Did Patton Oswalt Just Accidentally Confirm Chloe Zhao's Return For Eternals 2?
It's common knowledge at this point that one of the most highly valued components of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is secrecy, to preserve whatever surprises may be in store for viewers at home or in theaters. Some of the creative professionals affiliated with Marvel Studios are better at keeping secrets than others, and thankfully for fans eager to snatch up any stray morsels of unauthorized information, many of those professionals go on talk shows and accidentally slip up.
The latest example might be MCU newcomer Patton Oswalt, who you might recall appeared in a post-credits sequence in "The Eternals" as Pip the Troll alongside Harry Styles as Eros. A sequel to "Eternals" has not been announced by Disney as of yet, and many fans assumed it was off the table following its conspicuous absence from Marvel's recent Comic-Con announcements. But according to an interview with Oswalt, not only are we getting an "Eternals 2," but director Chloe Zhao might be returning to direct it.
Oswalt alluded to Zhao's return in a Today interview
Patton Oswalt recently appeared on "Today" to chat with Al Roker and company, and naturally, his status within the Marvel Cinematic Universe came up in conversation. What Roker did not seem to realize, however, is that Oswalt dropped some new details about a potential sequel to "Eternals" that might just qualify as a scoop.
The relevant clip was shared by Culture Crave on Twitter, replying to a tweet reporting, "Patton Oswalt says #Eternals2 is in development with Chloé Zhao returning to direct." The caption tells the rest of the story: "Patton Oswalt says Marvel officially announced it (they haven't)," which means that should Oswalt's assertion prove accurate, he accidentally went against his Marvel bosses by talking about it on TV.
Oswalt said he hopes to be able to explore more of the continuing adventures of Pip and Eros, which indicates that the project might not be set in stone just yet. Still, it's a positive sign for fans of "The Eternals," as well as those that were hoping Zhao would get to make the follow-up.