It’s no secret that post-Phase 3, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going to place a much larger focus on stories told in outer space and characters who don’t call Earth home. In fact, according to writer/director James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the “beginning of a whole other element of the Marvel Cosmic universe.”
It’s a journey that began with the release of the original Guardians of the Galaxy three years ago, and in the time since, Star-Lord and co. have gone on to become some of the most likable characters populating the MCU – the sheer love and fandom generated by Baby Groot alone is a testimony to the team’s prevalence. And with the oncoming third movie in the Guardians trilogy, Gunn looks set to take things to another level.
But what comes after that? Well, we told you a few days ago that a big scoop was about to drop in regards to what Marvel’s planning for Phase 4 and now, it’s arrived. Former IGN editor Jeremy Conrad is the one breaking the news, and according to him, we’re getting an Eternals movie. This has long been speculated and though the studio has yet to comment on it, Conrad’s confident in his intel.
Details are scarce – and understandably so – but we’ve been told that casting is already underway and a 2021/2022 release is being eyed. Not only that, but the Eternals may be introduced in Guardians Vol. 3, before spinning off into their own MCU sub-franchise. That’d make sense, too, as general moviegoers wouldn’t be very familiar with a property like this. Really, it’s only the comic book readers who’d know about the Eternals.
On that note, for those of you who don’t read the source material, the Eternals are Jack Kirby creations in the same mythological mould as his New Gods work at DC, and are the superhero products of genetic experimentation on primitive humans. While cosmic in nature, they’re also intrinsically tied to Earth, so their return in the wake of the Infinity War would make sense and could definitely be dragged out for at least a couple of movies.
Not only that, but as comic fans know, Thanos is one of the Eternals from Titan. However, he was born a deformed mutant known as a Deviant, meaning he was cast off by his race as they value perfection. Understandably, this has caused him to develop some serious issues and in the comics, he actually began a war on Titan that almost completely wiped out the population.
We already know we’ll be visiting the planet in Infinity War – Conrad says the reason for this visit is to set up the Eternals movie – and going by its desolate appearance in the trailers, it seems likely that something similar happened in the continuity of the MCU. How much time we’ll spend there, we don’t know, but it’s clear that the studio is starting to plant the seeds for the Phase 4 Eternals pic.
So, there you have it. Marvel’s planning to go very cosmic once the battle with Thanos reaches its explosive conclusion and until the studio gives us more to go on, you can leave your preliminary thoughts on all this down in the comments section below.
