU fresh off his stint in Game of Thrones, but he's only in this trailer for a single shot.
There's nothing to say Dane Whitman will become Black Knight in Eternals, but it would be crazy to not have Harington suit up as one of this shared world's next big superheroes (especially given his and Sersi's comic book history as members of the Avengers).
There's no real talking point in this preview, and a shot of Whitman's transformation would have been a cool way to get fans excited.
We'd hate to see Black Knight not make his debut here, but best prepare for that to be the case.
5. What Is An Eternal, Anyway?
Like the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Eternals is a group of characters that even many hardcore comic fans aren't familiar with. The teaser for that 2014 film did a good job of getting us up to speed, but what the heck are this lot, anyway?
We see them arrive on Earth in a spaceship, but are they aliens? Humans with incredible powers gifted to them by an otherworldly force? We don't know.
Perhaps learning that will be part of the fun of watching the film itself, but outside of some nifty costumes and adventures that have seemingly spanned a millennia, we're kept in the dark about what these characters are (and why we should care).
We're sure we'll love this lot soon enough, but as of now, we don't have any reason to even like 'em!
4. What Brings The Team Out Of Hiding?
So, we know Eternals takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, and if Thanos was a threat they willingly ignored, what is it that now brings them out of hiding?
With no sign of a villain, we're left in the dark, and you'd think Marvel Studios would want to clue us into what event was significant enough to bring them back together after thousands of years in hiding. That certainly would have gone some way towards explaining what the stakes are supposed to be here, anyway.
It feels like a better approach to this trailer might have been teasing that threat, building up the excitement until some sort of Celestial reveal that would have blown us all away.
Instead, it seems it was more important to highlight some impressive visuals, so...yay?
And now, here are those previously leaked Eternals details Marvel Studios is trying to keep under wraps...
3. Kro
An action figure leak from some time ago confirmed that Kro will have a monstrous, inhuman appearance. However, with only a glimpse of the foe here, we still don't know what to expect from him.
Based on what we've seen in leaked LEGO sets, the Deviants will be quite animalistic, a blue-like colour, and definitely not like anything we've seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe up until now.
They all have quite varied appearances in the comic books, so we can't even really look there for clues. However, Kro's voice may have been revealed today thanks to Eternals' teaser poster.
Gil Birmingham is listed as a main cast member, and might be lending his talents to this big bad.
2. Arishem
The Celestials being part of Eternals is no great surprise, and it sounds a lot like they're returning to Earth in this movie for the first time in thousands of years.
The Infinity Stones is likely what attracts them to the planet, though there have been rumors that a Celestial is going to be born, tearing its way out of the team's home, decimating it in the process.
We'll see on that front, but one of the leaked LEGO sets confirmed that we'll see Arishem, the same Celestial we first met in Guardians of the Galaxy's flashback scenes. This confirms a similarly leaked Funko Pop listing from last year, and it sounds like the ancient Celestial will, at least at some point, lend a helping hand to the Eternals.
LEGO describes Arishem as the leader of the Celestials, so expect him to play a crucial role in their origin.
1. Ikaris, The Most Powerful Eternal
We catch a few glimpses of the team in action in this trailer, but nothing that really suggests they're among the MCU's most powerful superheroes.
That's particularly the case with Ikaris, a hero we've previously learned is, in fact, the strongest Eternal.
Described as the "tactical leader" and "most powerful Eternal," the hero "takes pride in keeping the other Eternals safe." While Ikaris has stayed out of human affairs for centuries, the return of the Deviants sees "Ikaris [lead] the charge to unite the scattered Eternals to stop the new threat."
This trailer suggests that Ikaris and Sersi are romantically involved, but set photos showed the latter kissing Kit Harington's Dane Whitman. There's no sign of that here, though!