Why The Final Eternals Trailer Has Fans Scratching Their Heads About Thanos

The final "Eternals" trailer gives a better look at what to expect from Chloe Zhao's epic new chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, revealing what the team will be up against while also briefly touching on their backstory. Sersi (Gemma Chan) narrates the trailer, explaining they were created by the Celestials (a group of towering cosmic beings) to protect humanity from a terrifying race of creatures called Deviants. Some Marvel fans will already know that this isn't the first time Celestials, Deviants, and Eternals have been brought up in the MCU. We see a Celestial called Eson the Searcher in "Guardians of the Galaxy," while Ego (Kurt Russell) is a sentient Celestial planet in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2."

But one of the most important characters in the MCU is closely tied with the Eternals and the Deviants: Thanos (Josh Brolin). Salma Hayek's Ajak tells Ikaris (Richard Madden) that a massive amount of energy was released when the Avengers snapped the villain and his army into dust while also bringing all the dead back to life. This energy has allowed a vicious race of aliens called the Deviants to run amok across the planet. So although Earth's Mightiest Heroes managed to save the day in "Endgame," Thanos is still causing problems.

But the "Eternals" trailer has confused a few Marvel fans, and it's all down to where the Mad Titan comes from.

So where does Thanos come from? Well, he was born on the planet Titan thousands of years ago before the planet descended into ruin. But what the MCU hasn't fully established is that the Titanians are a race of Eternals. As per Fandom, they descended from two separate Eternals, Sui-San and A'Lars. A'Lars is Thanos' father in the comics, but his son is cast aside because he also carries the Deviant gene. However, the MCU says he was an outsider just because of his deformities — although this could easily be retconned during "Eternals."

But fans on Reddit pointed out that the Eternals should've stepped in to stop Thanos because he's part-Deviant. User b0rowy thinks the team is hypocritical, saying "Somehow an Eternal–Deviant warlord from the moon Titan doesn't count." While u/xSparkyBoomManx pointed out "He's not a true deviant. He's actually an Eternal, but he carries a deviant gene, which is what gives him his purple skin, weird chin, and giant stature."

But u/aquequepo joked that Marvel is finding plenty of excuses to explain why no one else stepped in to fight Thanos, "I kind of like [the] simplicity of how they're dealing with the absence of powerful entities during the events of Thanos. 'Hey, TVA/Eternals/whoever else, where were you?' 'Not our job.'" Since the Mad Titan is already dead by the time the film kicks off, it'll be interesting to see whether Marvel clarifies Thanos' exact genetic makeup.

At least there's not long to wait, "Eternals" arrives in theaters on November 5, 2021.