Eternals is a 2021 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Chloé Zhao, who wrote the screenplay with Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Firpo. It stars an ensemble cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie. In the film, the Eternals, an immortal alien race, emerge from hiding after thousands of years to protect Earth from their evil counterparts, the Deviants.
Plot[]
In 5000 B.C., ten superpowered Eternals from the planet Olympia are sent by the Celestial Arishem to Earth to fight the invasive Deviants. Over the millennia, they protect humanity from the Deviants but are not allowed to interfere in human affairs. They kill the last of the Deviants in the 1500s, and the group's opinions differ about their continued responsibilities and their relationship with humankind. They spend the next five hundred years mostly separated from each other, waiting for Arishem to send them home.
In the present day, Sersi and Sprite live together in London. After Sersi was left by her partner Ikaris over five hundred years earlier, she now has a relationship with Dane Whitman, who works at the Natural History Museum. When the trio is attacked by the Deviant Kro, Ikaris appears and chases the creature away. Realizing the Deviants have returned, they prepare to assemble the remaining Eternals. They travel to South Dakota only to find that their leader, Ajak, had been killed by Kro before he went to London, gaining her healing powers as a result.
Sersi learns that Ajak has given her the ability to communicate with Arishem, who reveals that the mission of the Eternals was not to fight the Deviants but to prepare Earth for the "Emergence". Arishem explains that for millions of years, the Celestials have planted their seeds in populated planets so a new Celestial can be born. The Celestials sent the Deviants to destroy the apex predators of the planet to ensure the development of life, but the Deviants evolved and hunted the planet's populations, resulting in the Eternals being sent to cull them. Arishem explains that Earth has reached the necessary population for the birth of the Celestial Tiamut, which will result in the Earth's destruction.
Having learned to love humanity, the Eternals reassemble and decide to prevent the Emergence. However, Kro and the Deviants attack them. Kro kills and feeds on Gilgamesh, gaining the ability to fully speak along with his powers, before fleeing. After cremating Gilgamesh, they visit Phastos, who reveals that through the Uni-Mind, a connection between all Eternals, they can allow Druig to put Tiamut to sleep using his mind control powers. However, Kingo leaves the group because he does not want to face Arishem and Ikaris reveals he was informed of the Emergence by Ajak centuries before and fed her to the Deviants to prevent her from stopping it. Sprite joins Ikaris because of her unrequited love for him.
After Makkari locates the place of Emergence at the foot of an active volcano in the Indian Ocean, the Eternals battle Ikaris and Sprite. Kro, who wants revenge on the Eternals, arrives and attacks them. Thena fights and kills him. Druig knocks out Sprite, and the Eternals work together to subdue Ikaris. Phastos activates the Uni-Mind, which Ikaris joins out of his love for Sersi. Druig is unable to stop Tiamut, so Sersi, who manipulates substances, turns Tiamut into ice. Plagued by feelings of guilt, Ikaris commits suicide, flying towards the sun. Sersi, who still has the Uni-Mind, uses the last of its energy to turn Sprite into a human to allow her to age.
The team parts ways, with Thena, Druig, and Makkari departing on their spaceship Domo to find other Eternals. Sersi, Phastos, Kingo, and Sprite remain on Earth. As Dane professes his love for Sersi and is about to reveal a secret about his family history, she, along with Phastos and Kingo, are remotely dragged into space by Arishem, who is displeased that they chose to sacrifice a Celestial for the people of the planet, but elects to spare them if their memories show that they are worthy of living. He vows to return for judgment before he disappears into a singularity, taking them with him.
In a mid-credits scene, Thena, Makkari, and Druig are visited by the Eternal Eros, the brother of Thanos, and his assistant Pip, who offer their help. In a post-credits scene, Whitman opens an old chest inherited from his ancestors that contains the legendary Ebony Blade, while an off-screen voice asks him if he is ready for it.
Cast[]
- Gemma Chan as Sersi
- Richard Madden as Ikaris
- Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo
- Lia McHugh as Sprite
- Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos
- Lauren Ridloff as Makkari
- Barry Keoghan as Druig
- Don Lee as Gilgamesh
- Kit Harington as Dane Whitman
- Salma Hayek as Ajak
- Angelina Jolie as Thena
- Harish Patel as Karun Patel
- Bill Skarsgård as Kro
- David Kaye as Arishem
- Haaz Sleiman as Ben Stoss
- Esai Daniel Cross as Jack
- Sebastian Viveros as Jano
- Harry Styles as Eros/Starfox (mid-credits scene)
- Patton Oswalt as Pip the Troll (mid-credits scene)
- Mahershala Ali as Eric Brooks/Blade (voice; post-credits scene)
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
| Phase Four |
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| Black Widow (2021), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Eternals (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) |