Eternals will explain why the team didn’t help fight Thanos

Marvel’s upcoming Eternals movie will introduce a new group of powerful heroes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but they’ve been around for a lot longer than anyone realized. The immortal aliens have been keeping watch over humanity since they first arrived on our planet in 5000 B.C, which has left some fans wondering just where the hell they were when Thanos (Josh Brolin) snapped half of the universe out of existence.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Eternals will reveal just why the immortal heroes didn’t help out during the Thanos crisis or any of the others that have plagued our world over the centuries. There will be more to it, but EW says that the Eternals’ “mission is to focus on the Deviants and never interfere with human affairs.” This seems to imply that the Deviants are worse than any villain we’ve seen so far in the MCU.

Although Eternals will largely be a standalone story, producer Nate Moore said that it will still be “part of the fabric of the MCU,” even comparing it to Guardians of the Galaxy, which also told a standalone story while introducing major elements that would come to play in later movies. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige also teased that Eternals will have “major ripple effects” on the future of the MCU.

The official synopsis for Eternals:

Marvel Studios’ “Eternals” welcomes an exciting new team of Super Heroes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The epic story, spanning thousands of years, features a group of immortal heroes forced out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s oldest enemy, The Deviants. The outstanding ensemble cast includes Richard Madden as the all-powerful Ikaris, Gemma Chan as humankind-loving Sersi, Kumail Nanjiani as cosmic-powered Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as the super-fast Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as the intelligent inventor Phastos, Salma Hayek as the wise and spiritual leader Ajak, Lia McHugh as the eternally young, old-soul Sprite, Don Lee as the powerful Gilgamesh, Barry Keoghan as aloof loner Druig, and Angelina Jolie as the fierce warrior Thena. Kit Harington plays Dane Whitman.

Eternals is set to hit theaters on November 5, 2021.