Eternals 2 is certainly set up by the first movie, but whether we'll get to see it remains to be seen right now.
Chloé Zhao's epic movie brings a brand new superhero team into the MCU and while it's been celebrated for its diverse cast, Eternals hasn't had the warmest welcome and has received mixed reviews (especially for a Marvel movie).
A big part of whether we'll see a sequel will depend on the box-office performance of the first movie, but if Marvel does confirm it, Zhao is up for returning. "I would be back in a second working with the team at Marvel, for sure," she told The Playlist.
"What I loved about making this film is that it tied so close to the origin of the MCU [and] is also going to have a big repercussion moving [the] MCU forward. With those two secured, we get to play and do whatever we want and make a strong standalone film and leave everything on the table."
Eternals certainly ends in a dramatic way – and that's before we even get to the credits scenes, so we'd hope to see the team back in a sequel. With that in mind, here's everything you need to know about Eternals 2.
Be warned, major spoilers are ahead for Eternals.
Eternals 2 release date: When can we expect Eternals 2?
Given that it hasn't been confirmed yet by Marvel, we don't have a confirmed release date for Eternals 2, but we will be waiting two years for it at least.
The MCU has a pretty packed schedule through to Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania's release on July 28, 2023. Disney does have one other slot for a Marvel movie that year on November 3, 2023, so that could be when the sequel is aiming for.
However, with confirmed movies such as Fantastic Four and Blade still awaiting a release date, we reckon it's more likely we'll see a potential sequel in 2024. Disney currently has four release dates for Marvel movies that year: February 16, May 3, July 26, November 8.
Since the MCU has expanded, sequels usually arrive around three years after the first movie, so that November 2024 date looks a good fit. This is pure speculation for now though, so we'll update whenever anything is confirmed.
Eternals 2 cast: Who will be back for Eternals 2?
We can expect most of the cast back in the sequel if it's confirmed, but the first movie wasn't without its casualties.
Final chance to avoid spoilers.
Salma Hayek's Ajak was killed by Deviants (thanks to a helping hand by Ikaris) and lead Deviant Kro (voiced by Bill Skarsgård) killed Don Lee's Gilgamesh.
After seeing the error of his ways, Richard Madden's Ikaris flew into the sun at the movie's climax, seemingly to his death. Given their 7,000 year history, none of the deaths rule out returns in flashbacks though.
That's it for deaths, but Lia McHugh's Sprite was turned into a human by Sersi which potentially rules out a return. If Sprite does return, it could well be that the role is recast from McHugh.
We can expect to see the rest of the Eternals return, so that's Gemma Chan's Sersi, Kumail Nanjiani's Kingo, Brian Tyree Henry's Phastos, Lauren Ridloff's Makkari, Barry Keoghan's Druig and Angelina Jolie's Thena.
Kit Harington is also sure to be back as Dane Whitman, potentially as the Black Knight as hinted at in the movie's post-credits scene (more on that in a bit).
Talking of the credits scenes, the sequel will have an extra burst of star power in the form of Harry Styles, who made his MCU debut as Eros, aka Starfox, aka the brother of Thanos in the mid-credits scene.
He'll be joined by Pip the Troll who was voiced in the first movie by Patton Oswalt and we assume he'd return.
Eternals 2 plot: What will Eternals 2 be about?
While the first movie took a lot of inspiration from Jack Kirby's comics, it largely told its own story which makes it tricky to look to the comics for what will happen in the sequel. Luckily, we can just focus on the cliffhanger ending of the first movie.
After defying their leader (and creator) Arishem and stopping Tiamut from destroying Earth, the Eternals go their separate ways and assume everything is over for now. They're very mistaken though as Arishem takes Sersi, Kingo and Phastos from Earth.
Arishem tells them that he plans to look into their memories to judge whether humanity is worthy of survival, much like in the comics where he's a Celestial who judges whether any planet's civilisation deserves to live or die.
For some reason, Makkari, Druig and Thena avoid Arishem as they're on board the Eternals' ship, the Domo, heading off to tell other Eternals what they learned about their true nature.
In the mid-credits scene, they talk about how Sersi, Kingo and Phastos have "disappeared" and assume Arishem has something to do with it. Enter Eros who arrives on the Domo with promises that he can help them find their friends.
While Eros and the Eternals might pop up in other MCU movies, this feels like a direct set-up for Eternals 2, rather than another MCU project. They could well be joined by the Black Knight as the post-credits scene sees Dane go to touch the Ebony Blade.
Talking to Digital Spy, Harington said he didn't know what the future holds, but didn't rule out coming back as the Black Knight.
"The way I live my life is trying to live in the present, especially with work, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm Dane Whitman in this movie and go and see the movie and you might find out a bit more," he noted.
"I wanted to be part of the MCU and this franchise to hopefully have a future where there's a bit more to Dane than him being human, so I hope that's coming down the line."
Eternals 2 trailer: Any Eternals 2 footage yet?
As we mentioned above, Eternals 2 hasn't been confirmed yet, let alone started filming, so you'll be waiting a while. Sorry.
Eternals is out in cinemas now.
