Eternals Disney Plus date, trailers, cast, villain and latest news

Eternals Marvel movie
(Image credit: Marvel)

Marvel's Eternals has released a new, final trailer that promises a breathtaking epic from Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao.

The movie introduces a new team of superheroes, played by Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Brian Tyree Henry and Kumail Nanjiani.

The titular immortal alien race, created by the Celestials, have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the Deviants. At some point, the Eternals disbanded, but following the events of Avengers: Endgame, they reunite to fight the Deviants once again.

Aside from that A-list cast and director, not much is known about the Eternals plot or how it fits in with the rest of the MCU. Along with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, it ushers in Phase 4 on the movie front (alongside a ton of Disney Plus series). 

Here's everything we know so far about Eternals.

Eternals Disney Plus release date and theatrical date

It's almost time to watch Eternals online with Disney Plus

On Friday, Dec. 10, Disney Plus announced via an email to the press that Eternals is coming to Disney Plus on Jan. 12, 2022. The film hit theaters on November 5, 2021. 

Like all of the other MCU films, Eternals was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was originally supposed to come out in theaters in November 2020. 

Eternals post-credits scenes

We're tracking all the news and leaks about Eternals post-credits scenes, which Marvel has wrapped up tighter than ever. While one scene's somewhat leaked, we don't known anything about the other at all.

Eternals trailers and clips

The latest, final Eternals trailer opens with Salma Hayek riding a horse on her way to meet with Richard Madden. She recounts how Thanos blipped away half of the universe and how the return of all those people created energy that is allowing some cataclysmic event called "the Emergence." Now, they have to reunite their fellow Eternals to save humanity from annihilation. 

In the first official 'clip' released from Eternals, we see a few of our heroes fight off a group of Deviant monster terrorizing earthlings. The clip shows off Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo, Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari and Richard Madden’s Ikaris, with Kingo blasting bolts out of his fingers. 

At the end of the clip, Kingo and Makkari communicate via ASL.

The first trailer gave a glimpse at how the Eternals were true to their name, and spread across generations and continents.

Also, Marvel previously gave us a little sneak peek within a mega-preview of its upcoming movie slate.

Starting at 2:20 in the below video, Salma Hayek rides a horse as a voice-over says, "When you love something, you fight for it." From there, we see snippets of footage featuring Angelina Jolie wielding a sword, Richard Madden leading the group, and a jacked-up Kumanil Nanjiani coolly taking off his sunglasses.

Eternals cast

The cast of Eternals is, well, star-studded to say the least. And it represents a reunion of two Game of Thrones stars! Here's the A-list lineup:

Angelina Jolie as Thena: A fierce warrior Eternal who can form any weapon out of cosmic energy.

Salma Hayek as Ajak: The wise and spiritual leader of the Eternals, who has healing abilities. Ajak can communicate with Celestials.

Richard Madden as Ikaris: The tactical leader of the Eternals who can fly, project cosmic energy beams from his eyes, and has superhuman strength.

Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo: An Eternal who can project cosmic energy projectiles from his hands. Kingo becomes a popular Bollywood film star to blend in on Earth.

Gemma Chan as Sersi: An empathetic Eternal with an affinity for humankind who can manipulate matter. She has been in love with Ikaris for centuries, and poses as a museum curator on Earth.

Lauren Ridloff as Makkari: An Eternal who uses her cosmically powered super-speed to scout planets. She is the first deaf superhero in an MCU film.

Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos: An Eternal inventor who secretly helps humanity progress technologically. He is the first superhero to be depicted as gay in an MCU film.

Don Lee as Gilgamesh: The strongest Eternal who can project an exoskeleton of cosmic energy. He is Thena's partner.

Lia McHugh as Sprite: An Eternal who can project lifelike illusions and appears to be a 12-year-old child.

Barry Keoghan as Druig: An Eternal who can use cosmic energy to control the minds of others. He becomes aloof and withdrawn from the other Eternals because he disagrees with their interactions with humankind.

Kit Harington as Dane Whitman: A human warrior who wields a mystical sword.

Eternals villains, story and comic books

According to the comics, The Eternals stem from common mythology dating back to the dawn of the human race. Ancient overseers known as The Celestials arrived on Earth to divide its inhabitants into three sects: humans, Eternals, and Deviants. 

While the Deviants certainly pose a major threat, the Eternals have been their own worst enemies, too. A civil war broke out among them long ago and they fractured into two groups: one led by Kronos and the other led by Uranos. Kronos and the “good guys” won, remaining on Earth, while Uranos and his followers were exiled to Titan.

It's expected that the Deviants are the villain in this movie.

Now, Titan should sound familiar if you followed our friend Thanos’ story through MCU Phases 1-3. Yup, Thanos is an Eternal, born to a Titan leader. 

Unlike their Titan-counterparts, the Eternals back on Earth look like humans.

Kelly Woo
Streaming Editor

Kelly is the streaming channel editor for Tom’s Guide, so basically, she watches TV for a living. Previously, she was a freelance entertainment writer for Yahoo, Vulture, TV Guide and other outlets. When she’s not watching TV and movies for work, she’s watching them for fun, seeing live music, writing songs, knitting and gardening.