How The Eternals Can Be Setting Up An Even Bigger MCU

The MCU seems to be getting cosmically bigger.

Ever since the Eternals movie was announced, there have been a lot of theories floating around as to what this means for the future of the MCU. Since the MCU got the rights back to franchises like X-Men and Fantastic Four, people have been clamoring to know when Marvel will finally set things up for their inevitable entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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Unfortunately, a part of me feels this is wishful thinking, considering that it seems Phase Five is where Marvel wants to introduce a lot of those beloved characters. With that being said, I do still have hope of not only having an Easter egg or two for Phase Five but also an overall expansion into the cosmos. 

Now, before I get into my list, I must say these are predictions I'm making, so be gentle in the comments. I must also warn you of possible 🚨spoilers🚨. If you'd like to see Eternals with no knowledge of what might come, turn away and never look back.

Are you still here? Excellent! Let's dive right in!

The Black Knight will cross franchises.

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With Dane Whitman being announced as part of the Eternals ensemble, fans immediately got hyped about seeing Kit Harrington taking the black again, but this time as the Black Knight. For those unfamiliar with Dane Whitman, he was introduced in the comics after his predecessor, who is also his uncle, Nathan Garrett was mortally wounded by Iron Man. With his last words, he asked Dane to bring honor back to the Black Knight legacy, which he did by wielding the Ebony Blade that his power is derived from and teaming up with the Avengers. 

During those team-ups, he helped defeat many popular villains, from Ultron to Kang the Conqueror. From everything I've seen in the trailer, I don't believe the Black Knight will come to action in this movie, but considering his rich history in the comics, I could see him crossing over to any of the future titles that Marvel has in their lineup, expanding the magical elements outside of Dr. Strange and Scarlett Witch. 

Thena and Kro could be on the run.

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Now, I don't know if Kro will even make it out of the Eternals, seeing that most villains don't make it past the initial movie they're in, but if he does, the storytelling they could continue with could give complexity to the franchise we haven't seen in the MCU yet. Kro and Thena have a romantic history in the comics that leads to a whirlwind of events, including both of them being hunted by their former allies. 

Kro, being a warlord deviant, would have you think he's just a baddie and that's it, but there's so much more to his story that would be great for them to carry on in future films. MCU history has shown that most antagonists don't get to end up like Loki, but if they do give him a chance to be fleshed out, it'd be great to see their story come together. Especially if Dan Stevens is actually playing the role — he's fantastic.  

Thena and Thor will meet and it will be epic.

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The similarity of the name Thena to that of the Greek goddess Athena is no coincidence and is sure to be mentioned in the film. In the comics, Olympus and the whole Greek mythology is just as big as Thor and the Norse mythology. So imagine these two golden-haired demigods sharing the silver screen together — it would be a thing of magic! 

Seeing as how Thor Love and Thunder is dealing with the likes of Russell Crowe's Zeus, I would like to assume that Thena's and Thor's paths are bound to cross. They've lent a helping hand to each other in the comics, so I can't imagine why they wouldn't for the MCU. I just hope it's sooner rather than later. 

Celestials will be the reason for mutants...eventually.

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Our first introductions to the Celestials were in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 in a flashback, and we get to meet Ego (Star Lord's father) in Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as well. But in Eternals, they will play a much bigger role. These powerful beings gave life to our heroes in the film, as well as the duty of guarding individuals against Deviants until the day of the Emergence, which seems as if it could be the rise of a dormant Celestial at the center of Earth. 

Fans have long theorized that since Celestials are in this film, there's bound to be some reference to a mutant X-gene that will awaken in the humans themselves. Fans of the comics know that Celestials were responsible for creating not only the Eternals and Deviants but also humans. They experimented on humans genetically during the era of cave dwellers in hopes of seeing them change through evolution to become a proper civilization. The idea being, when the Celestials returned a few millennia later, they would decide if the species they'd created was worth keeping around or not, based on how its members had lived through those years. 

Now, with the Celestials genetically altering humans early on, they specifically put the X-gene in certain humans. The gene was meant to remain dormant, to manifest only over time through evolution.

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This would be a great segue into mutants for the MCU. I can't imagine them not taking the low-hanging fruit that's there to explain why we haven't seen any mutants yet, but I also don't expect the film to scream out "X-GENE" at any point. I just think they'll lay a simple foundation through Easter eggs or by referencing mutants for either a sequel or another cosmic movie to inch us a little closer to getting the mutants we've all waited for.

What do you think of my predictions? Are they too crazy? Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!