Eternals
Film · 2021 · 156 minutes · Phase Four
A group of ten immortal alien Eternals, secretly living on Earth for 7,000 years, reunite after a Deviant attack in London forces them out of hiding for the first time since ancient history. Investigating why the Deviants have resurfaced, they uncover the true purpose their creator the Celestial Arishem sent them to fulfil: incubating a new Celestial inside Earth itself, an "Emergence" that will destroy the planet. The team fractures over whether to follow their programming or protect the billions of people who now call Earth home, culminating in a battle to stop the Emergence that costs some Eternals their lives or memories and splits the group apart.
Follows on from
- Avengers: Endgameside-story · optional — Set in the present day after the Blip; the film's news-broadcast exposition establishes that the Blip's sudden restoration of Earth's population pushed humanity past the threshold needed for the dormant Celestial Tiamut to awaken, making the Blip the causal trigger for the Emergence at the heart of Eternals' plot rather than something the audience needs to have seen.
Leads to
- What If... Agatha Went to Hollywood? — S03E02crossover — Builds its entire plot mechanism on Eternals lore: the Eternal Kingo, the Celestial Tiamut hidden beneath the Earth, the Emergence, and Arishem all appear, with Agatha siphoning Kingo's and Tiamut's power to confront Arishem in the climax.
- Captain America: Brave New Worldcrossover — The film's central conflict revolves around nations racing to claim adamantium found in the corpse of the Celestial Tiamut, whose emergence and fate were depicted in Eternals.