Out of all the Marvel films, I feel like the internet is most divided over Eternals, the blockbuster superhero film directed by Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao. With a bit of a bonkers plot, an ensemble of 10 new superheroes, and convoluted MCU-ification of the timeline, there was a lot for fans to take in. But despite the naysayers, Patton Oswalt, who played Pip the Troll (a character introduced during an end-credit scene), has good news for Eternals fans.
On The Today Show, Oswalt was able to nerd out about Starfox (played by Harry Styles) when asked about his own place in the Marvel Universe. He then casually dropped the news that there had been an announcement about an Eternals sequel and that Chloé Zhao was intended to direct. “Hopefully, there will be more adventures for Starfox and Pip,” he says at the end of the clip.
The thing is, there hasn’t been an announcement about an Eternals sequel, at least until Oswalt became the first person to mention it. If the movie were in Marvel Studios’ immediate plans, then you think it would have been announced along with the Phase 5 and Phase 6 schedule revealed at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. After November’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Phase 5 kicks off with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (February 17, 2023), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5, 2023), The Marvels (July 28, 2023), Blade (November 3, 2023), Captain America: New World Order (May 3, 2024), and Thunderbolts (July 26, 2024), after which Phase 6 begins with Fantastic Four (November 8, 2024), followed by Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (May 2, 2025) and Avengers: Secret Wars (November 7, 2025). There could well be more Marvel movies coming in 2024 and 2025, however (surely four a year is the maximum), and perhaps Eternals 2 is one of them.
Eternals was a weird movie. It was too Marvel for Zhao’s fans and too Zhao for Marvel fans, and never quite found its footing. I admired the scope of the movie, and its ambitions, but felt like it was overladen with explanations, workarounds, and world-building that seemed to overwrite or undermine what I already knew about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Maybe the sequel won’t suffer as badly from all the shortcomings and pitstops that the first Eternals film was forced to make over the course of introducing literally 10 new superheroes, plus two alien entities, into the Marvel Universe. Also, I would like to see more of Gemma Chan and Harry Styles as superheroes please, thank you.
Eternals is streaming on Disney+
Want more Gizmodo news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.