6 years after Thanos' death in Avengers: Endgame, I still can't believe the MCU introduced a perfect way to follow up on the villain's story in 2021, only to ignore it since then. The MCU essentially hinged around Thanos during huge swathes of its first major story arc, with the Infinity Saga revolving around Thanos obtaining the Infinity Stones and using them to wipe out half of the universe's population via the Snap. Though the MCU's heroes eventually undid the Snap, it underlined just how dangerous Thanos was in a way that cemented his legacy for years to come. 6t3s40

I'm worried that my favorite superhero speedster might not be seen again in the MCU following her debut in 2021's Eternals after Lauren Ridloff's comments about her possible return in Avengers: Doomsday. Marvel Studios recently confirmed the first 27 actors cast in Avengers: Doomsday, including of the Avengers, the Thunderbolts, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, but there are many other actors who weren't mentioned. The likes of Mark Ruffalo, Brie Larson, Tom Holland and Benedict Cumberbatch, among others, have been ignored, but there are even more stars I want to see return.

After the latest announcements and comments about Avengers: Doomsday, I'm concerned about whether the MCU will ever properly wrap up one Marvel team that has some major lingering story threads for the franchise to finish off. The MCU timeline has always had to balance a range of hero stories at the same time, but the number of heroes and narratives to balance at once has certainly increased during the Multiverse Saga. While many exciting figures and names have cropped up in recent years, this has created some complications for the superhero franchise in of handling its priorities properly.

Eternals revealed that the galactic immortal beings refused to intervene during Thanos' attack, and Marvel's latest film makes them look even worse. The Eternals have been on Earth since 5000 B.C. and have been present for or involved in many of humanity's greatest moments. While the group protects humankind from the Deviants, they never ed the Avengers to fight many threats that endanger large percentages of the population. Their duty was to fight Deviants and not involve themselves in human affairs.

Eternalsended with an enormous cliffhanger that for a time seemed like it would never be resolved. However, I believe that the impact of those events can be easily addressed in Avengers: Doomsdayand Avengers: Secret Wars, setting up the Marvel Cinematic Universe for an excellent future. While Eternals was not commercially successful, there was much to like about the film. Several details have remained important since, with the discovery of Adamantium in Captain America: Brave New Worlddirectly linked.

Eternals created an issue for a Marvel Cinematic Universe villain who debuted eight years ago, yet a clever theory rectifies these problems. By the time of Eternals' cliffhanger ending, the film had established a more cosmic side of the MCU by introducing the Celestials. The many MCU Celestials were expected to play a bigger role in the franchise than they ittedly have, with Eternals' lackluster critical reception causing Marvel Studios to pivot away from the giant cosmic entities. Now, Marvel movies will focus on villains like Doctor Doom rather than Arishem and the other Celestials.

Years later I still cannot believe that Marvel - in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and otherwise - wasted an incredibly promising actor twice in the space of only three years. Since the franchise began, many MCU movies have hosted great actors. Be it Shakespearan performers like Anthony Hopkins or the immeasurably charming Robert Downey Jr., who is set for a return in the story of Avengers: Doomsday, the MCU has included many fantastic actors.

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for What If...? Season 3Though Marvel’s Eternals have returned in the MCU after 3 years (sort of), thanks to the final superhero release of 2024, the superhero team’s on-screen story so far has been about absence. Even the events of Eternals - their own movie released to uneven critical reactions and an underwhelming box office take - was defined by them just sort of not participating in history’s events.

Although the MCU has yet to pay off Eternals' cliffhanger, Phase 2's Avengers: Age of Ultron revealed what it may mean for humanity a decade ago. The MCU's Earth has been threatened multiple times throughout the years, from Loki's failed invasion of Earth to Thanos' successful plan to wipe out half of all life in the universe. The Multiverse Saga keeps raising the stakes, with projects like Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania endangering the entirety of Earth-616 without human society even realizing it.

I would love to see the Eternals and Inhumans return to the MCU, and Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige's recent comments make me think this is very possible. Marvel Studios has delivered some huge updates in recent months, with Blade being indefinitely delayed, filming wrapping on The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Spider-Man 4's July 2026 release being confirmed. I am one of many who are very excited about the next few years of the MCU, especially after yet another tease hinting at the return of two major but underutilized superpowered species, the Eternals and the Inhumans.