It was the shot heard 'round the fandom. Honestly, back in 2021, you couldn't scroll through Twitter for five minutes without hitting a firestorm about the Eternals sex scene. Some fans were absolutely scandalized that Disney would let a superhero movie "go there." Others were just confused. Why now? Why these two?
Marvel has always been famously "Ken Doll" about their heroes. We see the flirting, the world-saving kisses, and maybe a shirtless workout montage. But actual intimacy? That was a bridge too far until Chloé Zhao stepped behind the camera.
The Break from the "Sexless" Marvel Formula
Basically, the MCU has spent over a decade being the most successful, most expensive, and most sexless franchise in history. Sure, Tony Stark was a "playboy" in 2008, but that was a lifetime ago in Disney years. Since then, the closest we’ve gotten to heat is Steve Rogers finally getting that dance with Peggy.
Then came the Eternals sex scene.
It wasn't just a random choice. Chloé Zhao, who came fresh off an Oscar win for Nomadland, wanted to ground these cosmic, god-like beings in something human. The scene features Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Ikaris (Richard Madden) on a beach in ancient Babylon. It’s brief. It’s PG-13. But for Marvel, it was an earthquake.
Zhao told IndieWire that the scene was actually in the treatment before she even signed on. She saw it as a "natural progression" of the genre. To her, showing two people who love each other physically was "a beautiful thing." It wasn't about being edgy. It was about showing that these synthetic beings actually felt something real.
Why the Fans Lost Their Minds
The reaction was... mixed, to put it lightly. On one hand, you had the "Won't someone think of the children!" crowd. They were shocked that a Marvel movie would include anything beyond a chaste kiss. On the other hand, a huge chunk of the audience found it just plain awkward.
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One major complaint? The chemistry. Or lack thereof.
A lot of Redditors pointed out that for a couple who had been "in love" for 5,000 years, Sersi and Ikaris felt a bit like two beautiful mannequins being pushed together. It’s a fair critique. When the movie released, some fans joked that the scene felt more like an "educational video" than a moment of passion.
Then there was the sand. Oh, the sand.
Star Wars memes aside, the internet had a field day with the logistics of an outdoor beach hookup. "It's coarse and rough and gets everywhere," became the unofficial tagline for the sequence. If you're an immortal being with the power to transmute matter, why are you doing it on the rocks?
Expert Nuance: Was It Actually Necessary?
From a storytelling perspective, the Eternals sex scene served a very specific purpose that often gets overlooked in the "cringe" discourse.
The Eternals are essentially high-tech biological robots created by Celestials. They aren't supposed to have human drives. By showing Sersi and Ikaris engaging in a physical act of love, Zhao was signaling that they had evolved past their original programming. They weren't just "units" anymore; they were individuals with desires.
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- The Context: The scene happens during a flashback to Babylon.
- The Stakes: It establishes the deep bond that eventually makes Ikaris's betrayal and Sersi's resolve much more painful.
- The Cinematic Choice: Zhao shot the scene in about 25 minutes during "golden hour" to get that natural, soft light.
Critics like David Ehrlich from IndieWire actually praised the move, noting that it made the film feel less like "plastic." It was a step toward a more mature MCU. Even if it didn't land for everyone, it broke a barrier that had been standing since Iron Man 1.
Breaking Down the Censorship Battles
It wasn't just a domestic debate. The Eternals sex scene, along with the film's depiction of a same-sex couple (Phastos and his husband), led to the movie being banned or heavily edited in several countries. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait all had issues with the content.
Disney actually stood their ground for the most part. They refused to cut the scenes that were integral to the characters' identities. It was a rare moment where a massive studio chose "artistic integrity" (or at least a specific brand image) over the guaranteed box office of certain international markets.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Scene
There’s a common misconception that this was the first time sex was ever mentioned in the MCU.
Not true.
If you look back at Iron Man, Tony Stark is clearly sleeping with a reporter. In Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill has a "Jackson Pollock" joke about his ship that is definitely not for kids. But those were jokes or off-screen implications. The Eternals sex scene was the first time the camera stayed in the room. It was the first time the act was treated as a serious, emotional milestone rather than a punchline.
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Actionable Insights for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re going back to watch Eternals (or seeing it for the first time on Disney+), try looking at that scene through the lens of "The Revisionist Superhero Movie."
Don't just look for the "steaminess"—you won't find much. Look at the lighting. Look at the way it transitions from the god-like scale of the Celestials to the tiny, fragile scale of two people on a beach.
How to approach the "Marvel Maturity" debate:
- Check the Rating: Remember, it's still PG-13. If you're expecting Game of Thrones, you're in the wrong universe.
- Look for Themes: Ask yourself if the intimacy makes Ikaris’s eventual choice more or less believable. Does it explain why he couldn't go through with his plan in the end?
- Compare to the Netflix Era: If you want truly adult Marvel content, the Daredevil and Jessica Jones series (now on Disney+) are where the real "sex scenes" live. Eternals was just the theatrical side catching up.
The legacy of the Eternals sex scene isn't about the 30 seconds of footage itself. It's about the fact that Marvel finally admitted their characters are humans (or at least human-adjacent) with bodies. It opened the door for Deadpool & Wolverine to be as raunchy as it wanted to be in 2024 and 2025.
To get the most out of the film's complex lore, pay attention to the scene’s placement right before the mid-movie twist. It’s the high point of their relationship before everything starts to crumble, making the final confrontation at the volcanic island a narrative mirror to their time in Babylon.
Next Steps:
- Analyze the Visuals: Re-watch the Babylon sequence and compare the "Golden Hour" lighting of the beach scene to the harsh, cold lighting of the Celestials' realm.
- Deep Dive into Phastos: Explore how the depiction of Phastos's family life provides a different, arguably more successful, grounded emotional anchor than the Sersi/Ikaris romance.
- Compare with "The Boys" or "Invincible": Contrast Marvel's hesitant steps into maturity with how R-rated superhero deconstructions use sex as a tool for character subversion.