Okay, so it’s not quite Avengers vs. Justice League, but if you’ve been paying attention to the marketing for Marvel Studios’ Eternals, you may be aware that the film includes the MCU’s first direct reference to the Distinguished Competition.
A recent promo for the film features a scene where Phastos’ (Brian Tyree Henry) son make reference to Superman when talking to Richard Madden’s Ikaris – a character who possesses a very similar powerset to the Man of Steel in terms of being able to fly and project energy beams from his eyes. It’s a clever way for Marvel to address (and move on from) the comparisons up front, and speaking to Comic Book, director Chloe Zhao has explained how the reference came about.
“I take some responsibility for that,” said Zhao. “I think we’re in the business of telling stories about mythology, and Superman, for example, comes from origin of mythology. In many different cultures, there’s a form of Superman. And the people that created Superman and the brilliant filmmakers [who] brought Superman to screen, their movies are basically, in my opinion, doing a modern interpretation of that mythology. [Ikaris] is our interpretation of that mythology. It doesn’t mean we can’t pay tribute and have a good time with these iconic ones that we all love to so much. I mean, who doesn’t love Superman and Batman? Clearly our Eternals like them.”
So, now that we have confirmation that DC Comics exists within the MCU, might we get Moon Knight mistaken for Batman or Thanos for Darkseid? Or could this be the first small step towards some kind of eventual What If…? scenario or live-action crossover between the two superhero giants? It’s happened in comics, and with a multiverse of possibilities awaiting us from both Marvel and DC, who knows what the future may bring…
“The story takes place across two time periods. One storyline is set in the past when they operated as a formidable team and a close family unit. The second storyline is in the present, when the group has fractured and split apart, content to live among humans, hiding in plain sight. The prevailing threat of the Deviants, which once again threatens the existence of mankind, means the Eternals need to put their differences aside and regroup.”
Eternals is directed by Chloe Zhao (The Rider) and features a cast that includes Angelina Jolie (Maleficent) as Thena, Richard Madden (Bodyguard) as Ikaris, Don Lee (Train to Busan) as Gilgamesh, Salma Hayek (The Hitman’s Bodyguard) as Ajak, Lauren Ridloff (The Walking Dead) as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry (Child’s Play) as Phastos, Lia McHugh (American Woman) as Sprite, Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) as Kingo, Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) as Dane Whitman, Gemma Chan (Captain Marvel) as Sersi and Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk) as Druig.
Marvel’s Eternals is set for release on November 5th.