Eternals has one of the biggest casts of a non-crossover Marvel movie, but by the end, that cast was slightly whittled down. One of the biggest deaths was that of a character that seemed to be set up as the film’s lead but who turned out to be the villain.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
It was revealed that Richard Madden’s Ikaris, who remained dedicated to the mission of Arishem and the Celestials, had killed the group’s leader Ajak played by Salma Hayek. This led to a battle between two factions of the Eternals with Sprite (Lia McHugh) siding with Ikaris and Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) opting out of the fight entirely.
Ultimately, Ikaris feels remorse and flies into the sun, emulating his mythological story about a man that flew too close to the sun and died as a result, and for some people, bringing his depiction even closer in line with that of Superman, who many compared this character to.
But due to the nature of the Eternals, some wondered if Ikaris was truly dead. One of the film’s writers, Kaz Firpo, has set the debate to rest and also reveals an alternate resolution that was considered.
“What is the melting point of an Eternal? How long does it take to literally melt an Eternal robot? For what it’s worth…yeah, it was always that. He can’t bear to face his family after what he’s done, which he realizes.
“I don’t think that Ikaris even thinks that he’s wrong. I think that he just has so much regret. He’s very sorry. I think he’s sorry for the way he lived his whole life on this planet, and that’s a lot of burden to carry. So really, that act is basically saying, ‘I made a mistake, but I can’t face my family, and I can’t go on living.’
“It began as an exile that I think, throughout the course of the filmmaking, really became something that needed to be definitive. It really is a moment of saying, ‘It’s sacrifice.; It’s sort of saying, ‘I can’t serve the Eternals. If I can’t serve the Celestials, and I can’t be with my family, then I choose this third option,’ which — for him — really is oblivion. So yeah, he dead.”
Kaz Firpo co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Ryan Firpo, director Chloé Zhao, and Patrick Burleigh. It sounds as though originally Ikaris would simply have been sent into exile following his betrayal, but that this was not a severe enough punishment or atonement for the character.
The Eternals will play a large role in the MCU moving forward, but it will be a streamlined lineup headed by Sersi (Gemma Chan). And even with their losses, keep in mind they picked up a replacement (or two) with the last-minute introduction of Harry Styles’ Eros/Starfox and his companion Pip the Troll (Patton Oswalt). The film also set up the rise of the Black Knight, a.k.a. Sersi’s love interest Dane Whitman played by Kit Harington, but his future in the MCU may lay outside of the Eternals’ purview.
Eternals received the poorest reviews of any MCU flick thus far, but it hasn’t done too badly at the box office, having made $368.4 million domestically on a budget of $200M.
The film is still playing in theaters if you still want to check it out. It hasn’t been announced when it will arrive on Disney+ or receive a home video release, but those should come in early 2022 if not sooner.
