It's nearly time for the next Marvel Studios film to hit theaters. Chloé Zhao's cosmic epic Eternals has been a highly anticipated entry into the MCU for years now; it's strange to think that it's finally here.
That said, the project isn't exactly getting a warm welcome. While initial reactions were positive, when reviews properly started coming out, those numbers started going down. In fact, Eternals has become the first Marvel Studios movie to be scored as Rotten on Rotten Tomatoes.
To add fuel to the fire, leaks have been springing from Marvel Studios' ship at a rapid pace. From Variety's massive Eternals screw-up to the many Spider-Man: No Way Home tidbits, it's a dangerous place for those wanting to go into a movie blind.
It looks like trolls and pranksters are having fun with it, however, as someone put an entire leaked plot description for Zhao's upcoming passion project on Wikipedia. The catch? It was entirely fabricated.
Eternals Entire Plot Leaked—Fake Plot, That is
Early in the day on November 2, Wikipedia's Eternals page was updated with a detailed plot of the film. Those details, however, were entirely fake.
The phony plot was edited on the page at roughly 11 am ET and remained live until about 5:30 pm ET, meaning that any users who did read the page during those six hours may have believed it as fact.
Whoever made the update likely wrote it in jest while also poking fun at all the spoiler leaks that Marvel Studios has recently been dealing with.
Even though it was fraudulent, the whole synopsis was still a fun read. The hoax story began just like one would assume it would: The Eternals protecting Earth from the Deviants. They also made mention of what Ajak says to Ikaris in the trailer, how the Eternals "are forbidden to interfere in human conflicts:"
"Seven thousand years ago, the god-like race Celestials created the Eternals, immortal humanoid beings with superhuman powers and abilities, and the Deviants, near-immortal monstrous aliens. The Eternals are allowed to protect the universe from Deviants, and their leader Ajak is endowed with the power to mentally bridge them with the Celestials. The Eternals battle the Deviants across various times in history, but are forbidden to interfere in human conflicts, which ends up breaking the group."
They also noted how Ajak "is endowed with the power to mentally bridge them with the Celestials." The promotional material for the film hasn't shown any signs that all the Eternals can directly talk to the Celestials. The only one seen doing so is Sersi.
The following section focused on how the team comes together and how "the Blip has awakened the Deviants." It breezed over where each Eternal was found, conveniently leaving out all details. It did mention that "Thena is mentally broken after her past mistakes against them" and that Sersi's secret relationship with Dane Whiteman is a point of conflict with her fellow Eternals:
"In 2024, following the return of half the population[b], Ajak meets Eternal Ikaris, who now resides in England. Ikaris reveals that the Blip has awakened the Deviants and they have only one week before their arrival. Ajak convinces Ikaris to reunite the Eternals again. Both manage to find Eternal Sprite in London, as well as Eternals Phastos, Druig, and Makkari in the United States. The group learns that Eternal Thena is mentally broken after her past mistakes against them, yet Ajak forgives her. Thena refuses, and the group leave for India to find Eternal Kingo, who has become a famous Bollywood star. In Oxford, the group learns that Eternal Sersi has maintained a connection with humans for centuries. Sersi reveals her origins to her fiancé Dane Whitman, upon lying to him for years, and leaves with the others."
The devious writer continued their story, talking about how there is a "traitor Eternal" assisting the Deviants, and that paranoia sets in, with the "Eternals begin[ing] to suspect each other:"
"After one week, the Deviants return to Earth and initiate worldwide attacks while the Celestials summon Ajak for a meeting. They tell her that the Deviants are assisted by a traitor Eternal, whom they are unable to identify. Ajak returns and many Eternals begin to suspect each other until Sersi calms them down. At an island, Thena is surrounded by Deviants, who inform her that their leader Kro wants her. She meets Kro, who tortures Thena and manipulates her mind to find the Eternals in exchange for freeing Eternal Gilgamesh, who has been their inmate. Thena temporarily reconciles with the Eternals, allowing the Deviants to arrive to their location and attack them. Many Deviants are defeated but Ikaris and Makkari are injured. Another Deviant group arrives and hands over Gilgamesh back to Thena."
The storytelling gets a little sloppy, as it's revealed that "Thena was the traitor who assisted the Deviants," leading to battles across the world, which inevitably causes the remaining Eternals, and Dane Whitman, to go into hiding:
"The enraged Eternals learn that Thena was the traitor who assisted the Deviants, leaving her and Gilgamesh. Ikaris and Makkari are healed by Sersi, who reconciles with Ikaris and restores their relationship. Whitman arrives, explaining that London and other major cities have been attacked by Deviants. Unbeknownst to the group, Sersi and Phastos attempt to find Thena and Gilgamesh. The other Eternals battle and kill many Deviants at several locations around the world until they are outnumbered. Kingo, Sprite, and Druig are injured, forcing the Eternals to hide. The Celestials tell Ajak that the Deviants plan an invasion to Earth."
In the last bit of the plot synopsis, the author explained that "Kro has [Thena] mind-controlled," and how his entire motivation is to take revenge against the Celestials for making them into deformed creatures. So naturally, when Kro is killed by the Eternals, the hive-mind death triggers and the Deviants are no more.
"Meanwhile, Phastos and Sersi meet with Thena and Gilgamesh, who are hiding at the Canary Islands. Gilgamesh attacks the duo as revenge for leaving him imprisoned but Thena stops him. They finally reconcile with the Eternals as Sersi secretly meets with the Celestials to restore Gilgamesh's powers. The Eternals are ambushed again by the Deviants, and Thena tearfully reveals that Kro has her mind-controlled to assist them. Ajak removes Kro's mind trick while they battle the Deviants. Kro arrives and explains that he plans to dominate Earth as punishment for the Celestials for making them deformed creatures. The Eternals are attacked by another Deviant army as Kro begins the invasion. With the Celestials' help, the Eternals use their combined powers to kill Kro. The remaining Deviants are killed due to Kro's death, and the Celestials remove their ban on the Eternals as the Earth accepts them as heroes."
Then comes the after-credits scene. The first is Whitman going to Scotland and retrieving "the Black Bade Sword and the Black Knight armor." They probably meant to say the Ebony Blade, but it was a good attempt nonetheless.
The second scene is revealed to be the introduction of Eros, "Thanos' brother:"
"In a mid-credits scene, Whitman receives a historical artifact from Scotland, that turns out to be the Black Blade sword and the Black Knight armor. In a post-credits scene, Thanos' brother Eros, who has been secretly on Earth for years, arrives at the remains of the Avengers facility and finds Thanos' ashes, promising to avenge his death."
What makes that last scene all the better is how there wouldn't be any ashes for Eros to find. The writer didn't think this one through.
Not This Time Spoilers
The worst part about this fake plot description is how it was up for so long, which will simply cause misinformation to spread rapidly. Fans might not like what they hear, and end up not seeing the actual film in theaters—they just wouldn't know that what they read is not a representation of the real product.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is facing a similar issue. The many potential leaks and rumors are causing the general public to have expectations that the actual movie will never be able to meet. Basically, people are potentially setting themselves up for some heavy disappointment.
However, once it's done, it's done. There's no putting it back in the bottle, the information is out there; right or wrong. For a studio that prides itself on its secrecy, they certainly aren't doing the best of jobs lately. Having upwards of a dozen projects per year probably doesn't help.
Eternals hits theaters worldwide on November 5 later this week, and Spider-Man: No Way Home will follow on December 17.
