Marvel fans are still reeling from the latest Eternals trailer, which arrived earlier this week and delivered our best look at both the immortal super-team and the movie’s story yet. And it’s not just the fans who are enjoying it either. The Green Goliath himself Mark Ruffalo has reacted to the trailer on social media, which is kind of perfect, as it actually features an indirect reference to the Hulk.
“Someone worse than Thanos?!” Ruffalo captioned his retweet of the Eternals trailer, along with a thinking emoji. “Fighting evil never ends.” Spoken like a true Avengers veteran.
The someone-worse-than-Thanos that Ruffalo refers to is the Deviants, the monstrous rivals to the Eternals. Sersi (Gemma Chan), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Ikaris (Richard Madden), and the rest were sent to Earth 7,000 years ago to hide among humanity until the time came to protect the planet if the Deviants attacked. That time is now.
Salma Hayek’s Ajak explains in this trailer that it’s all to do with the second Snap of the Infinity Gauntlet in Avengers: Endgame, which was of course performed by Bruce Banner. The phenomenal surge of energy caused by restoring half of all life in the universe allowed for the Deviants to escape to Earth. And that’s why, after not getting involved for all of the Avengers’ various battles, the Eternals are now stepping up to save the day.
Ruffalo refers to the Deviants as being worse than Thanos, but actually, the Mad Titan is a Deviant himself in the comics. It’s unclear if this connection will be referenced in the MCU, however. Still, this trailer makes clear that Eternals won’t be shying away from its connections to the wider franchise, including revealing our first look at the Celestials in the movie.
Also starring Kit Harington, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Don Lee, and Lauren Ridloff, Chloé Zhao’s Eternals is on course to hit theaters this Nov. 5.