A Marvel producer has said that Eternals doesn’t necessarily need a direct sequel. Nate Moore, who’s worked on a number of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, including Black Panther, told The Toronto Sun that Marvel Studios doesn’t have hard and fast rules when it comes to sequels.
“It’s not something that is a must-have,” he said. “Obviously, we have ideas of where we could go, but there isn’t a hard and fast rule where we have to have three of these things, and this is the first.” Now it’s worth noting that Moore doesn’t say there won’t be an Eternals 2, just that they may go in another direction.
Eternals has proved divisive with critics. The Digital Fix’s Emma-Jane Betts enjoyed the latest Marvel action movie but worried that it may have been too ambitious for its own good, and the story suffered as a result. The general consensus is that the science fiction movie is a grand but confusing entry in the canon of the MCU. This has unfortunately led to the film being rated “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes, a first for Marvel Studios.
At the time of writing, Eternals is sitting on a score of 58%, putting it below the previously worst-reviewed movie on the site Thor: The Dark World. Despite its lower than usual Rotten Tomatoes score, it’s worth remembering that the film hasn’t opened yet, and its ultimate fate will probably be decided at the box office.
If the movie’s a hit with audiences, we’ve no doubt that we’ll be seeing the Eternals again. Even then, we can’t see the Eternals not getting a sequel of some sort, even if it’s not a direct continuation of their story. The Eternals seem like they’re going to be a major part of Marvel’s Phase 4 and beyond, so we’ll likely see individual members of the group popping up in other films.
Eternals tells the story of a group of immortal aliens who have been tasked with protecting humanity from the deadly Deviants. Directed by Chloé Zhao, the film’s packed with more stars than the night’s sky. The cast includes Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, and Kumail Nanjiani, among others many more.
Eternals hits theatres on November 5.