Watch the trailer here, in case you haven’t already, and then we’ll just point out a couple of interesting details… This trailer does a better job of setting up the overall concept of the Eternals than the initial teaser did. Basically, the Eternals are one of three races created by the Celestials (almost indescribable cosmic space gods), the other two being humans and Deviants. Think of this as Marvel‘s answer to Ancient Aliens. Humans are, of course, us. Eternals are genetically perfect, super-powered immortals. The Deviants are another story, though…
Deviants
Deviants are genetically unstable creatures, and no two are alike. We see several Deviants in this trailer, and it’s kind of neat how the MCU is representing that genetic instability by making them look almost amorphous and skeletal. Several of them are just straight up monstrous, although it seems that one of them might be a more significant Deviant character from the comics, and possibly the central villain of the film.
Celestials
The Celestials, on the other hand, are towering cosmic beings whose thoughts and motivations can barely be perceived or understood by human, Eternal, or Deviant. We’ve seen hints of the Celestials in other MCU movies, notably one named Eson the Searcher who appeared in a quick scene in Guardians of the Galaxy. Instead, this is Arishem the Judge, one of the most powerful of all Celestials and one of the first introduced in Jack Kirby’s original Eternals comics. Arishem’s arrival on Earth isn’t a good thing: it means that the Celestials have returned to judge their creations…and there’s no guarantee this will end well for anyone. It would seem that “the emergence” that Salma Hayek’s Ajak refers to at the start of the trailer could very well be the return of the Celestials, meaning we only have seven days until judgment. There’s another Celestial who makes an appearance, Nezarr the Calculator… To give you an idea of the scale of these things, Knowhere (also from the Guardians films and the most recent What If…? episode) is the severed head of a Celestial, and that contains a large city!
Galactus?
Sorry, folks, but that is definitively not Galactus, and it doesn’t seem like the “emergence” is anything like the coming of the planet-eater and his herald, the Silver Surfer. That being said, Marvel may have their work cut out for them when it eventually comes time to tell that Fantastic Four story in order to distinguish it from whatever they’ve got planned with the Celestials here. You don’t want audiences thinking that all these terrifying cosmic giants are the same, right? “Marvel Studios’ Eternals welcomes an exciting new team of Super Heroes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The epic story, spanning thousands of years, features a group of immortal heroes forced out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s oldest enemy, The Deviants. The outstanding ensemble cast includes Richard Madden as the all-powerful Ikaris, Gemma Chan as humankind-loving Sersi, Kumail Nanjiani as cosmic-powered Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as the super-fast Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as the intelligent inventor Phastos, Salma Hayek as the wise and spiritual leader Ajak, Lia McHugh as the eternally young, old-soul Sprite, Don Lee as the powerful Gilgamesh, Barry Keoghan as aloof loner Druig, and Angelina Jolie as the fierce warrior Thena. Kit Harington plays Dane Whitman.”
