Eternals might be a different sort of Marvel movie, but it doesn’t stray too far from the formula in one respect – if you wait after the film for long enough, you’ll get two extra scenes hidden after the end credits.
In fact, these scenes are both fairly notable in terms of plot and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though understanding them might require a little bit more background reading than usual.
Still, never fear – we’ve done all that homework for you. If you have seen Eternals and want to know more about the post-credits scenes, check out our breakdown below. If you haven’t, look away. Spoilers are coming!
End credits scene one
!["Eternals"]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/11/Makkari-Druig-73d01d3.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Makkari")
The first post-credits scene catches up with Druig (Barry Keoghan), Makkari (Lauren Ridfloff) and Thena (Angelina Jolie) on the Eternals’ ship The Domo, which they set off on at the end of the film to tell other Eternals about what they’d discovered (i.e. they were all helping hatch baby Celestials, not protect planets).
However, after no contact from Earth for some time, they’d realised something was wrong with their fellow Eternals. Deducing correctly that their Celestial boss Arishem (David Kaye) had abducted Sersi, Sprite, Kingo and Phastos after they foiled his plans, they opt to “go back” – until they’re surprised by the arrival of an unfamiliar face.
Specifically, it’s the face of Pip the Troll, there to herald the arrival of his master Eros, described as the “Royal Prince of Titan,” “Starfox of mystery planet” and “brother of Thanos” among other things. To us, though, he’ll always be known as pink-haired Harry Styles, whose surprise arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was leaked from early press screenings.
!["Marvel's]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/11/marvel_eros_starfox_harry_styles-559717e.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Marvel's")
Anyway, he’s here to help the Eternals. “Pip and I are here to help,” he tells the stunned trio of Eternals. “Your friends are in big trouble. And we know where to find them.”
Eros has quite a long history in the comics, which you can read about here, but in this context it looks very much like he’s there to set up an Eternals sequel – or at least tease some more MCU appearances for Styles himself. After all, Eros has history (often romantic) with plenty of Marvel heroes and even joined the Avengers in the comics, so there are plenty of places he could pop up going forward.
End credits scene two
!["Kit]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/06/marvel_eternals_kit_harington_gemma_chan-1-3ffc7d9.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"marvel_eternals_kit_harington_gemma_chan")
The second tease follows Sersi’s (Gemma Chan) human boyfriend Dane Whitman, who’s also responding to her sudden abduction by Arishem. In his office, we see Dane psyching himself up to open a mysterious box, emblazoned with his family crest.
“You can do this…you can do this,” he tells himself, before cracking it open to reveal a wrapped-up sword. But this isn’t just any sword – this particular weapon comes with its own motto (“Death is my reward”) and a habit of whispering nasty little words when it’s gazed open, a bit like the One Ring.
“I’m sorry – I have to try,” Dane says, and reaches for the blade, only to be interrupted by another voice.
“Sure you’re ready for that, Mr Whitman?” an unseen American man says, before the scene cuts away to black.
Confused? Well, this scene explicitly sets up Dane’s transformation into his comic-book alter-ego, The Black Knight, a superhero who has appeared sporadically over the years.
In the comics, Dane is usually the bearer of the Ebony Blade, a family heirloom that deflects magic and protects its wielder from death. Unfortunately, it also corrupts those who hold it into feelings of bloodlust and violence, making it a dangerous weapon for anyone to use for long.
(Notably, the Ebony Blade is name-checked earlier in the film when Thena is playing around with Excalibur – in the comics, both came via the wizard Merlin, but have very different power sets.)
Within this context, the second post-credits scene makes a lot more sense. Clearly, Dane intends to try and rescue Sersi by playing the only card he knows, tying himself to the power of the Ebony Blade. He’s nervous because he knows what it could (or will) cost him, but willing to try anyway to save his girlfriend.
Mentions of his difficult uncle (who Sersi encourages him to make up with) are also drawn from the comics, where Whitman’s uncle Nathan Garrett was known as a supervillain also called The Black Knight (he was the first one, in fact).
Presumably, we will see the other shoe drop in a future Marvel movie when Dane becomes the Black Knight, though whether that will be in an Eternals movie or some other project remains to be seen. Either way, Game of Thrones fans might not be too sorry to see Kit Harington wearing black, wielding a special sword all over again.
Eternals is in UK cinemas now. For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or our full TV Guide.