Marvel Studios' Eternals may have been different from past MCU films, but it still laid the groundwork for future projects through post-credits teases. Following Eternals' big theatrical release, the film's writers have shared how Anthony Mackie's Captain America was almost featured in the post-credits scene.
Marvel Studios' Eternals has been one of their most talked-about films in the entire franchise, as the film's unique approach, due to director Chloé Zhao's experience in working on indie projects, has made it one of the most divisive MCU films yet. But another big topic of discussion falls on the film's post-credits scenes, where new characters like Mahershala Ali's Blade are briefly introduced.
In a new interview with ScreenRant, writers Kaz and Ryan Firpo shared some of the film's scrapped ideas. One of those scrapped ideas was Sam Wilson/The Falcon almost making an appearance in the post-credits scene until they realized it wasn't the right time. The writers said, "There was a version where Sam [Wilson] turned up at the very, very end, in one of the post-credits, but I think it was something that... You're going to see these worlds collide, but it's gonna take a little bit longer than people are gonna expect. Plus, I think in terms of the timeline, we just lost Tony, we just lost Cap, Natasha's gone, Hulk is currently working on himself I think to make himself human rather than smart Hulk, so I think that all the Avengers were just pretty busy. I think we're happening more or less concurrently with Falcon and Winter Soldier, so everyone's got their hands full and I think you're gonna start to see the groundwork has been laid for something that's gonna happen in a very big way soon."
While previous installments found some way to tie in certain characters from the over-arching Avengers storyline, Eternals definitely steered clear from doing the same. Other than a few mentions of Thanos and the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame (including Harry Styles' surprising appearance as Thanos' brother Eros in the mid-credits scene), Zhao's film was definitely one of the more distinct films in the MCU. It was so busy developing the new characters, the new worlds involving the celestials, and new storylines for fans to become attached to that it didn't have time to bring back tons of familiar faces. While there is no definitive time set for when the group of Eternals will connect to other Avengers' stories, similar to the Guardians' introduction to Thor and the rest of the crew in Infinity War, the buildup will be well worth the wait.
Eternals centers on an immortal alien race that was created by the Celestials and has been living secretly on Earth for thousands of years. They finally have to come together to stop their evil counterparts known as the Deviants. While Eternals is off to a great start financially, already raking up $165.7 million at the worldwide box office, the film cannot escape the criticisms directed towards its jumbled storylines and the hefty amount of exposition crammed into the 2 hours and 37-minute runtime. But in a universe that can be too formulaic at times, Zhao's story feels like a breath of fresh air.
Eternals' star-studded ensemble includes Richard Madden as Ikaris, Gemma Chan as Sersi, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Kit Harington as Dane Whitman, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Lia McHugh as Sprite, and Harish Patel as Karun.
Eternals is now playing exclusively in theatres.
Source: ScreenRant