After numerous pandemic-related delays, Marvel Studios’ Eternals finally hit theaters at the beginning of November. Fortunately, Marvel fans won’t have to wait as long for the film to make its streaming debut on Disney+. Earlier today, Marvel Studios announced that Eternals will hit Disney+ on January 12, 2022. It will be available for all Disney+ subscribers in both its standard ratio and the IMAX Enhanced aspect ratio.
The characters of Eternals were created in 1976 by artist and writer, Jack Kirby. Over a decade earlier, Kirby was one of the primary architects of the Marvel Universe — he co-created the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Ant-Man, Thor, the Avengers, Iron Man, the X-Men, Black Panther, and more.
But the Eternals were a departure for Kirby and their adventures were initially set outside of Marvel’s continuity. Instead of traditional superheroes, Eternals followed an immortal humanoid race with superpowers as they took on the Deviants, a mutated race with powers and abilities of their own. Both the Eternals and the Deviants were created by the Celestials, cosmic entities who were godlike in size and scope. Later writers and artists incorporated Kirby’s creations and concepts into the wider roster of Marvel’s characters.
To bring the Eternals to the big screen, Marvel Studios turned to director Chloé Zhao. She is the reigning Best Director after winning the Oscar for helming last year’s Nomadland. Zhao’s cinematic choices gave Eternals a powerful visual aesthetic unlike any previous Marvel movie to date. And like Kirby’s comics, Eternals rewrites the history of the MCU and sets the stage for future events.
Despite her small supporting role in Captain Marvel as Minn-Erva, Gemma Chan made her MCU return in this movie as the leading character, Sersi. Unlike many of her fellow Eternals, Sersi has genuine love for humanity. But Richard Madden’s Ikaris only has eyes for Sersi — and a dedication to his duty that may go too far. Salma Hayek also stars in the film as Ajak, the leader of the Eternals and their direct link to the Celestials. Angelina Jolie co-stars as Thena, with Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, and Kit Harington as Dane Whitman.
As with many Marvel movies, Eternals has both a mid-credits scene and a post-credits scene that set up future films within the MCU. Without giving anything away, there are some very exciting developments that occur in both scenes. The film’s closing credits also promise that the Eternals will return. But since Marvel Studios has yet to green light a sequel, it’s unclear if that will occur on the big screen or in an original series on Disney+.