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Eternals, assemble! (l-r) Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Sprite (Lia McHugh), and Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry). [credit: YouTube/Marvel Studios ]
Plot details have been scant to date for Eternals , Marvel’s forthcoming film based on the comic book series of the same name created by Jack Kirby in 1976. We now have the final trailer, and it’s a doozy: nearly three full minutes of mostly brand new footage, heavy on exposition plus the striking CGI-heavy visuals Marvel is known for. The trailer also answers one obvious burning question: just where were these incredibly powerful eternal beings when all the action with Thanos wiping out half of humanity was going down? I mean, humanity really could have used their help.
As I’ve written previously , the comic book storyline tells of alien Celestials who visited Earth a million years ago, creating two divergent races—the Eternals and the Deviants—by way of genetic experiments. Those experiments were also responsible for the rare emergence of mutations in certain humans, giving them super powers. The Eternals protect the human race from the particular Deviants, and the two races engage in recurrent violent clashes. The Eternals’ immortality and powers come from cosmic energy and their ability to channel it. A new Eternals comic series was launched in January of this year, written by Kieron Gillen with art by Esad Ribić.
We know the film takes place after the events associated with Avengers: Endgame and that an unexpected tragedy will force typically the Eternals out of hiding to join forces with humans in order to fight their ancient enemy, this Deviants. An extended teaser dropped in May, set to a mournful cover of ” The End of often the World. ” The teaser didn’t convey much information within terms of plot, but it did give us glimpses of our primary characters over the course of centuries.