What You Need to Know About the MCU's 'Eternals' Movie

Philip Ellis
·5 min read

From Men's Health

In the aftermath of Endgame, the Avengers won't be appearing in their own team-up movie in Phase Four of the MCU. Instead, you can catch up with our favorite Marvel heroes in films including Black Widow, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: Love and Thunder.

But if you're missing the team work and friendly ribbing that comes with ensemble projects, look no further than the upcoming Eternals movie. Marvel Studios first announced the film's all-star line-up in July 2019 at San Diego Comic-Con, and the movie is set to be directed by Chloé Zhao.

The movie is already generating a ton of buzz, and that's partly because of the impressive body transformation actor Kumail Nanjiani revealed last year. In our April cover story, Nanjiani also revealed that Bruce Willis' Die Hard character John McClane inspired his role in Eternals. "I was like, 'How can a character crack wise but still have tension, and not make it feel like you’re making fun of the whole thing?'" Nanjiani explained.

Here's everything else we know about Eternals so far.

When is Eternals' release date?

Marvel Studios has confirmed that Eternals will be flying onto screens on November 6, 2020.

Who is in the Eternals' cast?

Richard Madden will be leading the movie as Ikaris, as had been widely reported. Angelina Jolie will star as Thena, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Gemma Chan as Sersi, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, and Kit Harington as Dane Whitman.

"This movie will allow those who have never felt represented in movies, in this case superheroes, to be represented. I love my diverse family,” said Hayek. Also joining the cast are newcomers Lia McHugh as Sprite, and Lauren Ridloff as Makkari — the first deaf actor to be cast in an MCU film.

Nanjiani caused quite a stir on social media when he revealed his new ripped physique for the movie. "I never thought I’d be one of those people who would post a thirsty shirtless, but I’ve worked way too hard for way too long so here we are...I found out a year ago I was going to be in Marvel’s Eternals and decided I wanted to transform how I looked," the actor wrote on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

I never thought I’d be one of those people who would post a thirsty shirtless, but I’ve worked way too hard for way too long so here we are. You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I found out a year ago I was going to be in Marvel’s Eternals and decided I wanted to transform how I looked. I would not have been able to do this if I didn’t have a full year with the best trainers and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio in the world. I’m glad I look like this, but I also understand why I never did before. It would have been impossible without these resources and time. So big thanks to @grantrobertsfit who started working with me at the beginning of the year and made me understand true physical pain for months and months. Then, once we started shooting, a massive thanks to @davidhigginslondon and his team (@ellispartridge, @thebeardypt, @tomcheesemanfitness) for training me almost every day and making me strong, limber and injury free. I can almost touch my toes now. (And thank you for forcing me to do cheat meals David.) Matthews Street Catering for their delicious and healthy meals. And finally, the biggest thanks goes to @emilyvgordon for putting up with me complaining and talking about only working out and dieting for the last year. I promise I’ll be interesting again some day. #thirstyshirtless (Photo by @markupson.) (edit: I left off one very important person: @lancecallahan who trained me for 6 years and helped me build the foundation I could use to do this. Thank you!)

A post shared by @ kumailn on Dec 16, 2019 at 8:10am PST

What is the Eternals' plot?

While specifics of the plot are thin on the ground right now, we do know that in Marvel Comics, the Eternals are a race of long-lived super-beings, also known as homo immortalis. They originated on Earth alongside human beings, and were created by an alien race called the Celestials to be Earth's protectors. The Celestials' interference in human evolution also led to the eventual emergence of mutants, meaning this could be the first movie in the MCU to acknowledge the X-Men now that those characters have been brought back into the Marvel fold.

Eternals is also rumored to be the first Marvel movie to feature an openly gay lead — although it will be closely followed by Thor: Love and Thunder, which will be explicitly depicting Valkyrie as bisexual after it was first hinted at in Ragnarok.

Where is the Eternals' trailer?

No trailer was shown at SDCC, but a trailer was revealed at the Marvel Studios panel at Brazilian Comic-Con Experience in December 2019. The trailer is not available online, but IGN Brazil reported that the trailer showcases the Eternals at the beginning of a battle, then they start flying. As they get further from the ground, they absorb some kind of energy. The trailer then ends with the Eternals logo on a background of a galaxy.

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