There’s a definite feeling that, just like Ant-Man, the MCU is about to shrink. Although Marvel Studios releasing just the one movie in 2023 won’t be the norm going forward, it certainly seems likely that the once ever-growing franchise has reached its peak level of output and can only go down from here.
That means that, where every movie was once almost guaranteed a sequel or spinoff, Marvel will now be much more reluctant to greenlight projects unless it’s a surefire thing that they’ll perform well. The reason for the change? Disney’s purse strings have suddenly become much tighter since Bob Iger confirmed that the House of Ideas won’t have so many ideas in future. According to the prodigal CEO, the studio will “reduce volume” and focus on proven “stronger franchises.”
So what does that mean for those more divisive entries in the canon? Chief among them, Chloé Zhao’s Eternals, perhaps the most divisive MCU movie of them all? Well, depending on which side of that division you fall on, you’re either going to love this news or hate it.
For the love of Eros, is Marvel really cancelling Eternals 2?
If you’ve heard talk about Eternals 2 getting cancelled, then I’m afraid to say there is some fire behind the smoke here. Having said that, it’s nothing official, but it is a very plausible-sounding rumor. According to scooper Daniel Richtman, an Eternals sequel is “no longer in development.” The reason why is very much in keeping with Iger’s prior comments about Marvel’s future direction, with it claimed that “Marvel Studios is said to be focusing on less risks with their movies and more guaranteed hits.”
Given that, it’s hardly surprising that we’re hearing Marvel could be canning a follow-up to what stands as its fifth lowest-performing release of all time. While it didn’t bomb as hard as The Marvels, Eternals only brought home about $402 million when it hit theaters in Nov. 2021, putting it fifth from the bottom in the MCU’s box office ranking — only higher than Black Widow, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Incredible Hulk, and the aforementioned Brie Larson film.
Coming out towards the tail-end of the pandemic certainly didn’t help its profits, but going down as the worst-reviewed Marvel movie at the time (now the second worst, behind Quantumania) only damaged its chances even further. The gloomy tone and emotionally detached storyline wasn’t exactly what most audiences wanted from their MCU content, although it has earned itself a devoted fanbase over time and can now be considered one of the universe’s more cultish entries.
Honestly, though, when no concrete news on a sequel emerged after a full two years plus change, we kind of figured there was no hope for an Eternals 2, so this rumor doesn’t come as the greatest shock. The much bigger surprise is that Marvel appears to have wasted the attention-grabbing casting of Harry Styles as Thanos’ brother, imprisoned in a post-credits scene that seems doomed not to go anywhere. Could plans for Eternals 2 be rebooted as a buddy cop movie between Eros and his resurrected purple bro? You heard it here first.