While it might not hit the streaming service prior to the highly-anticipated premiere of Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17, we now have a release date for Marvel’s Eternals — and it might be quite a bit nearer than you expected. Disney+ has officially announced director Chloe Zhao’s first (and incredibly ambitious) entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will hit the streaming service on January 12, 2022, just two months after it first released in theaters (via The Wrap).
Though it might seem a bit quick, this schedule keeps in line with the release window previously seen with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which premiered on September 3 before moving to Disney+ on November 12. Ultimately, that means this could very well be the pattern we come to expect from the company with future releases — assuming they don’t revert back to simultaneously release as was the case with both Mulan and Black Widow. However, seeing as the Black Widow premiere was, uh, rife with conflict, it seems likely that won’t ever be the case again.
Once on Disney+, Eternals will be available to all subscribers free of charge. This even includes the film’s IMAX Enhanced mode, which shifts Eternals’ aspect ratio to an IMAX format when Zhao’s designated IMAX sequences kick in.
Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame (well, mostly), Eternals delves into the creation and preservation of the Marvel universe through the eyes of an elite group of celestial beings known as the Eternals. As old as time itself, these guardians serve humanity by protecting them from demonic beings known as Deviants — until their mission and loyalties suddenly change.
Despite a compelling plot, an Oscar-winning director, and an all-star cast featuring Gemma Chan, Lauren Ridloff, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Richard Madden, Don Lee, Barry Keoghan, Brian Tyree Henry, and Kit Harrington, Eternals didn’t sit too terribly well with critics, earning the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score an MCU movie has ever received with a lukewarm 63%. However, the film was still considered a financial success, grossing around $385 million worldwide.