How No Way Home and Eternals Reshaped Marvel’s Timeline

There’s been a fresh stir among Marvel fans after a recent tweet suggested that Spider-Man: No Way Home, which hit cinemas in 2021, actually takes place after Eternals in the official timeline. With the Multiversal Saga’s chronology already a tangled web, this new order has left punters rethinking how the MCU’s big events fit together.

Sorting out the sequence of Marvel’s sprawling universe is no easy task. According to the latest timeline floating around, the order now goes: Loki (Season 1), WandaVision, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, VisionQuest, Deadpool & Wolverine, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and then Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Setting the Stage for the Multiverse

While Eternals and No Way Home don’t directly reference each other, both films lay the groundwork for the Multiversal Saga in their own ways. Eternals focused on the looming threat of the Celestial Tiamut, while Peter Parker found himself up against familiar foes and cracks in reality. Despite their different storylines, both films introduced elements that are set to play a big role down the track.

Take the post-credits scenes, for example. Eternals introduced the Ebony Blade, with Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman hinting at a mysterious bond with the sword. Meanwhile, No Way Home’s post-credits moment saw Tom Hardy’s Venom leave behind a bit of symbiote, teasing its arrival in the MCU’s main timeline.

Memory loss is another theme both films share. Doctor Strange casts a spell to make the world forget Peter Parker, while the Eternals themselves have had their memories wiped countless times over millennia. It all points to the idea that the so-called Sacred Timeline isn’t as solid as it seems, and that the stakes have shifted from street-level drama to cosmic and multiversal threats.

Why Eternals Deserves Another Go

Despite copping a fair bit of flak and not exactly smashing box office records, Eternals still holds a key spot in the MCU’s bigger picture. The film left heaps of questions hanging: What’s next for Harry Styles’ character? Will Kit Harington’s Black Knight get his moment? What really happened to Ikaris and the rest of the team?

Sure, the film’s release didn’t go down as planned, but many fans have moved on and are keen to see where these characters end up. With Eternals now more closely tied to the wider universe, there’s a solid case for a sequel. Whether Marvel boss Kevin Feige agrees remains to be seen.

Quick Facts About Eternals

Here’s a snapshot of Eternals for those who need a refresher:

Are you hoping for another chapter in the Eternals story? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.