Eternals

In 5000 BC, a ship brings ten immortal beings to Earth, the Eternals: Ajak, their leader, Sersi, Ikaris, Kingo, Sprite, Phastos, Makkari, Druig, Gilgamesh and Thena. The Celestial Arishem sent them to hunt the Deviants, monsters that prey on humans. In 1521, after wiping out the last Deviants, the group splits up and each goes their own way.

Today, Sersi lives in London with Sprite, who looks like a child forever, and dates a human, Dane Whitman. A Deviant attacks the three of them, and Ikaris, Sersi's ex, shows up to help. The monster seems stronger, as if it's evolving. The trio flies to South Dakota and finds Ajak dead. Sersi inherits the link to Arishem and learns the truth: Celestials plant seeds inside planets, and every birth destroys the world it happens on. The Eternals' real mission was to let Earth's population grow big enough to feed Tiamut's birth. With half of humanity back after the Blip, the Emergence is days away. And the Eternals are machines; their memories are wiped after every mission.

Sersi decides to save Earth and gathers the group from around the world. Kingo has become a Bollywood star. Phastos has a husband and son in Chicago and carries guilt over giving humans the technology that led to Hiroshima. Thena suffers from a mental illness that Gilgamesh helps keep in check. In the Amazon, where Druig lives with a tribe he keeps under mind control, the Deviants attack and their leader, Kro, kills Gilgamesh. Phastos proposes the Uni-Mind: pool everyone's power into Druig so he can put Tiamut to sleep.

Then comes the betrayal. Ikaris knew everything, and he led Ajak to her death because she wanted to save humanity. Sprite, in love with Ikaris for centuries, takes his side. Kingo agrees with Ikaris but refuses to fight his friends and walks away. At the volcano in the Indian Ocean where Tiamut will rise, the fight breaks out. Druig knocks out Sprite, Phastos pins down Ikaris and Thena kills Kro. Since they can't put Tiamut to sleep, Sersi tries to turn him to stone. Ikaris moves to kill her but can't, because he loves her. He and Sprite join the Uni-Mind, and Sersi petrifies the Celestial with its hand rising out of the sea.

Crushed by guilt, Ikaris flies into the Sun. Sersi turns Sprite human so she can finally grow up. Thena, Druig and Makkari leave on the ship to warn other Eternals. Dane starts to reveal a family secret, but Arishem pulls Sersi, Phastos and Kingo into space. He will read their memories to decide whether humanity deserves to live. In the mid-credits scene, Thena, Makkari and Druig meet Eros, Thanos's brother, and Pip the Troll. In the final scene, a voice asks Dane if he is ready to wield the Ebony Blade. All of it is left open.

The Eternals are ten immortals sent to Earth 7,000 years ago by the Celestial Arishem to protect humanity from the Deviants. After the Blip, the Deviants return, and Sersi, living in London, gathers the scattered team. Their leader, Ajak, is killed, and Sersi learns the truth: their real mission is to let a new Celestial, Tiamut, be born from inside Earth, destroying it. Ikaris knew all along and betrays them, with Sprite's help. Sersi channels the others' power and turns Tiamut to stone mid-emergence in the Indian Ocean. Ikaris flies into the Sun and Sprite becomes human. In the end, Arishem takes Sersi, Kingo and Phastos to judge humanity. Left open: Sersi's boyfriend, Dane Whitman, reaches for a mysterious sword.

• Mid-credits Thena, Makkari and Druig are visited by Eros, Thanos's brother, and Pip the Troll, who offer to help rescue their friends.
• After the credits Dane Whitman opens a family chest and finds the Ebony Blade. An offscreen voice, Blade's, asks if he's ready.

1. ReferenceThe ship that mimics 2001

   Right at the start, in Mesopotamia, the Eternals' ship hovers over the tribe like a dark, silent block. The shot copies the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, another movie about an outside push in human evolution.

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2. ReferenceSuperman exists in the MCU

   Phastos's son calls Ikaris Superman, a sign that DC comics exist in this universe. And Ikaris's fate, flying into the sun, is the Greek myth of Icarus, where his name comes from.

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3. SetupDane's family ring

   Look for the old ring with the Whitman family crest. It's the first hint of Dane Whitman's Black Knight legacy, which the final credits scene ties to the Ebony Blade.

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4. CameoHarry Styles as Thanos's brother

   In the mid-credits scene, the one who shows up to help Thena and Druig is Eros, aka Starfox, played by Harry Styles. In the comics he's Thanos's brother, and the movie confirms it when he introduces himself.

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5. Behind the scenesBabylon in the Canary Islands

   Mesopotamia, Babylon and even the Australian outback were shot on Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. Chloé Zhao preferred real locations to soundstages and worked the islands' wind and natural light into the scenes.

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