The final Eternals trailer picks up where Avengers: Endgame left off.
The first trailer for Eternals, Marvel’s latest cosmic epic, emphasized scale and time — this would be a movie that spanned before, during, after the known MCU timeline. In anticipation of the movie’s Nov. 5 release date, the final trailer places the action in a clearer spot on the timeline while setting a ticking clock. The Eternals arrived on Earth 7,000 years to combat an alien entity known as the Deviants. Still, now, in the wake of the Blip that returned half of the world’s population to the planet (i.e., after Avengers: Endgame), they only have seven days to stop “the emergence.” Sounds bad!
Eternals is a star-studded affair as far as Marvel movies, which have often been used to turn unknowns into superheroes, are concerned. Seen in the trailer are Salma Hayek as Ajak, the Eternals’ leader; Lia McHugh as the young-but-actually-super-old Sprite; Richard Madden as Ikaris, who’s a real Superman type; Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, who can invent things; Ma Dong-seok as Gilgamesh (yes that Gilgamesh); Angelina Jolie as Thena, who shows up to slay; plus Gemma Chan as Sersi, Barry Keoghan as Druig, and Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo. Kit Harington of Game of Thrones also appears as one of the human characters, Dane Whitman, who has gone on to become the hero known as the Black Knight in the comics. But in this trailer, he spends most of his screentime wondering why the heck none of these guys showed up to kick Thanos’ ass. Fair question.
If Eternals has an earthier feel than previous MCU instalments, that’s because it’s the brainchild of writer-director Chloé Zhao, who recently picked up Best Director and Best Film Oscars earlier this year for her work on Nomadland. But according to a new profile with Entertainment Weekly, those cinematic bona fides come with a life lived in the pages of comics and fantasy.
“The truth is, we would not have even attempted this if it weren’t for Chloé,” Feige said. “We thought, here’s a filmmaker who is equal parts cinematic visionary and genre nerd. She can outtalk any of us when it comes to manga and Star Wars and Marvel comics. It’s quite an astounding combination. And this movie, I think, represents all of the immense multitudes of Chloé.”
Eternals releases in theatres — and only theatres, for now — on Nov. 5. For more on the current MCU schedule, head to our full breakdown of Marvel movie release dates. Read our recent deep dive into the group’s strange comics history for a clearer sense of what the Eternals are all about.
