“Eternals” was the first blaring red flag the MCU was in trouble; the movie racked up unimpressive box office returns and reviews. Director Chloe Zhao brought an impressive sense of scale to the picture, but that can do only so much to redeem a film as plodding and dull as “Eternals.” If you want to watch a story about superpowered beings trying to kill God, just watch any anime ever instead. (Tiamut, you’ve got nothing on Lilith or the Dwarf in the Flask.)

“Eternals” left its surviving heroes in limbo, so should their fates be tied up in “Avengers 5”? Nah. Aside from the shadow of their mediocre movie hanging over any future appearances, bringing in six new Avengers would go directly against Feige’s concerns about needing to keep the cast at a manageable size. They may be called Eternal, but their reign as a cornerstone of the MCU sure wasn’t. 

On that note, another “Eternals” loose end is Eros/Starfox (Harry Styles), the human-looking brother of Thanos, introduced in the movie’s post-credit scene. A womanizer with the power to manipulate others’ emotions, Eros’ powers have been compared to psychic date rape, so it’s probably not a bad idea to just forget all about the character. Plus, the 2022 thriller “Don’t Worry, Darling” proved Styles is a performer of limited range.