When Eternals was released in 2021, it became Marvel Studios' first "Rotten" movie and, partly due to it being released in the final months of the pandemic, the movie also struggled to make a significant impact at the box office.
While there's no denying it was a little overstuffed (and that it boasted an abysmal villain in Kro), there was a lot about Eternals which did work. The movie arguably has something of an undeserved bad rap, particularly as it showed a different side of the MCU and set the stage for some exciting future stories.
Unfortunately, three years later, Marvel Studios still hasn't announced plans to release a follow-up to that big cliffhanger. As a result, it's unclear when or where we'll learn what became of the Eternals taken from Earth by Arishem for judgment after their role in stopping Tiamut's emergence.
We've recently heard that Disney is pushing Marvel Studios away from sequels to unsuccessful movies, taking fewer risks to focus on guaranteed hits. There's good and bad to that approach, and recent reports point to Eternals 2 being one of its victims.
However, scooper @MyTimeToShineH is today claiming that while the sequel isn't necessarily happening in its original form, it's "transformed" into something else.
We'd assume this means the heroes will either be joined by a much bigger character as lead - Thor or the Guardians of the Galaxy, for example - or that they'll become supporting characters in another movie. Either option would work, particularly if it means we get a resolution to their story.
Shortly before last year's San Diego Comic-Con, several trademark filings by Marvel Studios leaked online (with most announced to be on the way during the event). Among them was Celestials: End of Time, suggesting it could be tied to the wider Multiverse Saga and time travel.
The Celestial's remains are expected to factor into Captain America: Brave New World as the source of Adamantium in the MCU, though Kit Harington's Dane Whitman/Black Knight was reportedly dropped from Blade several drafts ago. We're assuming most, if not all, of Eternals' cast would return for this mystery project.
"He's excited. We're excited. We will see," Kevin Feige said a few months ago when he was asked what the plan is for Harry Styles' Starfox. "You introduce a lot of new characters in a lot of movies and a lot of tags. Where do the tag folk reappear? That's a good question."
Stay tuned for updates as we have them.