Druig actor Barry Keoghan responds to the lack of an Eternals sequel on the Marvel Cinematic Universe's upcoming slate. Keoghan made his MCU debut alongside Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Don Lee, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie in the 2021 movie Eternals. Directed by Chloé Zhao, the film received mixed reviews and was criticized for its lengthy runtime, pacing, and character development.
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As part of Phase 4's plan to expand the MCU after the Infinity Saga, Eternals introduced a race of immortal alien beings of the same name who protect the earth from their ancient enemies the Deviants. The film ended with half of the Eternals being taken by the Celestial Arishem while Druig, Makkari (Ridloff), and Thena (Jolie) team up with Starfox (Harry Styles) to find their missing family members. This ending definitely seemed to tease the Eternals' return, but so far nothing has been reported about Eternals 2. The potential sequel was absent from Marvel's huge slate of announcements at Comic-Con this summer, and Eternals has only been acknowledged by a small headline seen in She-Hulk episode 2 and a Kingo (Nanjiani) name-drop during Ms. Marvel. It seems at the moment that Marvel has no plans for Eternals 2.
Naturally, Eternals fans will be disappointed by the film's lack of sequel news, and they're not the only ones. In a recent GQ feature, Keoghan also seems upset at the apparent Comic-Con snub. The feature states that Keoghan wants to play an Eternal again, and his response to the lack of updates is understandably down. Check out Keoghan's comment below:
“[They] didn’t really mention Eternals 2, so…”
Why Eternals 2 May Not Happen
With a compelling conflict already set up for a sequel, the question arises: why hasn't Marvel announced Eternals 2? There are multiple reasons why Eternals 2 may not happen. One may be a perceived lack of interest. It's possible that Marvel evaluated the divisive reactions audiences had to Eternals and decided a sequel focused on the team wouldn't be a big enough draw. Another possibility is that Eternals' ending sets up a conflict too important for just the Eternals to handle, and the resolution to Arishem's judgment on Earth will come in a different future MCU project. This reason may best satisfy Eternals fans who felt that Tiamut's defeat by the Eternals has been ignored by the MCU. Still, both of these reasons are only speculation until Marvel says otherwise.
While rumors around Eternals 2's development do occasionally pop up online, for now, it seems the best Eternals fans can hope for is to see the team return in another MCU project. This alternative seems more likely since Keoghan, Chan, and even Zhao have expressed interest in returning to the characters. Hopefully, the team reappears sooner rather than later, but until they do, viewers can watch Eternals, now streaming on Disney+.