Marvel Studios Explored Avengers & Captain America Cameos for Eternals Credits Scene

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the post-credits scene of Eternals. 

Marvel Studios Eternals is now playing in theaters, finally releasing to the public after being delayed an entire year.

This means fans everywhere can decide who their favorite Eternal is. This also means audiences can finally watch the post-credits sequence that got spoiled for them several weeks before the film's debut. 

Speaking of post-credits scenes, a pretty important one played at the tail-end of Eternals has major implications for the future of the MCU. Kit Harington's Dane Whitman likely just had the most confusing day of his entire life, so he pulls out the legendary Ebony Blade that he's apparently had in his possession this whole time.

And just as he goes to grab the sword, none other than Mahershala Ali's Blade makes his offscreen MCU debut by asking Whitman if he's really ready for what he's getting himself into. 

It's an eerie scene and arguably one of the most compelling elements of the new Chloe Zhao's Eternals. But the writers of the new Marvel film have recently admitted that they never had one solid idea for what the post-credits scene should look like.

They also went on the record saying Blade's MCU debut might instead have been Anthony Mackie's first silver screen appearance as the MCU's new Captain America. 

Eternals Meet Captain America 

Marvel

In an interview with TheWrap, Eternals co-screenwriters Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo explained that the post-credits scene involving Kit Harington's Dan Whitman did not always include the offscreen MCU debut of Mahershala Ali's Blade.

In fact, they had "half a dozen solid versions of those end credit sequences" in mind while coming up with the Eternals stinger. 

Kaz Firpo teased in the interview that one potential post-credits candidate for Eternals may have "even been Sam (Wilson), our new Cap." 

The report also claims that the Firpos toyed with the idea of the Eternals meeting up with the Avengers, or having a run-in with Jonathan Majors' new Kang the Conqueror where he asserts his presence and "come(s) hang out and have a little conversation with these guys." But when asked if they considered consulting Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange for the post-credits sequence, they curiously could "neither confirm nor deny." 

The Eternals writers explained that their decision to include Ali's Blade was all about opening a door for something "that will become satisfying later on:" 

"I think so much of that process is about leaving doors open. That’s really what it’s about. As much as everyone would like there to believe that there’s a master whiteboard that hasn’t been touched in generations and sits in Kevin’s office that has everything that’s happening for the next 40 years, really it’s a process of what do people want to see? What’s fun in that moment? What door can we leave open that will become satisfying later on?”

Eternals Writers Pull From All MCU Corners 

Hearing that the Eternals writers had more of an open sandbox to play in for the film's post-credits sequence is rather exciting when considering all of the different possibilities that could still be in play later on. Is Dane Whitman being recruited, or is he being stopped? Is Mahershala Ali's Blade's a friend or foe? How does Blade even know Dane at all? 

It's also interesting to think of the alternate possibilities that were considered for the Eternals stinger since it could answer some very real questions that fans will have following the first installment in the franchise. 

For instance, will an Eternal like Kingo get to meet Anthony Mackie's Captain America? If so, would he also meet the other Avengers? He seems the fondest of being a famed good guy compared to any of the other Eternals, so joining up with Earth's Mightiest Heroes might actually be a smart move for Kingo with his new purpose on Earth. Maybe he'll even get a reunion with Thor after mentioning how he knew the God of Thunder when he was just a boy. 

See how fun it is to think this way? If the Firpos had this sort of freedom when making a choice like including either a vampire daywalker or the star-spangled-man-with-a-plan in their movie, then who's to tell how much potential this new Marvel franchise has as it begins to mesh with the greater MCU? 

It's encouraging to hear that the characters and events of Eternals can already be introduced to other MCU franchises, considering the depth and implications the first film inflicted on Earth. With Arishem promising to return to judge the planet, it's only a matter of time before the Eternals' problem becomes the Avengers' problem. The sooner those two supergroups meet, the better. 

Marvel Studios Eternals is now playing in theaters.