Marvel Studios brought back a forgotten yet powerful Eternals character in its latest Phase 6 animated project. As part of the MCU's Phase 4, Eternals introduced a new cosmic group of heroes silently protecting Earth from the shadows while still not trying to intervene with humanity's history. The near-immortal group of heroes has a wide array of powerful abilities, such as flight, energy manipulation, super speed, super strength, and genius intellect. Among its members, the most powerful is Ikaris, who has enhanced strength, flight, and energy projection.
While Ikaris was groomed to be an ideal hero, Eternals dropped a shocking twist involving the character because it was revealed that he was a villain who betrayed the team and remained loyal to their de facto Celestial leader, Arishem. Eternals' ending showed Ikaris being guilty of his actions, leading to his flight to the sun, which eventually killed him. While the ending of Eternals cemented Ikaris' fate, the endless possibilities of the Multiverse allowed the character to return in Marvel Zombies.
The latest Marvel Zombies trailer revealed a special look at a zombified version of Ikaris seemingly fighting off against a zombified Captain Marvel. The lone Eternal can be seen at the 0:44 mark of the trailer:
By bringing back Ikaris in Marvel Zombies, Marvel Studios essentially brought back the MCU's most powerful Eternal in Phase 6. However, it is unknown if any other Eternals will appear in the four-episode animated series.
Marvel Zombies also marks the first time that Ikaris will appear in the MCU after dying at the end of Eternals.
Directed by Bryan Andrews, Marvel Zombies is Marvel Studios' fourth R-rated project as it continues the story that took place in What If...? Episode 5. It assembles a star-studded cast featuring the likes of Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel), Hailee Steinfeld (Kate Bishop), Awkwafina (Katy), Florence Pugh (Yelena), and David Harbour (Red Guardian). All four episodes of Marvel Zombies will premiere on Disney+ on September 24, 2025.
Watch the trailer below:
Why Ikaris' Transformation Into a Zombie Has A Deeper Meaning
Eternals established that the main group of heroes are near-immortal synthetic beings, meaning they are not humans. However, his succumbing to the virus suggested that the situation is more dire than fans thought.
The trailer hinted that Ikaris is going toe-to-toe with another powerful hero, Captain Marvel. While it would've been epic to see them in their peak and normal forms, this further shows that whatever virus they succumbed to seemingly programmed them to fight each other instead of targeting other normal humans.
This shows how complex the virus really is, and the fact that it affected powerful heroes like Ikaris and Captain Marvel proves that no one is safe.
While Ikaris may seem zombified, others have pointed out that he may not be a zombie at all, and he is simply trying to prevent Captain Marvel from further harming the planet. Still, the zombie virus might've affected his synthetic programming, which could explain why he is wreaking havoc in the first place.
