Marvel Studios already has plans for future crossovers between superheroes known as the Eternals. While they haven't even been introduced to audiences just yet, Kevin Feige and his team are already thinking about how the new heroes can be incorporated into the wider Marvel franchise.
Announced during Marvel Studios' San Diego Comic-Con 2019 presentation, Eternals is directed by Academy Award-winner Chloé Zhao. Created by the Celestials, the Eternals are essentially immortal beings who are sent to protect Earth from Deviants. Given this, the blockbuster's narrative will span thousands of years, although its main plot line takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The film boasts a star-studded cast of characters, with the 10 main Eternals consisting of Angelina Jolie as Thena, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Gemma Chan as Sersi, and Barry Keoghan as Druig.
Since Marvel is known for its interconnected storytelling, there is already plenty of buzz around where the Eternals might pop up after they debut in their own film. Screen Rant spoke with Eternals' producer Nate Moore alongside other reporters during a visit to the film's set in January of 2020. Moore revealed the filmmakers felt that it was best to explore the heroes' standalone story first before they the wider MCU. That doesn't mean, however, that there aren't already plans for them to crossover with other heroes, which the producer has confirmed the studio is already thinking about.
"This is somewhat like Doctor Strange or Black Panther where we felt there was enough story that it could be a contained universe at first. We definitely have ideas of how things can crossover later. But this movie with 10 characters and Dane Whitman and the Celestials and the Deviants, there was enough for us to play with."
Eternals is the first time Marvel Studios will be introducing a whole new superhero team since James Gunn's 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy film. It follows immediately in the footsteps of Shang-Chi, which debuted characters that made no previous appearance in the MCU. However, while Captain America: Civil War served as the launching pad for Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), it would certainly be difficult to achieve the same spin-off potential will such a large roster of characters in an ensemble film like Eternals. Even the Guardians of the Galaxy had two solo projects first before they interacted with the larger franchise in Avengers: Infinity War.
Given that, it will be interesting to see when the inevitable crossover happens. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings had a mostly self-contained storyline, but its mid-credits scene officially pulled the titular hero into the bigger Marvel Cinematic Universe as Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) met Wong (Benedict Wong), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). That said, Marvel Studios doesn't need to rush in building towards another ensemble project. At this point, the franchise is in a transition mode after the Infinity Saga, and it wouldn't be surprising if the characters and plot of Eternals remain separate from the Avengers and other prominent heroes in the universe for some time.
