WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Eternals, now in theaters.
Eternals ties back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's largely a story unto itself. There are references to the Avengers and Thano's Snap, and the film does its best to explain its characters' lack of involvement so far. However, Eternals is mostly concerned with its own bigger picture: its spaceship full of new characters, their mission and their evolving worldview.
Director Chloé Zhao gives us one resolution -- the world is again safe, for now -- but she leaves behind some open questions that will no doubt affect, if not outright shape, the MCU going forward.
How Many Eternals Are Out There?
Eternals introduces a whopping 10 new superhero characters to the MCU, and that's if you don't include the two cameos in the mid-credits scene and Kit Harington's Dane Whitman (we'll get to him later). But the film strongly implies the existence of even more Eternals. Arishem explains to a shocked Sersi that Eternals are humanoids, manufactured by Celestials in the World Forge, then sent to host planets as a defense against Deviants so that life can multiply.
This process has been recurring for millions of years across an infinite universe -- or multiverse -- so it stands to reason that Arishem would craft himself a staff of more than 10 helpers, and Sersi sees partially-constructed Eternals when communing with him. Then, Sersi and Makkari confirm this later in the film when Sersi wonders how other Eternals will take the news, and Makkari replies that the truth will set them free. As Eternals comes to its conclusion, Thena, Makkari and Druig climb aboard the Domo and head into space, presumably to look for more of their kind. Who, exactly, they find could be part of the plot of the sequel.
What Happened to Tiamut?
One of the two big reveals in Eternals is that these protectors of planet Earth were only protecting the planet so that a new Celestial, named Tiamut, could emerge from its core once enough energy had been generated. That they've been responsible for an unknown number of genocides is too much for most of the team to bear, so they hatch a plan to stop the Emergence from happening. The initial plan -- to have Druig control Tiamut's mind and force him to hibernate for awhile longer -- doesn't pan out. Instead, Sersi has to face Tiamut and stop the Emergence alone.
What happens next isn't crystal clear. It appears that Sersi uses her increasing power to manipulate matter to freeze Tiamut. But characters also worry what the punishment will be for killing a Celestial. Is Tiamut dead? Frozen? Asleep? We know that Sersi absorbed Tiamut's energy, but we don't know whether the enormous being stuck under the Earth's surface has any of its own left. Surely the fallout of the halted Emergence will matter going forward.
Is Ikaris Really Gone?
The other big reveal is that Ikaris, who had joked about leading the Avengers, turns out to be the bad guy. After the team believed they'd rid the world of Deviants, they went their separate ways, but not before Ajak confided in Ikaris about Arisham and the true purpose of their mission. When Ajak begins to doubt enough to veer from that mission, Ikaris throws her to a pack of recently thawed Deviants and stages her death to hide his involvement. After the Eternals successfully stop the Emergence in its tracks, a conflicted-looking Ikaris does what the inspiration for his character famously does: he flies too close to the Sun.
It sure looked like Richard Madden went up in flames, but as Phastos' kid pointed out, he's basically Superman, so anything's still possible. We aren't even sure why he bolted away from Earth. He could've been overcome with guilt, or he could have escaped to meet up with other Eternals or Celestials.
What's Dane Whitman Up To?
The third member of Eternals' love triangle (or quadrangle if you include Sprite) doesn't get as much screen time, but his story will be important going forward, even if it's only hinted at with a line of dialogue then relegated to the end-credits stinger. Dane confesses to Sersi that his family history is, well, complicated, before Arisham rips her away from him.
After the credits roll, he psyches himself up to open a box. The inside reads "Mors mihi lucrum" or "death is my reward," and it contains the Ebony Blade, referenced earlier when Thena's playing around with Excalibur. A voice asks him if he's sure he's ready. We know that means Dane is next in line to be the Black Knight, the wielder of the mighty but cursed sword. But we don't know who that voice belonged to, when he'll officially debut as the character, whether he'll use the blade to save Sersi, and what, if anything, that uncle of his has to do with it.
Did Sprite Retain Her Powers After Turning Into a Human?
After roomies Sprite and Sersi essentially have a falling out over a boy, they reconcile when Sersi offers to use Tiamut's energy to turn Sprite into what she's decided she wants to be: a human being who will grow up. Sersi makes sure Sprite realizes that her lifespan will be finite prior to performing the change, but Sprite wants the chance to mature, have a family and experience normal life regardless of the cost. However, Sersi doesn't mention anything about the loss of her powers of illusion in the bargain. When we leave Sprite with Kingo at the end of the film, we known she'll age, but we don't know whether she'll live to fight another day alongside the Eternals.
Are Makkari and Druig a Couple Now?
One of the highlights of Eternals is the easy, electric chemistry between Makkari and Druig. Their use in marketing made it seem that either character could turn out to be villainous, but in the film, both are surprisingly likable and redeemable, even more so when they're paired together. We know they haven't seen each other for awhile. Druig's been hanging out in the Amazon after breaking the rules to thwart genocide. This could be a budding romance, or one that's been going strong for millennia and just wasn't the A-plot of this movie. Either way, fans will be happy to see more of them when Eternals returns.
To try to find answers for yourself, Eternals is now playing in theater.