Chloé Zhao’s Eternals, released in November last year, was one of the most divisive movies in the MCU. Filled with her trademark gorgeous golden-hour cinematography, a whole new cast of ancient heroes, and asking big questions about humanity, there was plenty to like about it (especially on a second viewing) – but its deliberate pace, rug-pull plot and very different vibe to the rest of Marvel’s output meant it didn’t quite land for some. That, and its fairly muted box office performance in comparison to the rest of the MCU ($402 million, not a result given the lasting effects of the pandemic but not among its highest grossers) have meant that, despite a final title card telling us the Eternals will return, there have been doubts about a sequel actually happening.
There still hasn’t been any official word from Marvel about an Eternals 2, but Patton Oswalt – who appeared in the film’s post-credit sting as Pip the Troll alongside Harry Styles’ Eros, aka ‘Starfox’, aka brother of Thanos – appears to have let slip that a sequel is, in fact, going ahead, and that it will again be directed by Zhao. When asked about being part of the Marvel universe on The Today Show, Oswalt told the show’s hosts: “They have announced there’s going to be an Eternals sequel. Chloé Zhao is going to direct it. So, hopefully there will be more adventures of Starfox and Pip.” When he says Marvel has announced the sequel, he’s not exactly right – neither Marvel nor Zhao have confirmed that this is happening, though Oswalt does speak pretty confidently here. And it would feel strange to introduce a star as huge as Harry Styles to the MCU, only to confine his presence to a post-credits sting – but there is also a chance that Starfox and Pip could show up in a non-Eternals related project.
Whilst we haven’t heard more official word on another Eternals movie yet, Marvel did announce a whole load of stuff at San Diego Comic-Con recently, including a new Daredevil series, and the next two Avengers movies – Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers: Secret Wars, both set for release in 2025. Disney’s own mega-event D23 is coming up in September, though, and a Marvel panel has been confirmed. Is Kevin Feige planning on announcing Eternals 2 there? If only we could read his (Uni)mind.