Eternals didn't really make a whole lot of impact when it arrived in cinemas last November, but since its Disney+ debut, the Phase 4 movie has been getting Marvel fans talking.
Whether it's the cliffhanger ending or the surprise arrival of Harry Styles, Eternals teases numerous directions for the MCU's future and that naturally leads to a lot of speculation about what comes next. We're still waiting for Eternals 2 to be confirmed, but one scene potentially teases that we'll see certain characters again very soon.
The mid-credits scene teases the involvement of Eros (Styles) in the sequel, yet it's the post-credit scene with Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) that could have a more immediate impact on an upcoming project.
If you need a refresher, the scene sees Dane investigating the Ebony Blade, which comic fans will know eventually leads to his Black Knight transformation. Before he can touch it though, an off-screen voice asks him, "Sure you're ready for that, Mr Whitman?".
Following the release of Eternals in November, director Chloé Zhao confirmed that the voice was none other than Mahershala Ali in his MCU debut (of sorts) as Blade. This is an adjustment to Dane's comic book origins where he only met Blade after he became the Black Knight, but it does tease an intriguing team-up.
In the comics, both the Black Knight and Blade are members of fictional spy agency MI-13, effectively the British version of SHIELD aimed at dealing with weird shit happening in the country.
This included a comic book run called Captain Britain and MI-13 which saw the agency battle Skrulls following the events of Secret Invasion. Blade only joined the team in issue five after they had defeated the Skrulls, but it did see him work with the Black Knight to fight other threats, including Dracula (yep, really).
Captain Britain and MI13: Hell Comes to Birmingham
Captain Britain and MI13: Hell Comes to Birmingham
We know that Secret Invasion is getting its own TV adaptation, set to come to Disney+ in late 2022. The series will bring back Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn's Talos, among others, to battle Skrulls that have secretly infiltrated Earth.
It's not a stretch to say the events of the series could lead to the MCU's version of MI-13, even if it's unlikely that an MCU version of MI-13 would faithfully follow the events of the Captain Britain and MI-13 run. Even by Marvel standards, it's pretty out there and there's just too many characters to introduce.
However, the idea that Secret Invasion could crossover with MI-13 isn't as outlandish as you might think. Marvel fans have long thought that the MCU was setting up the arrival of MI-13 in Phase 4.
In Avengers: Endgame, we saw Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) mention "Braddock", a nod to Brian or James Braddock, who was Captain Britain in the comics. There's even an extra crossover with Captain Britain and MI-13 as that series brought back Merlin, who was the one to gift Captain Britain with his extraordinary powers.
Even if the MCU didn't want to introduce this version of Captain Britain, What If...? also saw Peggy Carter take on a Captain Britain-esque role in a different universe. She was never called that by name, but fans would easily accept this alternate Peggy becoming Captain Britain.
Spider-Man: Far From Home also had a nod to MI-13 as it saw Nick Fury and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) hanging out in the Shard. After the Captain Britain and MI-13 run, the secret agency eventually moved their headquarters to the Shard in the comics.
Add in the Eternals post-credit scene that teases the arrival of Black Knight and Blade, and it's no wonder fans think MI-13 is on the way. Will it be the (potentially) game-changing events of Secret Invasion that lead to its formation in the MCU? It's not completely out of the realm of possibility.
There's likely a reason the MCU has altered the Black Knight's origin and given the interconnected nature of Phase 4, all things do currently point to MI-13.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
