The MCU used to be almost bulletproof, both critically and commercially, something that’s shifted to a surprising degree in the 2020s. While it had some early movies that didn’t quite reach the heights we soon became accustomed to, almost every movie was a success: only The Incredible Hulk underperformed at the box office, and while that film, Iron Man 2, and Thor: The Dark World drew a more divisive reception, they were still positive enough. Marvel become increasingly confident, turning more out there concepts and characters – the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man – into successes, and it seemed too big to fail.
Videos by ComicBook.com
That’s been severely tested in recent years, and it really started with Eternals, which released on November 5th, 2021. This was a tough year for Marvel, and for theatrical releases as a whole, as it was still amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Neither of the prior MCU releases had performed particularly well at the box office: Black Widow (which released on Disney+ Premier Access the same day it hit theaters) grossed $379 million against a $200m budget; Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings pulled in $432m (its budget was reportedly $150-200m).
Eternals, which had an estimated cost of $236m, was in the middle of those, earning $402m. But the bigger problem wasn’t its box office – though that wasn’t great, and certainly below expectations for an MCU movie starring Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, and more, directed by Chloé Zhao coming off of Best Picture/Director winner Nomadland. No, it was the reviews: with 47% on Rotten Tomatoes, it became the first MCU movie to ever be “rotten” on the platform.
What Went Wrong With Eternals?
Eternals could, and perhaps should, have been great, not only for the talent involved, but because there are some compelling characters here, not only with powers that rival (and in some cases, surpass) the Avengers, but with an even stronger family dynamic that should’ve brought a lot of thematic weight and narrative drama to proceedings and established them as one of the franchise’s major new superhero teams. Unfortunately, the movie suffered from a variety of problems: Zhao’s vision didn’t mesh with the MCU formula, meaning we didn’t get the best of either world.
The movie is long and feels longer; it’s overstuffed with ideas and characters, but too few of them are really engaging enough, and it’s bogged down by exposition and some of the MCU’s weakest villains in the Deviants. The movie aimed for having a romance at its core, which is not a bad idea, but the surprising lack of chemistry between Gemma Chan’s Sersi and Richard Madden’s Ikaris made it hard to become invested. Still, it wasn’t all bad: there were some strong action sequences that showed off the varied powers (Makkari’s speedster scenes are superb), gorgeous visuals, and a few genuinely good performances (Kumail Nanjiani brings much needed humor, while Angelina Jolie offers the emotional heft missing elsewhere).
Eternals Was A Turning Point For The MCU
Eternals is not the MCU’s worst movie, but what mattered is that this was the one where the dam broke. The veneer of invincibility disappeared, and suddenly, it was OK to really go in on criticizing Marvel Studios, in a way we’d never seen before now. The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, and Thor: The Dark World all hold scores at least 20% higher than Eternals, and it didn’t quite deserve the reputation that its RT score gave it at the time.
Perhaps it was superhero fatigue. Perhaps it was Zhao, an indie darling and Oscar winner, being lost in the Marvel machine. Perhaps it was just those issues outlined earlier. But there was a clear shift in how Marvel movies are reviewed, that wasn’t present in some of the other weakest efforts from the decade prior, and it has continued since then: the MCU’s five lowest-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes have all come this decade, with the other four arriving after Eternals.
| Movie | RT Critics Score |
|---|---|
| Captain America: Brave New World | 46% |
| Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania | 46% |
| Eternals | 47% |
| The Marvels | 63% |
| Thor: Love and Thunder | 63% |
There is, absolutely, a broader quality issue. Marvel pivoted too hard into streaming, and the sheer number of movies and TV shows not only became difficult to keep up with, but meant top-end talent behind spread too thin, and there was a lack of cohesive vision and quality control. The movies weren’t necessarily worse on an individual level compared to some of the lesser entries from before, but there’ve been more weaker efforts close together than ever before.
Marvel, to its credit, has recognized this. It’s pulling back on output, in particular with a shift away from live-action streaming series, but also with fewer movies (only two will release next year, and only one in 2027). The MCU’s 2025 movies have also seen the quality start to shift back as well: Captain America: Brave New World wasn’t good, but Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps are both very solid, and hopefully it can continue to build on that and get back to where it was, even if it’s too late for Eternals.
Do The Eternals Have An MCU Future?
As with any MCU movie, Eternals should’ve only been the beginning. There are always hopes, expectations, and ideas that more will come from Marvel characters beyond one movie, and there was clear setup in Eternals‘ post-credits scenes: firstly with the team meeting Harry Styles Starfox, and secondly with Dane Whitman finding the Ebony Blade, setting up his transformation into Black Knight, and Mahershala Ali debuting as Blade (voice only) as well.
Four years on, none of that has been paid off, and it never seems likely to happen. The muted box office and negative critical reception always made a sequel unlikely. Last year, Kevin Feige confirmed there are “no immediate plans” for Eternals 2 and, while things are always in flux at Marvel, it’d be a major surprise if that changed anytime soon.
Eternals is available to stream on Disney+. The next MCU movies are:
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day – July 31st, 2026.
- Avengers: Doomsday – December 18th, 2026.
- Avengers: Secret Wars – December 17th, 2027.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
image courtesy of 20th Century Studios -
Image courtesy of Prokino Filmverleih
