The cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand, but the majority of Eternals is set on Earth. Of course, it makes sense when you remember the titular team have been residing on our planet for thousands of years, locked in a millennia-spanning battle against the Deviants, but some fans might be expecting a little more intergalactic action.
After all, it’s the franchise’s most science fiction-driven launchpad for a potential new series since Guardians of the Galaxy, and Peter Quill’s band of misfits didn’t even touch down on Earth until the Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame double-header, but even then they were heading back beyond the stars as soon as Thanos had been defeated.
In a set visit interview via ScreenRant, producer Nate Moore explained why Eternals focused on Earth and not outer space when it came to both world and character-building, explaining the idea of ageless extraterrestrials evolving alongside the human race was key to the story.
“Even in the books I would argue they’re actually more earthbound because they’re actually created from mankind, so we’re actually pushing them a bit more cosmic even than they traditionally are in comics, frankly. But narratively, I think that juxtaposition is really powerful because the film is set on Earth, it doesn’t mean the whole film takes place on Earth.
It allows us to juxtapose things that are very modern day and normal to people with things like Celestials and spaceships that are super, super sci-fi without having to commit to either. I think you kind of get the best of both worlds and it gets to make the movie distinct from other things because it doesn’t have to be just one thing.”
Unfortunately, the reviews for Eternals have been less than stellar, so it might struggle to reach the box office heights of fellow pandemic-era MCU blockbusters Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. That being said, the property is about as bulletproof as it gets in the industry, so we’re still expecting it to make a lot of money by the standards of the time.