Marvel has revealed the trailer for its long-awaited film Eternals, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Chloe Zhao.

The film will form part of the fourth phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) which started more than a decade ago with Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man.

Eternals will tell the story of a group of immortal beings who have secretly been on Earth for thousands of years.

The suggestion is that while they have kept a low profile, the Eternals have secretly been pulling strings on Earth to help advance society.

Chloe Zhao, whose film Nomadland won a trio of awards at this year’s Oscars, including best director, is at the helm of the movie, which is set to answer questions about the Avengers after the events of Endgame.

Zhao reportedly shot Eternals immediately after Nomadland, suggesting the director is in high demand.

Angelina Jolie (Thena) and Gemma Chan (Sersi) lead the cast in Eternals, while Game Of Thrones alumni Richard Madden (Ikaris) and Kit Harington (Dane Whitman) will reunite on screen.

Elsewhere, the film will introduce the first canonically deaf and gay characters into the MCU, in Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari, and Bryan Tyree Henry’s Phastos – who appears with a husband and child.

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Salma Hayek and Kumail Nanjiani also appear as part of the Eternals.

In the trailer we see the sweeping vistas that Zhao is famous for, as well as glimpses in to the lives of the Eternals, which includes them moonlighting as museum curators and Bollywood actors, in an effort to fit in.

It is expected to hit screens in the autumn, joining Spider-Man: No Way Home, Black Widow, and Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings on Marvel’s slate of film releases this year.