Marvel has decided not to move forward with movie sequels for three of its biggest box office flops, according to a new leak.
Daniel Richtman, a renowned industry insider who goes by the pseudonym DanielRPK in online circles, took to Patreon (thanks to That Redacted Guy on X/Twitter for the screenshot) to claim that Marvel had shelved sequel plans for a trio of unloved flicks. The film franchises in question? Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, and Eternals – Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies that failed to deliver the goods in theaters.
Of that contingent, the apparent news that Marvel has put Eternals 2 on indefinite hold has, somewhat surprisingly, drawn the most ire from MCU fans. Its predecessor, which was helmed by Oscar winner Chloe Zhao and released in theaters in 2021, only earned $402 million globally. Coupled with its abject (by Marvel standards) 47% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, Eternals was the Disney subsidiary's biggest movie flop until Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – with its marginally worse 46% Rotten Tomatoes rating – replaced it as the worst-rated MCU film of all-time.
Despite its lackluster performance, sections of the MCU's global fanbase had hoped Eternals 2 would eventually see the light of day. However, with Marvel re-evaluating which movies and Disney Plus shows it wants to develop, it seems Eternals 2 – though never officially announced – won't be part of its perpetually revised Marvel Phase 5 or Marvel Phase 6 plans.
In the wake of Daniel RPK's leak, fans have taken to X/Twitter, Reddit, and other social media platforms to express disappointment over Eternals 2's potential cancelation. Indeed, many are grieving the fact that they won't see this collection of superheroes again, nor pop sensation Harry Styles' Eros, who was teased in one of two Eternals post-credits scenes.
Of course, I shouldn't need to say it, but this is just a rumor right now. Marvel Studios hasn't commented on the above and, while it's unlikely that it will, there's nothing to suggest that Eternals 2 was secretly in active development or that it's been axed. I've reached out to Disney to see if there's any truth to the leak and, even though I don't expect to receive a response, I'll update this article if I hear back.
What about Ant-Man 4 and Captain Marvel 3?
They're in the same boat. As I mentioned, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was slammed by critics in early 2023 and, despite the fact that it made $476 million worldwide, I doubt we'll see Paul Rudd's Scott Lang get another runout on the big screen outside of a likely appearance in Avengers 5 and/or Avengers 6.
Brie Larson's Captain Marvel faces a similarly dubious future. The Marvels – effectively Captain Marvel 2, albeit with significant ties to WandaVision and Ms Marvel – might have been received better than its contemporaries. However, despite holding a 62% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it earned just $206 million – a figure five times smaller than 2019's billion dollar-making Captain Marvel. Such was The Marvels' relatively poor reception and performance, Larson has even suggested that she may not return as Carol Danvers, telling Variety "does anyone want me to do it [play Captain Marvel] again?".
Not that I want to repeat myself, but we should take this new leak with a large pinch of salt. Outside of the projects it's announced, nobody knows what Marvel is planning for the future. There could come a time where any or all of the above sequels are greenlit – and, with Eternals setting up events that might play out in Marvel's Blade movie reboot, plus Ant-Man 3 and The Marvels' ties to the studio's overarching multiversal narrative, we need resolutions to the lingering story threads from all three.
If said plotlines get resolved in another film or TV show, fair enough – but it would be a shame if some of these characters are suddenly never seen again because Marvel doesn't view them as money-spinning entities anymore. If nothing else, they deserve to feature in the next two Avengers films before riding off into the sunset.
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