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The Eternals first and only appearance in the MCU happened in Eternals, directed by Chloé Zhao. The movie’s epic scale and focus on ten unknown heroes failed to impress critics, resulting in the first MCU project not getting a Fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating in release. Furthermore, the box office haul of $402 million on a budget of $236 million meant Eternals didn’t bring any profit to Marvel Studios. Unsurprisingly, a sequel for the movie never got developed, and the characters have been pushed to a corner in the MCU.
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However, despite being controversial, Eternals has a fabulous cast of characters who could all use more screen time. Plus, the movie’s ending had a massive impact on the MCU, as the movie explained that Earth is a cosmic egg for a Celestial, one of the most powerful races in Marvel’s canon. The Eternals prevented the birth of the Earth-bound Celestial in their movie, an event called the Emergence. Now, the stone corpse of Tiamut is in the middle of the ocean, providing a plot device for Captain America: Brave New World.
The team will return for What If…? Season 3 in an episode titled “What If… The Emergence Destroyed the Earth.” The episode will show audiences what would happen if the Eternals didn’t prevent the birth of Tiamut, which could help flesh out the Celestials’ mythology in the MCU. That’s a clever way to bring the characters back to test the waters without committing to a sequel movie. More surprisingly, though, is that Season 3 of What If…? is giving an entire episode to a joke character.
What If…? Season 3 Has a Howard the Duck Episode
Before returning the Eternals to the MCU, Season 3 of What If…? will release an episode titled “What If… Howard the Duck Got Hitched?” That’s a curious move, considering Howard’s history.
In 1986, Howard starred in Marvel’s first theatrical release, Howard the Duck, produced by George Lucas. Despite high expectations, the film was a critical and commercial disaster. It faced numerous production difficulties and received poor reviews for its inconsistent tone, humor, and the appearance of Howard himself. The movie’s failure left a lasting negative impression on critics and audiences, earning it a reputation as one of the worst blockbuster films ever.
Despite this setback, Howard has found new life in the MCU. He made his first MCU appearance in a post-credits scene of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, voiced by Seth Green. Since then, Howard has made several theatrical cameo appearances, including in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Endgame, and most recently, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. On the TV side of the Marvel business, Howard became a prominent player in previous What If…? seasons. He makes two minor appearances in Season 1 but gets a significant role in Season 2 when he helps Nebula (Karen Gillan) dismantle a conspiracy in Xandar.
It will be interesting to see if the Eternals and Howard the Duck’s appearances in What If…? might set the stage for them to get more attention in the Sacred Timeline. That wouldn’t be a surprise, given how Season 3 is teasing some classic Secret Wars developments.
Marvel’s What If…? Season 3 will debut on Disney+ this December 22, with eight episodes released daily until December 29.
