Sure, Eternals may not have received the best reception from those who watched last year’s big epic, which introduced a host of new elements to the MCU. Despite those negative feelings, there was one character whose introduction was seemingly loved by most: Harry Styles’ Eros.
The Eternal first came onto the screen in the film’s post-credits scene, where he teleported onto the Domo with his friend, Pip the Troll, and advised the remaining Earth-stationed Eternals that he knew where their friends were.
So what’s next for the Eternals family? Well, besides confirmation that Marvel Studios has every interest in continuing their story, there hasn’t been any significant movement on that front.
A cast member or two have alluded to an Eternals sequel in the works, but confirmation never made its way to San Diego Comic-Con or D23.
Needless to say, it could be a minute before the character comes back into the spotlight. As the world waits, however, the creator of the character has come out publicly to admit that there might be some problems adapting Styles' Eros into the MCU
Eros Creator Warns of a Likely Problem
In an interview with Inverse, Jim Starlin—the creator of characters such as Thanos, Eros, and Pip—was asked about how he thinks his newly introduced characters (the two from Eternals) would fit into the MCU’s world.
Starlin was very quick to note that “Pip will be the comic relief:”
“Pip will be the comic relief. He’s also a teleporter, and that brings in all sorts of possibilities.”
As for Harry Styles' Eros, the writer admitted that he “[has] no idea” how the MCU will handle the character, seeing as he’s basically a “sociopath” and “sexual predator:”
“Eros, on the other hand, he’s an interesting one. I have no idea what they’re going to do with him. I sort of left him as a sociopath, and he is sort of a sexual predator. So I’ll be curious to see how the MCU Eros fares up against the other one. Especially in this day and age. So that’s always a tricky one.”
For those that don’t know about Eros from the comics, he is a womanizing Eternal whose key power is the use of his psionic ability to stimulate people’s pleasure center and also manipulate the minds of others in order to have them feel affection towards another.
These powers have led the character to get into some questionable decisions, leading him to get in trouble with Jennifer Walter’s She-Hulk, and even have a court trial of galactic proportions. Eventually, Starfox has his mental manipulation powers shut down by Moondragon in order to avoid hurting anyone else—even by accident.
Previously, Eternals’ director Chloé Zhao revealed that her backstory for Harry Styles’ Eros was that he was stationed on Titan with nine other Eternals, much like Earth’s situation, but then he deserted, leaving him to be a space outlaw of sorts. She compared the duo of Eros and Pip the Troll to Star Wars’ Han and Chewie, with the two on the run from Arishem, who has been on the hunt for them.
How Will the MCU Handle Harry Styles' Eros?
The character is certainly not one who seems to be built for today’s day and age—very much the opposite. For Eros to work at all, really, he’ll have to change significantly.
He can still be the flirty, womanizing type of guy he is in the comics, but his psionic powers will have to be dialed down. Any manipulation of a person’s interest, especially when it comes close to a sexual nature, simply won’t fly.
Not only will it be quick to receive backlash, but Marvel Studios could find themselves in increasingly hotter water before they know it.
When it comes to the character’s future, the MCU will need to be very careful with each step they take, more than usual when it comes to Eros himself. It’ll certainly be interesting to watch how the studios handle the situation when the time comes.
Eternals is now streaming on Disney+ and there is currently no confirmed sequel in the works.
