Final Eternals trailer reveals why they failed to help the Avengers

A final trailer for the Eternals movie has been released, ahead of its worldwide premier on 5 November, answering a key question about why the new superheroes in this movie failed to help the Avengers to fight Thanos, even though they were around at the same time (Eternals is set in the same universe and follows on directly from the events in Avengers: Endgame).

What is the Eternals about?

The Eternals in the movie are a group of immortal super beings who have stayed in the background throughout most of Earth’s history, but who must now reunite to take on one of mankind’s oldest enemies, The deviants. It’s the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Presumably this new cast of superhero characters will be the start of another series of movies taking over from where the Avengers left off.

Who is directing Eternals?

Eternals is directed by the Oscar-winning Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, The rider, Songs my brother taught me), a Chinese film director, screenwriter, and producer. 

Who is staring in the Eternals?

Marvel’s first Eternals Press Release details the actors and their characters:

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.

Marvel Press Release for the Eternals

Who is Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman character in the Eternals?

Kit Harington, Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, will play the role of The Black Knight. The Black Knight is the super powered alter ego of Dane Whitman, a descendent of a Medieval-era knight who wielded a mystical sword. The Black Knight character was first introduced in The Avengers #47 comic book in 1967. Given Harington’s sword fighting work in the medieval fantasy world of Game of Thrones, this seems like a perfect casting choice.

Why didn’t the Eternals assist the Avengers in fighting Thanos?

One of the questions people ask when hearing the Eternals plot line is: Why didn’t the Eternals help the original Avengers when they were at war with Thanos? The final trailer seems to provide an answer. Kit Harington’s character Dan Whitman asks Sersi (Gemma Chan): “Why didn’t you guys help fight Thanos? Or any war? Or all the other terrible things throughout history?” Sersi reveals “We were instructed not to interfere in any human conflicts unless Deviants were involved.” Whiteman then asks “By who?”. We then receive a glimpse of an imposing looking six eyed being, one of the Celestials who those instructions presumably came from.

Who are the Celestials?

The Celestials in the Marvel universe are an ancient, god like race of entities that possess vast matter and energy manipulation abilities. They made use of the Infinity Stones and are responsible for the creation of the Eternals and the Deviants.

Eternal trailers released so far