According to a report from Variety, insiders at Disney say that Eternals will be exclusive to theaters when it first comes out on Nov. 5, 2021. But we also know, thanks to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, that Shang-Chi will drop on Disney Plus on Oct. 18, 2021. This is 45 days after its release in theaters, and Eternals could get the same treatment. As it turns out, Eternals‘ fate was largely dependent on Shang-Chi’s box office numbers.
According to Vulture, Marvel was waiting to see how Shang-Chi would do in theaters before deciding on what to do with Eternals. And because the movie starring Simu Liu has done so well, they may also give this upcoming film a 45-day waiting period between its theatrical release and the Disney Plus drop. For now, there’s no confirmed date for when audiences can expect to stream the movie at home.
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has also said that he would prefer to have Eternals go to theaters exclusively for the premiere. “I think a theater would be my preference and [Eternals director] Chloe [Zhao’s] preference,” he told Variety. “We will see where we go with it.”
In general, the Eternals are good guys. When the Earth was just beginning to sustain life in the Marvel universe, the Celestials created Eternals and Deviants to inhabit it alongside a mutation for humanity’s DNA. This is how we get X-Men. While Deviants were looking to destroy the planet, the Eternals were looking for ways to save it and keep the peace. But this could be hard to believe if you’ve watched movies in the MCU thus far.