Eternals Theory: Hulk’s Endgame Snap Brought Back The Celestials (Not Deviants)

The second Eternals trailer revealed the Hulk’s snap is responsible for a cosmic event called the “Emergence,” begging the question: could the Hulk have brought back the Celestials when he snapped his fingers in Avengers: Endgame? Marvel has earned a well-deserved reputation for their secrecy, but the studio has excelled itself with Eternals. Until the final trailer, marketing had avoided giving a glimpse of the film’s villains, the Deviants — or of the race of space gods known as the Celestials. Even the relationship between Eternals and the broader MCU has remained a mystery.

The second Eternals trailer answered that question, though, establishing a direct relationship between Avengers: Endgame and Eternals. It seems when the Hulk snapped his fingers to restore half the living creatures in the universe, he released a surge of cosmic energy like nothing ever seen before on Earth. Hulk’s snap was more powerful than even Thanos’, presumably because he was fighting against entropy rather than siding with it, and it has had unexpected consequences. The Hulk has unwittingly caused something called an “Emergence,” an event that appears to threaten the entire planet and demands the Eternals step out of the shadows and act openly.

Eternals may be a lot more mysterious after the final trailer, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. The Emergence itself — the event that drives the entire plot — is still unexplained. Some are theorizing that the Emergence has awakened the Deviants somehow because the Celestials are the sworn enemies of that destructive race; but another possibility is that it has brought back the Celestials.

The Celestials’ Fate In The MCU Is A Mystery

Created by the legendary Jack Kirby back in 1976, in the comics, the Celestials are the MCU’s ultimate space gods — a race of beings who were old when Earth was young, and who were responsible for planting the seeds of life across the universe. They typically created two evolutionary offshoots of a race, Eternals and Deviants, who would fight a never-ending war for supremacy in accordance with the Celestials’ mysterious desire for cosmic balance. They’ve already made their debut in the MCU, although they’ve been drastically redesigned.

In the MCU, the Celestials once traveled the cosmos judging entire worlds and civilizations. They appear to be tied to the Infinity Stones in some way. Indeed, many have theorized they were the ones responsible for forging those singularities into the form of concentrated ingots in the first place. In Guardians of the Galaxy, the Collector showed footage of one Celestial using the Power Stone to destroy an inhabited world, while in Avengers: Endgame Nebula described the planet Vormir — the place where the Soul Stone had been concealed for untold millennia — as the “center of Celestial civilization.“

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 introduced a Celestial at last, Ego the villainous living planet. A being of pure energy composed of “living light,” Ego possessed the power to manipulate matter on a molecular level. He built an entire planet around himself, and then created avatars as extensions of his own being. Ego had scoured the entire galaxy looking for evidence of his own kind, but they had long since vanished from the galaxy, leaving evidence of some sort of brutal event that seemed to have driven them to the verge of extinction; the mining colony Knowhere is based in the decapitated head of an ancient Celestial, and according to the Marvel Studios Visual Dictionary, the planet Sakaar is littered with parts of their bodies.

The Celestials Could Have Survived – And They Could Return

It’s clear something catastrophic happened to the Celestials. In the comics, they fought amongst themselves, so there could well have been a Celestial civil war. Alternatively, it’s possible other civilizations objected to the Celestials’ judgment, and waged war against them. As powerful as the Celestials may be, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 proved it’s possible to kill them by destroying the living light that lies at the core of their being. Whatever the case may be, though, the Celestials’ disappearance does not necessarily mean they were destroyed.

Another possibility is that the Celestials were transported to another plane of existence where they have waited for millennia. They could have removed themselves to this dimension in order to escape, or they could have been banished there using the Infinity Stones. There is some evidence Thanos’ snap didn’t kill anyone, instead simply deconstructing people on a molecular level and “storing” their patterns on some other plane of reality, and the same could have been done with the Celestials too. And if the Celestials are not extinct, then they could potentially return.

How The Celestials Could Return To The MCU

The mysterious Emergence could well be the return of the Celestials. It’s striking that Ajak is the one who discusses the Emergence in the second Eternals trailer. Leaked Eternals merchandise and story details revealed she is the only one to possess the power to communicate with the Celestials, so she would be able to sense their return. What’s more, the idea the Eternals have seven days seems quite symbolic: seven is a holy number in the Judeo-Christian tradition, pointing to the things of God, and the Celestials are Marvel’s space gods.

But how could the Hulk’s snap trigger the return of the Celestials? There are really two possibilities, depending on how they were banished in the first place. The first is that the Celestials managed to tap into the power surge accompanied by the Hulk’s snap, using it to begin to tear through back into this plane of existence. If they do have a strong historic connection with the Infinity Stones, then they may well know how to tap into its power even from another dimension. Alternatively, Hulk’s snap in Avengers: Endgame could have damaged the fabric of reality, meaning the erasure of the Celestials is gradually being undone. The former seems most likely because there is a sense of agency in the word “emergence” — as though something is actively pushing through to this reality, rather than it simply happening by default.

If this theory is correct, then Eternals will transform the MCU on a cosmic scale. It will bring back an ancient race who believe they have the right to judge worlds and civilizations, who potentially have the power to reform the Infinity Stones, and whose first act would undoubtedly be to judge the Earth. Their criteria are inscrutable, meaning it’s impossible to say how that judgment would pan out: would they believe humanity worthwhile, or would they wish to erase our race? Their decision may well force the Eternals to choose a side — and even oppose their gods.

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
(4915 Articles Published)

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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