Here's every reveal from the MCU's brand new Eternals trailer. Though the MCU's Phase 4 slate is packed with tantalizing big screen releases, few carry the unique appeal of Eternals. A rare original in a sequel-heavy lineup, Eternals is directed by the Oscar-winning Chloé Zhao who, by all accounts, left her Marvel employers stunned with Eternals' organic visuals. Zhao is also commanding a star-studded cast that could rival any MCU crossover ensembles. Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Don Lee, and more assemble to create the most impressive superhero team this side of the Avengers.
Eternals' first trailer already offered a glimpse of the main heroes, as well as their extra-terrestrial origin and purpose for coming to Earth. That early footage also provided a taste of Chloé Zhao's visual flair, but was predictably light on plot details. A hot-off-the-press second trailer more than makes up for that, establishing the new threat, tying the Eternals into the wider MCU, and showing off the mythological scale Phase 4 is heading towards.
Though Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings is up next, Eternals fever is rapidly taking hold. Here's our breakdown of the second, and final, Eternals trailer.
The new Eternals footage begins with a shot of Salma Hayek's Ajak riding a horse across a barren plain - an extension of a previous scene from the first trailer. This time, however, we see Ajak is heading to meet Ikaris. As the Eternals' leader, Ajak has seemingly deduced that a huge threat is coming, and seeks to unite her people against it, starting with Richard Madden's character. Either she visits Ikaris at his remote house, or the property is Ajak's, and she summoned Ikaris to her. Either way, this is where the main plot starts.
And what is that threat? Apparently, the Emergence. Ajak acknowledges how Earth's Avengers saved the universe from Thanos (while her Eternals sat back and did nothing - more on that later), but she also explains that Hulk's Infinity Gauntlet snap had an unintentional side effect. As well as bringing Thanos' victims back to life, the second snap "provided the necessary energy for the Emergence to begin." There's no telling precisely what this "Emergence" is right now, but popular theories include a Deviant invasion, the return of the Celestials, or even a collision of different Marvel universes. Whatever the result, it won't be pretty.
In a visual demonstration of how bad the Emergence might be, this Eternals trailer shot depicts land and sea merging in a cataclysmic quake. It's not clear whether this is happening in the MCU's present day or comprises part of a historical sequence, but some believe these pictures represent the fall of the MCU's Atlantis in eons past, thus setting up Namor the Sub-Mariner's arrival in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Whatever might be happening, the devastation is another stunning example of Zhao's visuals.
Ajak gives a time frame for the events of Eternals - a mere seven days. This tight window should mean a pacy, action-packed modern day narrative where the Eternals have just one week to gather their members and fight off whatever threat the Emergence presents.
In a scene that likely takes place aboard the Eternals' triangular black spacecraft, the gang are seen communing around a statue of a Celestial, as a golden drop floats into Ajak's neck. Though this gathering could represent some kind of powering-up ceremony, the Eternals are more likely attempting to communicate with their Celestial creators. Perhaps to lodge a complaint about the coming Emergence, or request their overlords' aid.
Marvel's first Eternals trailer showed the titular group's alien vessel coming in to land, leaving the primitive Earthlings of the past deeply confused. The new footage includes a glorious shot of the same ship flying past our sun, perhaps entering Earth's solar system for the very first time. Because the comparative scale of the ship and sun is slightly (a lot) off, there's a chance the fly-by could be happening elsewhere in space.
Expanding upon the Eternals' arrival, an extra-terrestrial quintet line up atop a hill, while one of the locals (the same village boy from the first trailer) looks on in amazement. Not for the only time over the next 2 minutes, Ikaris is presented in a Superman-esque light as he slowly descends to the earth - a mighty god from another world.
Finally, the Deviants are here. In the Marvel comics, Deviants are another Celestial creation and the opposite of the god-like Eternals in almost every way. Many assumed the Deviants would be villains in the MCU Eternals movie, and the latest trailer confirms as much, giving an exciting first glimpse at these monstrous villains. The live-action Deviants bear little resemblance to their comic counterparts, who were mutated humanoids rather than beasts, but the creatures are impressive regardless. As the name implies, different Deviants have different mutations - some with wings, some tails, some fangs, etc.
When a winged Deviant emerges from the ocean, Ikaris shows his fearsome strength by hovering in the air and shooting a blast of golden eye energy straight at the creature. There's more than a hint of Superman as Ikaris heroically lasers his opponent, then charges through the sky to deliver a punch. Judging by the beach surroundings, this fight scene takes place when the Eternals first land on Earth, rather than during the modern day timeline. Though Ajak is their overall chief, Ikaris looks to be the hands-on general of the Eternals, as well as one of their strongest fighters.
Moving into the MCU's present, the final Eternals trailer gives a closer look at Kit Harington's Dane Whitman, otherwise known as Black Knight. He's kindly taken Gemma Chan's Sersi to a local laundromat - the perfect setting to ask why her race of all-powerful aliens didn't bother to help the Avengers fight Thanos, or prevent the many wars throughout human history. Sersi looks ashamed by her people's negligence, and we know that Eternals creates a love triangle between herself, Black Knight and Ikaris, the seeds of which are being sown here. Harington's question also confirms that choosing whether to honor their oath or protect mankind will be a recurring dilemma for the Eternals.
Another history sequence shows a soldier on horseback attacking civilians, and is taken from the first Eternals trailer released earlier this year. An unseen shot then reveals a mystery figure shrouded in darkness and facing away from camera, watching the fiery chaos unfold below. Though their identity isn't clear (most likely Kumail Nanjiani's Kingo or Ikaris), this image shows an Eternal powerless to stop a human conflict, demonstrating their oath of non-interference in the most hard-hitting way.
When Sersi confirms to Black Knight that the Eternals are prevented from interfering in human history by their creators, the Celestials, the trailer kicks into full-on epic mode by revealing a giant Celestial in all its glory, looming menacingly over Sersi. There's a visual similarity to Eson the Searcher (an MCU Celestial introduced previously in Guardians of the Galaxy), but this entity is more likely Arishem the Judge - the red-colored leader of the Celestials, whose design has been altered from the comics.
Sersi's meeting with Arishem could link up to the trailer's earlier shot, where the Eternals were communing around a Celestial statue on their ship.
Faced with the sudden coming of the Emergence, Ikaris confirms the Eternals' mission - for the first half of their solo movie, at least. Richard Madden's character is charged with bringing together his fellow aliens, who all separated many years prior. Can they put personal differences aside to protect something each of them loves? Who he's talking to in this scene isn't clear, but since it's not the prairie house, Sersi is the most likely candidate, since she's present by Ikaris' side in every subsequent scene.
First on Ikaris' list (in the trailer, anyway) is Druig (played by Barry Keoghan) who's in command of a forest cult when the Eternals arrive to enlist the mind-controller's aid. This shot was included in Eternals' earlier trailer, but Druig is soon followed by Lia McHugh's Sprite, whose primary ability is casting illusions. She's drawing a dagger in the shot. Since she doesn't exactly need it, the blade is probably symbolic.
Previous Eternals footage offered a taste of Angelina Jolie's powers as Thena, with her ability to construct energy weapons proving very useful indeed. She's the fifth recruit after Ikaris, Sersi, Sprite, Kingo and Don Lee's Gilgamesh, but doesn't react well to the family reunion, whacking Gilgamesh with an energy spear while Kingo waves awkwardly in the background. Aside from Thena being irked by the sight of her fellow Eternals, the biggest takeaway from this scene is Gilgamesh. Effortlessly blocking Thena's attack with a single arm demonstrates his immense power, even among the Eternals, and it's also interesting that Gilgamesh approaches Thena while Ikaris hangs back, teasing a special relationship between Don Lee and Angelina Jolie's characters.
After another shot of the Emergence's impending devastation (this time a crackling volcano), Sprite comments on having a front-row seat to the end of the world, displaying the young character's sparkling wit. Sprite then materializes alongside the other Eternals in a desert, all looking super-cool in matching sunglasses. Their materialization could be an extension of Sprite's illusion powers - using visual trickery to render herself and others invisible.
Despite the end of the world being very, very nigh, the MCU still finds time for gags, as Brian Tyree Henry's Phastos informs one of his Eternals kin that sarcasm has "never saved the world." That's a matter of opinion, but this scene also shows Druig alongside Lauren Ridloff's Makkari, whose main power is super-speed. This pair are obviously close, further proving that the Eternals have couplings and cliques even within their own ranks.
Following on from the aforementioned sunglasses scene, Phastos leads the Eternals to a site where a handheld device raises the black spacecraft everyone arrived in. This moment seems to slot in after Ikaris gathers most of the team. Do they raise the ship from its sandy hiding place in order to use the Celestial communication statue inside?
To show how the Eternals have loved us all since the day they arrived (yes, even you!), the trailer shows Sprite casting an illusory firework display for the assembled masses in what looks to be sequence set in the past. They watch on in awe, teasing how some Eternals have come to be considered deities during their time on our planet.
This shot appears to show Dane Whitman protecting London's Camden Lock from an attack but, looking closer, there's more than meets the eye. The crowd is comprised of numerous Sersi and Sprite clones among the running bystanders, suggesting the latter's illusion powers are at play. Sersi then explodes the oncoming bus into a hail of petals, much to the relief of Lia McHugh and Kit Harington's characters. It's not obvious who's leading the assault (can a Deviant toss a bus?), but Sprite's clones could've helped clear the area of civilians. Sersi changing the double-decker into rose petals shows off her matter manipulation power.
In a series of stunning visual moments, Gemma Chan's Sersi walks through a fantastical, cavernous hallway. The first room features a wall of interlaced triangles leading into a door, within which she finds a strange plant emitting bright light. Her touch causes the light to rapidly spread across the entire wall. The triangular motif suggests these shots could be set inside the Eternals' ship. If so, this glowing tree proves the Eternals' technology is partially biological in nature - and if they had shared that technology with humanity, global warming wouldn't be a thing.
This Emergence stuff really isn't looking good. To compliment the previous shot of an erupting volcano from afar (when Sprite was watching), the Eternals trailer shows a close-up of the erupting mountain, spelling doom for our humble planet. Similar to the early apocalypse scenes, the eruption could take place in either the past or present and may, once again, depict the fall of Atlantis in the MCU.
Returning to the earlier beach battle between the Eternals and Deviants, it's now Kingo's time to shine. Kumail Nanjiani's character locks and loads two handfuls of energy and fires them toward a beastly Deviant with a giant tail and massive twin fangs, downing the creature instantly. Kingo's main power is the projection of energy. The gun-finger is presumably optional.
The second Celestial unveiled in the new Eternals trailer is green and wears sleeker armor compared to the red giant from earlier. This emerald figure could be Jemiah the Analyzer who, despite having two eyes and a Kang-like helmet in the comics, is always the green one among Marvel's Celestials. This particular scene looks to be part of an explanation by the Eternals themselves, since the image of Jemiah is created using the same golden energy that appears whenever one of the team uses their powers.
We've seen plenty of Thena's powers but, until now, only when Angelina Jolie is posing. Finally, she puts her energy weapons to good use, slicing up a Deviant creature that we don't get a good look at here. Part of the same beach battle, the beast spews green blood when Thena's blade makes contact.
Immediately following Thena, Don Lee's Gilgamesh takes center stage, striking a Deviant with a double-fisted punch. Unlike Thena, who harnesses her energy powers to craft weapons, Gilgamesh's Eternal gifts put extra sauce on his hand-to-hand strikes. This can also be seen when Lee's character blocks Thena earlier in the trailer, and cements his status as one of the film's strongest characters.
Though the new Eternals trailer is far more generous with its reveals, little has been seen of Lauren Ridloff's Makkari. In a blink-and-you'll-miss-her shot among the combat scenes, however, Makkari can be spotted using super-speed to cover huge distances in a single leap. The fleeting image provides a taste of Eternals' super-speed visual effects, which differ greatly from Quicksilver's in Avengers: Age of Ultron, who turned into a blur. When Makkari moves, the landscape actually seems to move with her, creating an effect distinct from any other superhero movie speedster.
Returning to the very beginning of the trailer, Ikaris is losing control of his eye lasers. The house in the background is the same location Richard Madden's character was conversing with Ajak previously, meaning something during Eternals' opening sends Ikaris out of control. Does learning about the Emergence send him into a frenzy? Or do the Eternals lose control of their powers as a side effect of the Emergence?
Based on the 2 minutes and 21 seconds of footage that comes before, it's very obvious that the Eternals are immensely powerful - even compared to the MCU's current top heroes. So when a mystery villains ties Thena in creepy back tentacles and says she "can't protect any of them," the baddie in question must surely be a menace beyond Avengers-level. Thena's eyes are also glazed over, possibly incapacitated by this new enemy. As for a name, the MCU's latest villain is most likely Kro - the evil leader of the Deviants in Marvel comic lore. Comic Kro has more Eternal traits than his fellow Deviants, which explains why the live-action character looks humanoid and his subjects are animalistic. The original character also shares a romantic connection to Thena - probably why he's targeting her in this trailer scene.
The Eternals trailer ends on a series of impressive fight scenes between Ikaris and the Deviants. The scrap begins in the air, with the flying Eternal downing opponents using well-aimed eye blasts. The action then switches to the forest locale where Druig's cult live, showing a Deviant pinning Richard Madden to the floor. Early Shang-Chi reactions praised some of the MCU's best action sequences yet. Eternals might have something to say about that...
Ikaris' greatest fight isn't against the Deviants attacking Earth, but self-assembly furniture. The first Eternals trailer ended on a gag, where the group laughed at Ikaris for putting himself forward as a potential new Avengers leader. The second trailer also drops a parting joke at his expense, as Ikaris smashes up Phastos' table after mistaking it for vibranium. If they can't stop the Emergence, shattered Ikea furniture will be the least of his worries. Tonally, Eternals adopts the usual MCU humor in spite of the apocalyptic themes at play.
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