When Will ‘Eternals’ Be Available on Disney+?

One knock against the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that all 25 films and four Disney+ series take place in roughly the same 80-year time period. For such a sprawling franchise, that’s a pretty compressed focus. Fortunately, Marvel’s upcoming blockbuster Eternals, directed by Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao, will span 7,000 years and open up previously unexplored MCU territory.

The film—which boasts an absolute stacked cast that includes Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Kit Harington, and Brian Tyree Henry—arrives exclusively in theaters next month. But with spoilers making the rounds across Film Twitter, some fans are asking when they can expect Eternals to arrive on Disney+.

Eternals Release Date

After a year’s worth of pandemic delays, Eternals will finally swoop into movie theaters on November 5. The story revolves around a group of immortals created by the celestials (the mammoth space beings first introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy) who arrived on earth thousands of years ago. Now, in the present day, the Eternals are forced to emerge from hiding and fight against an old enemy, the Deviants.

Madden stars as the powerful Ikaris, Chan is the mankind-loving Sersi, Nanjiani stars as Eternal-turned-Bollywood-star Kingo, Hayek is their spirtual leader Ajak, Jolie portrays the warrior Thena, and so on and so forth. Each has a distinct super power that will surely be put to good—and explosive—use onscreen.

In September, Disney announced that its remaining film slate would be released in theaters for exclusive 45-day windows. So no Disney+ Premier Access ($30) for Eternals.

Eternals Disney+ Release Date

Mulan was released in the United States on Disney+ Premier Access on September 4, 2020. It then arrived on Disney+ for no extra charge on December 4. It was followed by Raya and the Last Dragon, which hit Disney+ Premier Access on March 5 and was then made available to all Disney+ subscribers for no additional fee on June 4. Cruella dropped in theaters and on Premier Access over Memorial Day Weekend before migrating to Disney+ proper on August 27. Black Widow received a similar hybrid release on July 9 before arriving on Disney+ Oct. 6. In all cases, Disney deployed a three-month window before making these films available to existing Disney+ subscribers.

However, Jungle Cruise (July 30) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Sept. 3) will both hit Disney+ on Nov. 12, which is also Disney+ Day. That complicates the timeline a bit. If Eternals follows fellow exclusive theatrical release Shang-Chi, then we’re looking at a 70-day window until it drops on Disney+. That would put its Disney+ arrival sometime in mid-January.

But as a 45-day theatrical exclusive, Eternals will likely arrive on the streamer earlier. While Disney may carve out a pocket for Eternals to be made available on VOD platforms such as iTunes and Amazon after 45 days, it makes strategic sense for the Mouse House to add the film to Disney+ in time for end-of-year holidays. Streaming services like Netflix typically enjoy Christmas subscriber boosts and Eternals would be an attractive selling point for prospective Disney+ customers.