The first full trailer for Marvel’s Eternals dropped this Monday, and it promises a mostly standalone entry in the MCU, seeing as the many titular immortal heroes won’t leave much room for crossovers from familiar characters. That said, the final clip in the teaser goes ahead and references the Avengers, echoing a major fan question in the process.
The Eternals trailer ends with the various heroes enjoying a “family” meal together. Sprite (Lia McHugh) then poses a question that Marvel lovers have been asking ever since Avengers: Endgame. “So now that Captain Rogers and Iron Man are both gone, who do you think’s gonna lead the Avengers?” There’s a moment of silence before Ikaris (Richard Madden) throws his own hat into the ring. “I could lead them,” he says. Everyone else around the table then breaks out in laughter.
Obviously, this scene is most likely intended to be a joke and probably not a bit of foreshadowing that Ikaris really will be calling the shots for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but who knows? In any case, it may tell us a couple of things. For one, it does a good job of getting across the character’s personality, establishing him as both cocky and a kidder. It also confirms that the Eternals have kept a close eye on the Avengers’ exploits, although they’ve traditionally sworn never to interfere with humanity’s affairs.
Most importantly, though, this moment makes clear that Marvel are fully aware that fans are asking this question and that it’ll be addressed eventually. There’s a lot of debate online over who’s the most worthy of becoming the Avengers’ new leader, whether it be Captain Marvel, Sam Wilson’s Cap, Thor or anyone else. And while this Ikaris line is likely just a joke, it promises us that Marvel is cooking up a reunion for the team that will eventually unveil the group’s new head honcho.
In the meantime, Eternals – from Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao – finally arrives in theaters on November 5th, after Black Widow debuts in cinemas and on Disney Plus this July.