When the first trailer for Eternals arrived yesterday, fans were shocked that the all-powerful race of intergalactic superheroes didn’t drop by to lend the Avengers a hand in the battle against Thanos, taking to social media and questioning why they didn’t do a thing as half of all life was wiped out in a click of the Mad Titan’s fingers.
The reason is simple enough; Kevin Feige didn’t announce Eternals until April 2018, three months after Avengers: Endgame had finished shooting, and the first addition to the cast wasn’t made until a year later when Angelina Jolie signed on to play Sersi. It’s a similar situation to fans trying to cancel Tony Stark for not paying the Avengers, when The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s lead writer Malcolm Spellman revealed that it’s a question nobody had ever asked before so the studio never thought about it, but you at least have to admire the enthusiasm of longtime Marvel Cinematic Universe supporters.
Needless to say, the reactions have been overwhelmingly positive to the footage and for a lot of people, November can’t come soon enough. And while it might be an ensemble-based film, you don’t cast Angelina Jolie in $200 million blockbuster without giving her something to do. Indeed, the promo teased a Sersi fight scene, and her opponents come bearing a Captain America Easter Egg, as you can see below.
It’s hardly a coincidence that the shield seen in the image has identical markings to the one wielded by Cap, but whether it’s got some greater meaning in the grand scheme of things or if it’s just a nod to the MCU is a question we won’t be getting the answer to until Eternals hits theaters in a little over five months.