Captain America: Brave New World marks the first solo film of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as the new Captain America following the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The movie explores Sam’s challenges as he struggles to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Steve Rogers, who’s stepped away from his role as Captain America. However, a tense relationship with President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford), followed by an international incident, and the emergence of new threats brings the world closer to chaos. Sam – along with the new Falcon, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) – must step in and embrace the red, white, and blue to stave off global instability.
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While not a total misfire, Captain America: Brave New World gets plenty of things wrong. The main cast does an admirable job and the action scenes are suitably thrilling. However, fans have criticized the film for a messy narrative, possibly because it tries to juggle too much at the same time. Audiences have lauded the MCU for the interconnectedness between the many movies and TV shows that populate its sprawling world, but Brave New World leans a little too heavily into past plot points, much to the film’s detriment. One of the previous movies that Brave New World heavily references is 2021’s Eternals, but those connections don’t quite work.
Why Is It Called “Celestial Island”?
In Eternals, the eponymous group of godlike beings prevented the “emergence” – the awakening of a massive entity from being born from the Earth, which would have resulted in its destruction. All that’s left are the calcified remains of the entity, called a “Celestial,” with only part of its head and hand sticking out of the Indian Ocean.
But how do the inhabitants of Earth know to refer to this location as “Celestial Island”? The Eternals lived their lives as normal human beings, keeping their true identities a secret. How did word get out that the large, humanoid corpse poking out of the middle of the ocean was that of a Celestial? A simple line about how S.H.I.E.L.D. providing Ross’ cabinet with information about the lore of the Celestial would’ve been enough.
Why Does the World Only Care About Celestial Island Now?
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Celestial Island plays a major role in Captain America: Brave New World as its calcified remains consist of a virtually indestructible metal that’s been dubbed adamantium. Obviously, this would be an incredibly valuable substance to countries around the world, which is why it becomes the center of a large controversy between the United States and Japan, a rivalry that could lead to an even greater global catastrophe.
Eternals was such a disappointment among fans and critics that it’s understandable that Marvel Studios would want to sweep it under the rug. However, that only makes its sudden relevance all the more frustrating. Until recently, the MCU has barely acknowledged the fallout of Eternals, and now in Brave New World, Celestial Island is about to cause WWIII? Was it only recently that the world noticed a giant dead god frozen in the middle of the ocean?
Where Exactly Are the Eternals?
After stopping the Emergence in Eternals, their creator Arishem abducts Sersei, Phastos, and Kingo because of their treason against him and his command. Their whereabouts are unknown, but their remaining friends Thena, Makkari, and Druig vow to rescue them when Thanos’ brother Eros arrives to tell them he knows how to find them.
This was a fun little tease at the end of the film, but Marvel Studios has yet to follow up on this cliffhanger. The Eternals did save the world, but they all left a big mess behind in the form of a dead Celestial, whose presence is the source of an international incident. Can’t at least one of them show up to clean up after their big showdown? Again, a simple line could’ve provided considerable clarity, maybe something like, “The Eternals are gone and no one knows where they are. Finders keepers, I guess!”
Was there anything else about this film’s connections to Eternals that didn’t make sense to you? Chime in below!
