While all the attention may be on Spider-Man: No Way Home right now, it's important not to forget the movie that came right before: Eternals. Chloé Zhao's space epic introduced over a dozen new characters to the MCU. This includes the cast of ten Eternals stationed on earth, Arishem the Celestial, and Kit Harington's Dane Whitman; that's not even including arguably the biggest of them all in Harry Styles' Eros.
In the film's post-credits sequence, audiences witnessed Harry Styles' Starfox teleport onto the Domo alongside his trusty companion Pip the Troll. Why was he there? According to him, the Eternal knows just where to find the groups' kidnapped family.
But what where did this character come from? What's his story? Given the nature of the post-credits tags, there wasn't much on that front. It's something fans will have to wait to get in the hopefully inevitable sequel.
However, Zhao surprised everyone and spoke out about what she envisioned for Eros' offscreen backstory.
The Secret Backstory of Styles' Eros
In an interview with Empire, Eternals director Chloé Zhao commented on how she envisioned the backstory behind Harry Styles' newly introduced Eternal Eros.
According to the director, she imagines that Eros deserted his post and ended up as "a space outlaw" alongside Pip the Troll, who "he ran off and made:"
"For me, the backstory of Eros is that he deserted, he said, 'I'm not doing this anymore.' So he somehow got that sphere, which you saw in his hand, and he ran off and made Pip the troll. They're like Han Solo and Chewie. Arishem' s been looking for him, and he's just been a space outlaw. That's the character I had in my mind. But I never said once to Kevin, 'Here's the character. Let's find an actor.' For me, it was a package deal. It's got to be Harry. That's how I pitched it to [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige]."
Zhao went on in detail about how Eros' secret history. She mentioned how Eros "was stationed on Titan" alongside ten others, just like Earth's Eternals.
This would mean at some point, the planet Titan would have to have been a host planet at some point––something the director made a note to point out. With this in mind, she posted an important question: "what influence could Eros have had on the inhabitants of Titan... and how [has that] affected Thanos?"
Zhao continued theorizing, asking, "does Eros know about [the emergence]?" Could he maybe have been an advisor in the same way that Ajak was for kings and queens on Earth?
Eros of Titan Creating Life
One of the biggest reveals from Chloé Zhao's rendition of Eros' backstory is how she seemingly reveals that the Eternal created Pip the Troll on his own. This would be entirely new lore for both characters and could introduce some complex possibilities into the MCU.
In the comics, Pip originates from the planet Laxidazia and is born of royalty. After drinking with some of the native trolls, he starts to take on their traits––which gets him exiled from the planet.
Needless to say, he is not created via the World Forge in the comics. Pip also doesn't really have a history with Eros, so it's all-new territory for the story and characters.
When it comes to Eros' time on Titan, it certainly does bring up many questions. With him stationed there with nine others, does this confirm, thanks to his use of "brother," Thanos was one of those? Either way, there are dozens of questions that spiral out of any conclusions one could make––Eternals' sequel has a lot of work to do.
With all of these potential revelations, it's important to keep in mind that none is entirely canon until it makes it on screen or is referenced––in the same vein as deleted scenes. The creative teams behind the character's next adventure could easily adjust these details to better suit the direction they decide to go in.
For those hoping to see Eternals again, or for the first time, the film will be streaming on Disney+ on January 12, 2022.
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