The following contains spoilers for Marvel’s Eternals.

Eternals is certainly one of the most ambitious Marvel Cinematic Universe undertakings to date. With a huge, all-star cast, a brand new plot, and an entirely new style, this movie caught Marvel fans by surprise — not in a bad way. Marvel has been known to tell action packed and heartfelt stories, but the primary focus was not the relationship between the characters. It was actually in the character development through the events, as well as the situations that the characters were placed in.

Before the plot, let’s talk about this incredible cast. Eternals stars Gemma Chan as Sersi, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Kit Harington as Dane Whitman, and so many more. Most surprisingly, pop star Harry Styles showed up as Eros in the end-credit scene! Now, some of these names might not seem familiar, but the movies that they have starred in definitely are.

Gemma Chan was one of the lead actors in Crazy Rich Asians. Kit Harington and Richard Madden both played important characters on Game of Thrones. Angelina Jolie, the most recognizable name on this list, starred in Maleficent. Salma Hayek was in Hitman’s Bodyguard and Grownups, and Kumail Nanjiani acted in Men In Black International. This cast is very versatile, not only in its cinematic history but in its diversity. Marvel has been incorporating diversity into their movies like never before, and in this movie alone, there is East Asian, South Asian, Latino, African  representation, as well as representation of the deaf community.

The plot of the story surrounds these ten beings called Eternals who work for a Celestial (an Eternal who creates and destroys universes) called Arishem, in order to protect Earth from monsters called Deviants. They were not allowed to interfere with mankind, however, unless the Deviants were involved. The story spans thousands of years, starting off in Ancient Mesopotamia, then in the Gardens of Babylon, the Aztec War, and finally to present day. What is fascinating is that these Eternals (in this Marvel Universe) are depicted as myths, legends and gods. For example, the name Ikaris should sound familiar, as he inspired the tale of “Icarus who flew too close to the sun.” The name Thena is like the name of Athena, the Greek goddess of war.

This movie not only sets a foundation for the history of this universe, but it builds a structured and layered foundation for future films to come. The main dilemma in this film was whether Earth was worth sacrificing for the birth of a new Celestial (which would create thousands of new galaxies) or if the people of Earth should be saved. It tears the team apart and this moral conflict leads to the climactic end of the film, where they decide to save Earth, despite the high price. 

The director of this movie is Chloé Zhao, who recently won an Oscar for her 2020 film Nomadland, a very emotional story about a woman in her sixties who travels across West America after losing everything in the Great Recession. It is a very personal film and she has brought this style into Eternals. For the first time in a Marvel film, the main plot of the movie not only focused on the heroes but on the love story between two main characters. It was the first time in Marvel history where there was a much more intimate relationship between the characters that carried the plot of the film. The style of this movie was entirely different then normal, but it just goes to show that even if Marvel does a complete 180, they can still pull it off.

Now, the mid/after credit scenes in this film were possibly the most surprising aspects of the film. The mid credit scene depicts Dane Whitman and a big reveal that he is the rightful heir to the Ebony Blade, a legendary blade both in Marvel context and in true historical context. In legend, the Ebony Blade was wielded by one of the Knights of the Round Table, Sir Camelot. In the Marvel world, the Ebony Blade was passed on to someone and they were known as the Black Knight. This title stuck to whoever wielded the blade and if the sword is to draw blood, the person who wields it is cursed forever. In the mid credit scene, Whitman opens up a box with the sword in it, but the engraving says “Death is My Reward.” Unlike Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, which only works if it is wielded by a noble worthy being, the Ebony Blade amplifies the dark qualities of the person wielding it. It has a rather complicated history, but one of the most exciting things about this scene is the off screen voice saying “Are you sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?” This has been confirmed to be the voice of Mahershala Ali, who is starring in the upcoming Blade movie.

The most important and unexpected scene was the post-credit scene, however, where three of the Eternals (Thena, Druig, and Makkari) are on their ship when a portal appears with Pip the Troll and Eros. In Greek mythology, Eros is the god of love which is yet another example of how this universe’s history was influenced by these superheroes, but this most surprising part is that Eros is played by Harry Styles! What was even more surprising is that Eros is revealed to be Avengers: Endgame villain Thanos’s brother. This one minute long post-credit scene revealed so much in such a short amount of time. Overall, this movie was truly another hit even though it was so different from the usual. It is no doubt an extremely important step in the MCU.