Eternals post-credits scenes explained, and how they hold the keys to the MCU’s future

 arrived on  in January, bringing the to trippy cosmic places. Oscar-winning director ‘s movie establishes tasked with defending Earth from the deadly Deviants, and it includes mid- and post-credits scenes that’ll get you hyped for the MCU’s future.

The movie takes place after the events of , which saw the Mad Titan Thanos defeated and billions of vanished people returned to Earth after five years. Our dives into how that plays into Eternals, so let’s take a look at how the extra scenes hint at what’s coming next.

There’s only one direction you can go from there, and that’ll lead you into SPOILERS.

Visitor from Titan

The mid-credits scene brings us back to the Domo, the Eternals’ ship, as Thena, Makkari and Druig seek out their counterparts on other worlds to reveal the truth of their origins — that they’re synthetic beings created by the godlike Celestials and tasked with ensuring that the Emergence of Celestials from seeded worlds, dooming their host planet’s inhabitants. 

They wonder why their allies back on Earth haven’t been in touch and worry that the Celestial Arishem .

Those fears are confirmed by the arrival of extremely grandiose Eros (), «the royal Prince of Titan, brother of Thanos, the Knave of Hearts… defeater of Black Roger,» who teleports on board with Pip the Troll (Patton Oswalt). He informs them that their friends are in «big trouble,» so their mission will have to wait as Eros and Pip know how to find them.

Feels Like The First Time, a that sure sounds like it’s about sex but , kicks in as the credits continue.

What does it mean?

The Eternals have a new ally, but he’ll probably be an insufferable narcissist.

In the comics, Eros is an Eternal who uses the codename Starfox (not to be confused with the ) and . Unlike angry brother Thanos, he opted for a hedonistic lifestyle as he grew up on Titan.

Aside from the usual Eternal immortality, کلاه کراسی he has the power to psychically stimulate the pleasure centers of people’s brains — which means he can manipulate their emotions and make them aroused, euphoric or sedated.

The concept of consent gets hazy around someone like that, especially since Eros fancies himself a womanizer. His behavior apparently caught up to him in where a married woman accused him of sexual assault.

It’s unlikely the family-friendly MCU will touch upon such a sensitive topic, so the nature of movie Eros’ powers may be tweaked or he might be depicted a little differently. Marvel dropped showcasing Styles as Ero on Nov. 18.

Pip the Troll made his comics debut as a royal prince who got transformed into a troll after imbibing a little too much of their enchanted liquor. He became a sidekick to the godlike being and gained teleportation powers.

He apparently has in the recently released game (which isn’t part of the MCU canon) as well. 

Adam has only made a brief appearance in the movies so far, in one of ‘s many .  Ayesha — the enraged leader of the golden Sovereign — announces her plan to destroy the Guardians with new creation «Adam,» and we see a mysterious cocoon. 

Director James Gunn confirmed that in the which is due out , and he’ll likely be an antagonist for the Guardians at first. The introduction of Pip suggests their paths will cross, and that the Eternals storyline will be a factor in that movie.

Vampire hunter’s debut

The post-credits scene brings us back to Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) in London. He alluded to a «complicated» family history before Sersei was grabbed by Arishem, and we find him opening a box containing an ominous looking dark sword.

He’s clearly hesitant to pick it up, which is understandable since the plaque on the box translates to «Death is my reward.» It’d probably be wise to just close the box and give Avengers a call if you want to get Sersei back.

«Sure you’re ready for that Mr. Whitman?» says a mysterious someone, and the scene ends.

What does it mean?

Let’s jump straight to the voice — it’s Blade the Vampire Hunter. Actor Mahershala Ali’s delightfully smooth voice is unmistakable, and we’ve that he’s been cast in the role.

You might remember the character being portrayed by in the Blade trilogy that ran from 1998 to 2004. Those movies came before the MCU, so they aren’t part of its continuity, and the character will get a fresh start with Ali (Blade also had a mostly forgotten TV show on Spike in 2006, also pre-MCU).

Human-vampire hybrid Blade’s first comic book appearance . Eric Brooks’ mother was transformed into a vampire just before he was born, giving him some of the blood-suckers’ traditional powers and immunity to their bites.

His burning need for revenge against the vampire who turned his mother drove him into the vampire huntin’ business, and he’s been staking them in the comics ever since. He was also born in London, so it’s fitting that he made his first MCU appearance in the UK capital.

We don’t know when his solo MCU movie will come out, but it’ll reportedly be directed by (best known for helming last year’s ).

It won’t be Ali’s first MCU role; he previously played villain Cottonmouth in . Given the possibilities hinted at in the , it’s possible the new Blade could run into Snipes’ version of the character at some point (this could be wild speculation on my part, but it’d be cool).

As for Mr. Whitman, he’s been the sword-swinging superhero Black Knight in the comics . Several characters have taken the mantle of Black Knight over the years, but Dane is the most prolific.

He wields the Ebony Blade, an enhanced sword forged from a meteorite and passed down by Whitman’s ancestors. It can slice through nearly any substance, absorb energy and be summoned telekinetically (like Thor’s hammer Mjolnir). 

Unfortunately for Dane, the sword is also cursed — using it gradually drives the wielder insane. Given his MCU’s counterpart’s hesitation, it’s likely this is the case in the movie universe as well.

We don’t know why Blade is interested in Dane or the sword at this point, but he might be recruiting heroes to battle some supernatural threat (vampiric or otherwise). In the comics  Blade is a member of the , a team gathered by Doctor Strange due to their links to the occult. The upcoming might bring a version of this group into the MCU.