Eternals Director Reveals The Movie’s Original Bleak Ending

Director Chloé Zhao reveals Eternals‘ original and bleaker ending. The third Marvel Cinematic Universe movie in Phase 4 debuted exclusively in theaters in November 2021. Led by an all-star cast including Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, and Kumail Nanjiani as powerful superheroes, anticipation was high for Eternals. The movie ultimately received a mixed reaction from critics, but audiences responded more favorably and helped the film make more than $400 million worldwide. Audiences are currently waiting to see what this means for Eternals 2 and the MCU futures of its characters.

The end of Eternals directly set up the story that a sequel or spinoffs could explore. After Gemma Chan’s Sersi used the uni-mind to stop the emergence of a Celestial, the group went their separate ways mostly. Madden’s Ikaris flew into the sun and seemingly died, while Jolie’s Thena, Druig (Barry Keoghan), and Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) went to space to find other Eternals – including Harry Styles’ Eros. Meanwhile, Sersi, Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), and Nanjiani’s Kingo were abducted by Arishem to be part of his judgment of humanity. However, it turns out that there was originally a much bleaker idea for Eternals ending.

As part of the post-release press cycle, Chloé Zhao spoke with Empire as part of the spoiler special podcast episode for Eternals. This included conversations about the themes and development of Zhao’s MCU movie, but she also talked about the fluid nature of moviemaking. This included discussing the original Eternals ending. Zhao mentions that none of her films have ever finished with the ending she originally had in mind and that Eternals originally ended with the entire team’s memories being erased.

It used to end with everybody back on the ship, minds erased and just going on to another planet, like The Twilight Zone. I remember when it goes to black, everyone was like, “I don’t know what to do.” And also, it’s the MCU, and you want to be excited for what’s next.

The original Eternals ending differs from what audiences saw with the final cut. Even though Zhao didn’t confirm that she and the cast filmed the bleaker ending, it does sound like this was the original ending when production wrapped. This could explain pictures of Harry Styles in the Eternals’ costumes before they arrived on Earth. He could’ve been part of the reset team to help replace Ajak and Gilgamesh’s deaths. Interestingly, that photo might also mean that Ikaris survived Eternals‘ original ending too.

It would’ve been fascinating to see how differently critics and audiences would’ve responded to Eternals with this bleaker ending. The movie would essentially set up a soft reboot for the characters where they could next appear in a completely different part of the galaxy. Marvel Studios could still go that route potentially, but the actual ending for Eternals points to a different story. Now, only time will tell whether or not Zhao will have the opportunity to guide where the characters go next.