The Marvel Cinematic Universe expands in scale and darkness with Eternals: King in Black (2025), a bold, visually staggering, and mythologically rich sequel that pits the immortal Eternals against one of the most ancient and terrifying threats in Marvel lore — Knull, the God of the Symbiotes. Directed by Chloé Zhao (returning with a more kinetic style), this film is both a spiritual successor to Eternals (2021) and a cosmic horror event that changes the tone of the MCU in a profound way.
Centuries after defeating the Celestial threat in the first film, the scattered Eternals are drawn back together when a primordial darkness begins spreading across the galaxy. The source? Knull, an ancient being older than the universe itself, has awakened from the void. With his army of symbiote dragons, Knull sets out to extinguish all light and reclaim the cosmos for the darkness.
As planets fall and stars go dark, the Eternals—led by Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden, returning in a surprising twist), and Thena (Angelina Jolie)—must reunite to protect the very fabric of life. But the battle becomes personal when Knull’s influence corrupts some of their own, turning Eternals into symbiote-possessed avatars of destruction.
At the heart of the film is a moral dilemma: are the Eternals simply cosmic tools of balance, or will they evolve to choose love, sacrifice, and free will over their ancient programming? Dane Whitman (Kit Harington), now fully transformed into the Black Knight, becomes crucial in wielding the Ebony Blade—a relic of darkness that may be the key to defeating Knull, or the beginning of his own fall.
King in Black is darker than any previous MCU film, blending elements of cosmic horror, tragic mythology, and high-octane action. The visual palette is stunning—celestial golds and ancient marble shattered by oily, shifting blacks and reds of the symbiote army. The score, by Ramin Djawadi, blends haunting choral music with otherworldly synths to emphasize the grandeur and terror of the battle between light and void.
Angelina Jolie’s Thena is given more emotional depth, haunted by past visions that may have predicted Knull’s rise. Kit Harington shines as the conflicted Black Knight, caught between love and inner darkness. Richard Madden’s return as Ikaris—resurrected and altered—adds complexity to the Eternals’ internal rift.
Eternals: King in Black is Marvel at its most ambitious. It's a cosmic opera of ancient gods, moral questions, and apocalyptic stakes. For fans of both philosophical storytelling and massive, symbiote-fueled action, this movie delivers on every front—and sets the stage for a collision between the cosmic and the supernatural in Phase 5.
