The Re-Pitch: Eternals Part 1 & Part 2

A film that couldn't match the story's scope.

I remember seeing the first trailer for Eternals years ago and being very excited about the film's promise. The movie had a great visual style and looked like it had the calibre to be a great movie that could stand amongst the best in the comic book genre. That being said it was released around the same period as Denis Villenueve's spectacular Dune: Part One. In the end, I saw that film multiple times and only just got around to watching Eternals this week. Unfortunately, as many of you have probably heard by now the final movie was a disappointment. You could see the potential, but the movie had too many issues, that left us with a mediocre movie.

That being said, I found the core story very interesting. It just needed a clearer direction, better pacing and the cast either trimmed or developed more. The movie clocked in at 2 hours 36 minutes, which is 7 minutes longer than Avengers Infinity War, but due to the uneven pacing and flickering timelines, Eternals felt a lot longer.

To really work the narrative needed room to breathe, giving the story and characters enough time to develop and splitting the movie into two parts. In true Re-Pitch fashion, I've outlined the adjustments to the central story and how a two-part Eternals feature would better serve the ambitious story and deliver on its potential.

Eternals: Babylon (Part One) Would be focused solely on the Eternals dealing with the Deviant threat, watching on as humankind and Babylon continue to prosper. Part One would delve deeper into the characters such as; seeing Thena gradually succumbing to Mahd Wy'ry and the toll it is taking on her, Gilgamesh and the rest of the group. At its core, it would focus on the blossoming relationship between Sersi and Ikaris as the central narrative between both films. Part One also sees Druig pushed further to the brink as they continue to watch on without interfering.

This is where the film will climax, having the team fight against Kro and the remaining Deviants assaulting Babylon. Kro is defeated having gained strength across the story by consuming Kingo earlier and severely wounding Ajak. The team would be unable to kill him, but ultimately defeat and entomb him so he can no longer pose a threat. Babylon will fall and the group will fracture, with Druig parting ways in anger at standing by, setting him up as Part Two's supposed villain and the rest leaving to return when needed.

Ikaris learns the truth from Ajak as they seal Kro away leading him and Sersi to take time apart as he learns to comprehend what he has been told about the emergence (Unbeknown to the audience).

Eternals: Emergence (Part Two) Would bring the story to the present day and see the Eternals having settled into their own lives, only to be called back into action following the return of Kro. This is when Ikaris would return and set Sersi, and Sprite off to seek Ajak's guidance and recruit the Eternals to defeat Kro. This would follow similar story beats to the film, with Ajak being killed at the hands of Ikaris by feeding her to Kro and releasing him from his tomb to occupy the remaining Eternals.

Sersi would learn of the Emergence just as before and grapple with what is the right thing to do save Earth or follow Arishem's plan. On reaching Druig with the other Eternals they find that he has been peaceful and that his idea to rebel against Arishem's plan was right. Gilgamesh will still die by Kro, but Kro will finally be defeated by the Eternals and Thena instead of just sealing him away.

This is where Ikaris' true nature will come to pass as the group plans to stop the emergence after the team learns of this from Sersi. Throughout the film, Ikaris would try to rekindle his relationship with Sersi, their opposing beliefs and his past actions will act as that final nail setting them on opposing sides come the Emergence.

During the climax, Ikaris, Sprite and Makkari will look to fight for Arishem's plan whilst the remaining Eternals gear up to prevent it. In the battle, Sprite will die following Ikaris until the end and Makkari will be defeated but won over by Druig to stand for Earth. In the final battle, Ikaris will battle as the unstoppable force he is and seemingly win, only for him to stop at Sersi, unable to kill her, conflicted by his feelings for her and his faith in Arishem. In this brief window, he is restrained and watches on as Sersi enacts the plan to stop the Emergence, just as she does in the film. Ikaris will be broken and lean onto Sersi one final time, only for her remaining power surge from the uni-Mind link to transform him into the same flowers from their wedding letting him be at peace.

Trim the Team

One of the issues Eternals faced was having such a large group of heroes, squeezed into a time-spanning epic that many of them didn't get a chance to develop into fully fleshed characters. Makkari was one such character, all I could remember was she liked Druig, had kleptomania and felt bored being on Earth. The other issue comes with Kingo, who is brought in as the comic relief but feels at odds with the movie's tone. Oddly enough he decides to bow out of the final act agreeing with Ikaris, but not wanting to harm his family. You expect him to return on a side, but he doesn't, ultimately meaning he never has any form of real development and is just along for the ride. As a result, it would make sense for him to be used as a crux for Kro to gain power and impact the team. Makkari would also see her want to leave and rejoice at the idea of a new adventure being unhappy remaining in the same place, hence joining Ikaris, however her feelings for Druig and what humankind has suffered/done for her will win her over.

Thena & Gilgamesh

Thena and Gilgamesh's relationship was one of the movie's highlights, seeing Thena struggle with the Mahd Wy'ry is a relatable (superpowered) version of caring for a loved one in difficult circumstances.

The two-part features would mean there could be more time given to these characters and plotline. Part One could see the gradual decline of Thena's illness and lead to Gilgamesh stepping up to take care of her. Allowing Part Two to spend more time on the carer/loving relationship the pair shared, which would ultimately lead to Thena losing him to Kro as her support structure and gaining her revenge.

Sersi & Ikaris

The tale of Sersi and Ikaris is still the best central narrative to follow. As mentioned in the story outlines, Part One will show their relationship blossoming and coming together, whilst Part Two will showcase the tragedy in the tale as their conflicting interests pit them against each other in a star-crossed lovers scenario. Their relationship is the central crux of the story as the pair go from being destined to be together only for that hope to be ripped apart by their stance on Arishem's grand design.

The star-crossed lover's angle is something that works incredibly well when done right. Tearing them apart after building them up would give more meaning to their relationship struggles and add that extra level of weight to the climax.

That's my brief Re-Pitch on how I would handle the Eternals movie adaptation. How did you find the film? And how do you feel about my two-part feature?

As always thank you for reading. :)