Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige recently confirmed that the company has “no immediate plans for Eternals 2.”

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JULY 25: Kevin Feige speaks during the ceremony honoring him with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California on July 25, 2024 . (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Disney)

In an interview with Inverse, Feige informed the outlet, “There are no immediate plans for Eternals 2.”

However, he did note that Marvel does plan to reference the events that took place in the film moving forward, “There are, and I think you’ve seen maybe in a trailer we’ve released recently, an acknowledgment of some of those events. Certain giant things came out of the ocean.”

(L-R): Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and Druig (Barry Keoghan) in Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

It’s not hard to imagine why a sequel to Eternals would not be in the plans for Marvel Studios. The film was a box office disaster. The-Numbers reports it only grossed $164.8 million domestically and another $236.8 million internationally for a global gross of $401.7 million.

An estimated production budget claimed the movie cost $200 million to make, which would mean the film needed to gross $500 million to break even. However, Caroline Reid at Forbes notes the net cost of the film was actually $253.59 million. By her calculations the movie lost The Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios a whopping $61.1 million.

Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) in Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS. Photo by Sophie Mutevelian
. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Not only was the film a financial disaster, but it was the poster child for Marvel’s embrace of woke ideology and its DEI agenda. Back in April 2021, Feige made it abundantly clear the film was pushed to the top of the company’s production schedule because of its focus on identity politics and sexual orientation.

Variety’s Kate Arthur asked Feige, “Eternals expands the MCU in terms of representation, with its large international cast, its first LGBTQ superhero — I know some of those things are baked into the Eternals, but how many of those expansive ideas came from Chloé?”

Feige responded, “Well, the notion of switching up the genders, sexualities and ethnicities of the characters from the comics, was baked in initially — that was part of what Nate Moore was really advocating for in moving “Eternals” to the top of the list for us to start working on. What exactly the makeup was between when Nate put together his internal discussion document, which is how we always start on all of our projects, and what she came in and did, I don’t recall exactly.”

(L-R): Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Karun (Harish Patel), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Sprite (Lia McHugh), and Sersi (Gemma Chan) in Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS. Photo by Sophie Mutevelian. © 2021 Marvel Studios. All Rights Reserved.

“When it came to casting, that also did affect it.,” he continued. “There were some characters that we change from male to female, there were some characters that we knew how we were altering them from the books. But then also it came down to casting. So for Sersi, for instance — and if there was a lead in this ensemble, it is Sersi, it is Gemma Chan — we looked at and read all sorts of women for that part. And ended up really believing that Gemma was best for it. And thankfully, she’s proven that to be the case in the final movie.

“So, of course, Chloé was a big part of that decision, and of every casting decision. Some of it was some of it was done beforehand, and that continued once she was on board as director,” he concluded.

(L-R): Sprite (Lia McHugh), Druig (Barry Keoghan), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Karun (Harish Patel), Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Ikaris (Richard Madden) in Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

It’s quite possible Feige and Marvel Studios might be moving away from its embrace of wokeness. Feige recently indicated that characters introduced in the company’s Phase 4 movie and television projects might not show up in the upcoming Avengers films.

He told Gizmodo, “I rarely speak in absolutes like that, right? The notion of never ever seeing somebody again, we’ve got Tim Blake Nelson in a movie coming up next year, right? So I never talk in absolutes like that.”

However, he then admitted, “But the truth is, you know, we’re going to tell a story in these Avengers movies, and there won’t be room for 100,000 characters in it. So choices will have to be made, that’s for sure. But that doesn’t mean you won’t ever see anybody ever again.”

(L-R): Karun (Harish Patel), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Gilgamesh (Don Lee) in Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Despite what look like positive moves for the studio, the company is still pushing out its Agatha All Along television series, which will feature a witch coven with at least one gay character in Joe Locke’s Teen.

Locke confirmed his character was gay telling Rolling Stone UK, “The way it’s explored in the show is very truthful and very positive. His sexuality is just one part of the character.”

It has a Thunderbolts film coming out that does not have any members of the Thunderbolts on the team or seemingly in the film. It also has a Captain America film coming out without Captain America in it. It also still has yet to release its Ironheart series.

Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America in Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo by Eli Adé. © 2024 MARVEL.

What do you make of Feige indicating there are no plans for an Eternals sequel?