Eternals producer says sequel isn't necessarily required as Marvel film works as 'a contained universe'

Will the Eternals, like most Marvel characters and teams, receive their own multi-film franchise?

Judging by the last 13 years of comic book projects to come out of Disney's efficient studio machine, we'd say the odds are pretty good. However, if you were to ask veteran MCU producer Nate Moore, he'd tell you another movie centered around the god-like aliens originally created by Jack Kirby isn't totally essential. 

“If you just watch Eternals, you can enjoy Eternals. You can understand Eternals and you’re good to go," Moore, who has been an executive producer at Marvel Studios since 2018's Black Panther, recently told The Toronto Sun. “We felt like there was enough story that it could be a contained universe. We definitely have ideas of how things can cross over later. But this movie with 10 characters and Dane Whitman and the Celestials and the Deviants, there was enough for us to play with."

He's not wrong. Writer-director Chloé Zhao's epic film (which clocks in at just over two-and-a-half hours) covers a modest 7,000 years of human history — all the way through the Blip in Avengers: Endgame. With so much material to work with, you've basically got two massive Marvel movies for the price of one.

"It’s not something that is a must-have," Moore said of a potential follow-up. "Obviously, we have ideas of where we could go, but there isn’t a hard and fast rule where we have to have three of these things and this is the first."

Credit: Marvel Studios

Nevertheless, even the most casual of fans knows the MCU is always thinking several moves ahead, particularly with its mid and post-credit scenes. There's just no way Eternals won't do the same, particularly with a collection of characters that have a ton of potential for the cosmic and inter-dimensional aspects of the Marvel Universe depicted on the silver screen. Moore admitted as much when he teased larger plans for Dane Whitman (Game of Thrones' Kit Harington), aka Black Knight.

“He’s not going to be Black Knight necessarily, but that is something that we get to play with down the road," Moore explained.

So yes, these heroes (or at least some of them) will return in future projects. The only mystery is whether they'll return under the Eternals banner or under a new property altogether. Whatever happens just know that things will never be the same again.

"This film has huge repercussions for the future of the MCU," Zhao said during an interview for Empire Magazine's November 2021 issue. "Huge!"

Eternals opens in theaters everywhere this Friday (Nov. 5). With a score of 60 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, it is now the lowest-reviewed MCU project (a record previously held by Thor: The Dark World). Click here to see what critics are saying.