Now that more semi-grounded heroes like Shang-Chi and Black Widow have gotten their solo films, it’s the Eternals’ time to shine. The new batch of cosmic weirdos making their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe gets their grand debut in a month from director Chloé Zhao, which means it’s time for the commercials to begin. Surprisingly, the biggest takeaway from this spot is that it actually features footage of the first queer couple in the MCU films, something that seemed like an impossibility for the 13-year-old megafranchise until Tessa Thompson would come back for another Thor movie.
Most of the footage in the promo is stuff we’ve seen before, like Lia McHugh’s Sprite enchanting humans with fireworks. But there are a few new interesting nuggets to get invested in, such as the first appearance of Phastos’ (Brian Tyree Henry) husband, played by Haaz Sleiman. And they’ve got a child together! How far we’ve come from crossing our bloated, queer fingers in the hopes that every year a random Marvel movie will be the one that gives us our corporate approved queer rep. Oh, and Kit Harrington continues to be there as Dane Whitman, the guy who’ll eventually be Black Knight, but Marvel’s really hoping you won’t think about that.
The next MCU movie sees the Eternals decide to join the fight to defend the planet after an irresponsibly long time just sitting on the sidelines. What with the universe suddenly receiving a massive population resurgence after Avengers: Endgame, Earth is in danger of getting wiped out again. So it’s a rush to get the band back together to stop the Deviants and save the world, not the first Marvel movie to do so. All told, this looks exactly like how Marvel Studios usually markets their movies. It doesn’t go for the melancholy or wonder that the most recent trailer did, but makes its case with splashy action, like the team fighting Deviant beasts or preparing to fight a volcano. No clue what that’s about, but we’re sure to find out when Eternals comes exclusively to theatres on November 5.
Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.