Marvel quietly cancels major MCU movie; fans conflicted

The release of Deadpool and Wolverine has brought forth a lot of excitement for the Marvel Cinematic Universe for many reasons; among them is the fact that it is the franchise's chance to bounce back after an uncharacteristically lacklustre 2023, which saw two of its three cinematic releases underperform at the box office.

The release also comes during the week of San Diego Comic-Con, meaning that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has been in front of the camera a lot more, teasing fans with what they can expect from the future of the MCU in a heap of interviews. It also meant that he got the chance to acknowledge some of the rumors that have been doing the rounds, and he has seemingly confirmed one of them.

Kevin Feige confirms there are no plans for Eternals 2 right now

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has confirmed that Eternals 2 is not happening for the foreseeable future. In a recent interview with Inverse, he told the outlet that "there are no immediate plans for Eternals 2", essentially confirming years of rumors about the future of the Celestials' film series.

Eternals premiered in movie theaters back in 2021, with the title characters set to become a big part of the franchise going forward. The film, along with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, was one of the major new origin stories of Phase Four. But it couldn't mount the same type of momentum as Shang-Chi (even with a bigger budget and a much more star-studded cast) and found itself with mediocre reviews and okay box office results. It instantly brought the future of the characters into question, which is a shame because there were initially plans for a sequel, reports say.

Feige's confirmation that Eternals 2 won't be happening any time soon comes after Marvel insider Daniel Richtman reported that the film would be placed on the backburner earlier this year and potentially cancelled along with Ant-Man 4 and Captain Marvel 3. Feige was reportedly sold on the idea of a sequel, but Disney CEO Bob Iger feared it would be an obvious flop after the studio's recent misfires and the original movie's lackluster box office performance.

The news about the film's sequel not going ahead has fans naturally feeling a bit conflicted. The response to it has been mixed, with some understanding why the studio isn't producing another installment at the moment while others were hoping to see the characters take part in another adventure (especially after its post-credits scenes seemingly set one up)

Whether the Eternals sequel happens at some point down the line remains to be seen, but we likely haven't seen the last of the characters involved in the saga, as some of them could very well return in the upcoming two Avengers movies, which will bring the Multiverse Saga to an epic culmination. The impact of its storylines will also continue to be felt throughout the MCU, and that is something that Feige himself has acknowledged, telling Inverse:

"There are, and I think you’ve seen maybe in a trailer we’ve released recently, an acknowledgment of some of those events. Certain giant things came out of the ocean."

The Marvel Studios president is indeed referring to the first trailer for Captain America: Brave New World, which revealed that the movie will finally acknowledge the fact that there is a giant Celestial's hand sticking out of the ocean. What that will mean for the movie, or the MCU as a whole, remains to be seen, but it's great for continuity alone that the franchise has not forgotten about the events of Eternals and Tiamut's near-destruction of the planet.

Where or when the characters will pop up again is unknown, but it is good to know that the story of the movie will continue on. It's just sad that there aren't currently any plans for a sequel.

Maybe one day.