November 2020 will see the much-anticipated release of a new cosmic instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise.
The instalment in question is, of course, The Eternals, which will introduce the powerful group of genetically-modified humanoids to the world of live action cinema.
It has a fantastic cast of actors playing a wide variety of interesting characters, including Angelina Jolie (Thena), Richard Madden (Ikaris), Gemma Chan (Sersi), Salma Hayek (Ajak) and Kit Harinton (Black Knight), but there are sure to be a few surprises in terms of the characters who appear – as there is in pretty much every MCU offering.
That’s what we’re going to be discussing here, because this piece is all about the 10 surprise characters we’d absolutely love to see appearing in The Eternals.
Let’s get to it!
10. Thanos
Thanos has arguably been the most iconic villain in cinema this millennium, so it was actually kind of sad when he died in Avengers: Endgame… twice.
Josh Brolin’s character had been teased since 2012, when he appeared in The Avengers’ mid-credits scene (albeit portrayed by Damion Poitier at the time) and he went on to make his mark in the MCU like very few other villains have done in any other franchise.
But it’s worth noting that, in the comic books at least, Thanos is an Eternal-Deviant hybrid – with the Deviants being the Eternals’ evil counterparts – so there’s every chance he also had links to the Eternals in the MCU.
With that in mind, we’d love to see him make a surprise appearance in The Eternals – and given that it takes place over thousands of years (including in the past), the fact that he’s dead won’t prevent that from happening.
Unused concept art from Avengers: Endgame saw a young Thanos with group of characters believed to be Eternals, which leads us to believe it’s maybe being saved for The Eternals.
Seeing a younger version of the Mad Titan in the movie would be very cool indeed.
9. Starfox
A very notable member of the Eternals whose name is missing from the movie’s cast lists is Starfox!
For those of you not in the know about the character, Starfox is something of a controversial character, due to his ability to control other people’s emotions – which he’s used for some questionable reasons over the years.
Other than that, he also possesses a bunch of bog standard superpowers like flight, super-strength and incredible durability
But he’s undoubtedly a very interesting character as well – and he has been a member of both the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy (the “Dark” incarnation of the team) in the comic books, so he could certainly have a future in the MCU, should he be introduced to the franchise.
Rather importantly, he also happens to be Thanos’ brother and we believe that might be why his name isn’t attached to the movie at this stage – maybe it’s because it would give away the fact that Thanos is appearing in the movie.
With that in mind, we’d absolutely love to see him make a surprise appearance in The Eternals – albeit without the morally questionable use of his powers, preferably.
8. Mentor
Another member of Thanos’ family we’d love to see in The Eternals – and one who’s very likely to appear if there are scenes involving a younger version of the Mad Titan than the one we’re currently familiar with – is his father, Mentor.
Mentor’s real name is A’lars – and even if you’re not familiar with the character from the comic books, it may ring a bell in your head, as he was name-dropped in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, in the scene when Thanos and Gamora travelled to Vormir to acquire the Soul Stone (the Red Skull addressed the former as “Thanos, son of A’lars”).
He is, of course, also Starfox’s father, but he has connections to a number of other important Marvel characters.
For instance, he’s a descendent of the Titan Kronos (who we’ll get to in a moment) and grandfather to Thane (Thanos’ illegitimate son, who we would have included in this list if Thanos was still alive) and his inclusion in the movie would be great to see, therefore.
Mentor is hugely powerful and an important figure in Eternals history who helped to shape the destiny of a large number of cosmic characters. We really hope we get to meet him.
7. Kronos
The Eternals seems like the ideal opportunity to introduce Marvel’s cosmic entities to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Obviously we’re going to see the Celestials – they’re the cosmic beings who created the titular group, whom we already know exist in the MCU courtesy of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies – but the other most logical cosmic inclusion in the movie is Kronos (who we briefly mentioned in the previous entry on this list).
Kronos was originally an Eternal and is generally regarded as the oldest member of the race – meaning he really should be in this movie – but an accident resulted in the loss of his corporeal form and he became a being of more cosmic importance.
As Mentor’s father, he is also the grandfather of Thanos, so it would be cool to see him interacting with the young Mad Titan in scenes set in the past, before seeing him in his more powerful cosmic form in scenes set in the present.
Kronos was previously expected to appear in Avengers: Endgame, but that appearance didn’t end up happening – but it does suggest Marvel Studios have plans for the character.
With that in mind, it’d be great to see him in The Eternals – and his introduction could indicate the imminent emergence of more cosmic entities in the MCU.
6. Nova
Let’s be honest, it feels like we’ve been waiting forever for the introduction of Nova in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and if ever there was a good time to introduce him, it’s now.
In the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, the heroes of the MCU could do with some new blood to work alongside them – and another powerful cosmic hero would fit the bill perfectly.
Thanos did the Nova Corps some serious damage when he decimated Xandar prior to the events of Avengers: Infinity War, but that doesn’t mean they’re gone. In fact, their decimation may mean there’s more power to share between less Corps members – and Richard Rider could be their new main guy.
In the comics, he was selected for Corps membership by Rhomann Dey – who was, of course, played by John C. Reilly in Guardians of the Galaxy – so it’d be cool to see that scenario play out in live action at some point.
While patrolling space, there’s every chance he could encounter the Eternals, which provides the ideal opportunity to give him his first appearance in the MCU this year.
He’d make a great addition to the franchise – and a powerful new ally for the Avengers going forward.
5. Thor
When the Eternals first debuted in Marvel’s comic books back in 1976, it wasn’t long before they appeared alongside Thor (Thor #301 from 1980 is one such example of that happening).
With that in mind, it’d be cool to see a surprise cameo from Chris Hemsworth’s version of the character in The Eternals!
Power tends to attract power in any given superhero reality, so you have to imagine that the people of Asgard and the Eternals would have encountered each other at some point in their long histories in the Marvel Cinematic Universe!
Of course, Asgard no longer exists in the franchise (thanks to Surtur destroying at the climax of Thor: Ragnarok), but that really won’t matter, as The Eternals will be set over thousands of years, which includes scenes set in the past, when Asgard would still have been very much intact.
Heck, if Chris Hemsworth’s not available, we’d be more than happy to see the likes of Odin, Frigga, Loki, Hela, Heimdall, Skurge, Sif and/or the Warriors Three instead! Any connections to Asgard would be great and it would undoubtedly make the Eternals feel instantly more integrated into the MCU!
4. Beta Ray Bill
Famously, there was a Beta Ray Bill Easter egg in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok that many fans believed was teasing a future appearance from the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Bill appeared on the Grandmaster’s tower of gladiatorial champions on Sakaar, along with the likes of Ares, Bi-Beast and Man-Thing, which was confirmation that he definitely exists in the MCU.
Given that he’s a space-based hero and the fact that The Eternals will be set in space, we’d really love it if the Korbinite warrior was introduced to the franchise in the upcoming movie.
The movie will be set over thousands of years, so there’s every chance the titular group will have encountered Bill at some point throughout their long existence!
The Dark Knight Trilogy’s Christian Bale is currently in talks to appear in 2021’s Thor: Love and Thunder – and many fans are hoping that it’s Beta Ray Bill he’ll be playing.
If that’s the case, it would be unlikely for him to appear in The Eternals at this late stage, but just imagine if they sneaked him in for a cameo at the last minute – it would be amazing!
3. The X-Men
In March of 2019, Disney’s purchase was finally confirmed – and ever since the official announcement was made, the X-Men’s introduction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has felt like something of an inevitability.
Now, it’s worth pointing out that, in the comic books, the general belief is that the X-gene that gives the X-Men – and indeed all mutants – their powers is a result of modifications on early man by the Celestials.
Given that the Celestials will play a major part in The Eternals, could we see the X-Men – or at least the concept of mutants – introduced in the upcoming movie? We’d like to think so!
It’s hard to imagine how mutants will suddenly appear in the MCU, because we haven’t seen them in the franchise yet, but something could happen in The Eternals that triggers (or re-triggers) the concept of the X-gene in humanity.
Seeing the likes of Wolverine, Professor X and/or Mystique in the MCU would be incredible – and a surefire way of making The Eternals a big draw for those casual viewers who might not otherwise take an interest in it, due to the main characters not being very mainstream.
2. Apocalypse
If the X-Men don’t make an appearance in The Eternals, there is another mutant who we’d love to see appearing in the movie – and that’s the X-Men villain Apocalypse!
Apocalypse is, of course, the first mutant to have existed and he’s generally presented as having been around for thousands of years – which would be quite hard to explain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but by no means impossible.
Importantly, in the comic books, he came into conflict with the Eternals thousands of years ago (in 2000’s The New Eternals: Apocalypse Now), which could be depicted in The Eternals, given that it will span several millennia.
Even if that conflict is only briefly touched upon in the movie, it would be a cool way to confirm the existence of mutants in the MCU – and perhaps open the door for a more prominent appearance by Apocalypse in the future of the franchise.
Let’s be honest, Apocalypse needs to be more faithfully adapted in live action, after the abomination that was Oscar Isaac’s version of the character in 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse. This movie could be the ideal way to begin rectifying the issue.
1. Galactus
When Disney acquired Fox, it wasn’t just the X-Men and related mutant characters they gained the rights to – far from it, in fact.
The Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom and the Silver Surfer were amongst the others, but one of the most intriguing was undoubtedly Galactus.
Galactus is, of course, the planet-devouring cosmic entity who has already made an appearance in a live action movie – 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer – but it was as an inexplicable cloud-like being who was, frankly, absolutely nothing like the version from the comic books.
Given that The Eternals will give Marvel Studios the opportunity to delve further into the cosmic side of the MCU, it seems like a great opportunity for them to introduce the newly-acquired Galactus!
Fans of the franchise have been wondering how the MCU could possibly go bigger than the Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Thanos for its next big-bad – and Galactus would certainly do that!
Even if he merely appears in a post-credits scene, that’s all fans would need to see to make them go absolutely wild in anticipation for the coming conflict between the Devourer of Worlds and the MCU’s heroes!
What did you think of our list? Do you want to see any of these characters? Do you have any others in mind who you’d love to see? Let us know!
