The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in the midst of some glorious destruction at the moment. After a swath of post-Endgame struggles led the franchise to readjust their attack plan, it looks like Marvel is finally going to make good on those promises of a brave new world; indeed, Deadpool & Wolverine is just the beginning.
Nevertheless, one can’t help but wonder what might have been if the “quality first” mindset had been in place throughout the Multiverse Saga. For one, Eternals probably would have been a much better film, and that in turn may have increased the odds of Marvel confidently plugging ahead with a sequel.
Unfortunately, now we’re not even sure when or if that sequel is going to happen, according Kevin Feige himself.
As one of the most divisive features in the entire franchise, this news has been received with very little mirth from either side of the divide; some are disappointed over the indefinite hiatus of the Eternals, while others believe that they got exactly what they deserved after the underwhelming thrust of the 2021 film.
More than anything, this announcement is once again a reminder of what a privilege it would have been for us all if Chloé Zhao had been given even more creative freedom than she was already given with Eternals. It would have been no great task to solve its writing issues if Zhao didn’t need to rope in as many characters as she did; Kingo was objectively useless, while Gilgamesh and Thena only added unnecessary narrative complications without any real emotional or thematic heft to justify their presence.
In other words, the biggest problem with Eternals is that it was an MCU movie; had Zhao not been beholden to the canon, we could have had an utterly sensational treat on our hands. But, that wasn’t to be, and the Eternals’ reputation has paid the price now.
Luckily, Deadpool & Wolverine was given permission to break the rules, and we’ll all get to see how that paid off when it releases to cinemas on July 26.