Marvel producer finally explains future plans with Harry Styles' Eternal character

Harry Styles' brief cameo appearance in the mid-credits scene of Eternals left fans with two questions: Was the appearance for fan service, or was it to set up a future sequel?

The film's mid-credit scene features Styles as Eros, aka Starfox, brother of the Mad Titan, Thanos, and his trusty companion Pip the Troll, essayed by renowned comedian and actor Patton Oswalt.

Eros and Pip arrive in the spaceship inhabited by Thena, Makkari, and Druig, offering their aid to the three Eternals in locating the rest of their brethren that Arishem took for questioning at the end of the movie.

Fans of Harry Styles had their hopes crushed when Barry Keoghan, the actor portraying Druig, offered a rather uncertain and discouraging update after appearing in an interview with GQ, citing how a sequel was not announced in San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2022. Many wish for Starfox's return to the Eternals franchise, and the MCU as a whole, in a leading capacity

"[They] didn't really mention Eternals 2 so..."

However, Marvel producer Nate Moore offered a positive update regarding Styles.

Will Harry Styles return as Starfox in the MCU?

Styles as Eros in Eternals (image via Marvel Studios)

Nate Moore recently appeared as a guest on Deadline's Crew Call Podcast where he shed some light on Harry Styles' appearance in the mid-credit scene of Eternals. Here's what Moore had to say when he was asked whether the appearance was some stunt or fan service:

"No, we certainly didn't cast Harry for a tag. I mean, again- And a character [that] maybe I have too much affection for, 'cause he's had some problematic runs in publishing, but..."

Adding on, after D'Alessandro from Deadline said the question regarding Styles was brought up due to Eternals, Moore then said Styles' inclusion was a result of Chloe Zhao being a fan of the former One Direction singer.

"D'Alessandro: That was your film, Eternals. That's why I brought it up."

"Moore: It was. Yeah, no, and Chloe Zhao is a giant Harry Styles fan and...I'd always pitch like, 'Eros, he's really cool.' And she's like, 'It's Harry Styles.' And I was like, 'Are you sure?' And she was obsessed, and chased him down, and got him into the movie."

The "problematic run" Moore mentioned was Eros' controversial and not-so-good history in the comics. In an interview with Inverse, Jim Starlin, who created both Thanos and Starfox, said he has no idea how the MCU will handle such a controversial character.

"I have no idea what they're gonna do with him [Starfox]. I sort of left him as a sociopath, and he is sort of a s**ual 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."

In the comics, Eros, although a superhero, possessed psychic abilities to manipulate and control people's feelings. He used this power to seduce women, even those happily married. Eros was defended from serious allegations by She-Hulk in court at the urging of his father A'lars, aka Mentor, who wanted to protect his son from the accusations.

She-Hulk eventually learned that Starfox was responsible for her falling in love with and marrying J. Jonah Jameson's son, John, lashing out at him for toying with her life and bringing the legal proceedings to a halt.

The actor and former One Direction singer Harry Styles himself cast doubt on returning in an interview with the Rolling Stones.

"I think there'll be a time again when I'll crave it...but when you're making music, something's happening. It feels really creative, and it feeds stuff. A large part of acting is the doing nothing, waiting thing. Which if that's the worst part, then it's a pretty good job.

He also said,

But I don't find that section of it to be that fulfilling. I like doing it in the moment, but I don't think I'll do it a lot...everything in my life has felt like a bonus since X-Factor...get on TV and sing. I never expected and never thought that would happen."

Adding doubt to Styles' MCU return was Ms. Marvel actress and MCU fan Iman Vellani, expressing how she felt about his appearance.

"Ohhh, I feel so weird about it! I don't know. It's strange. I wonder, I really wonder if they're gonna go ahead and do something with the character, or if they just teased it for the sake of it.

Adding on, stating how Styles' appearance would be chaotic in the MCU fandom:

"Because I know Chloe Zhao is a big Harry Styles fan. But then you have all of the Harry Styles fandom in the MCU fandom, how chaotic would that be?"

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However, Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige showed interest in showcasing Styles' Starfox and Pip the Troll's story in an MTV interview with Josh Horrowitz at San Diego Comic-Con, teasing how the character would have a role to play in the MCU in the future.

"Yes, the adventures of Eros and Pip is something that's very exciting for us."

While there is no concrete information regarding Harry Styles' MCU future, fans can be assured it will be hopeful, given Feige's interest.

Other info on Harry Styles

In 2022, Harry Styles' made headlines around the time of the release of Don't Worry Darling regarding his involvement with director Olivia Wilde. The film received mixed reviews from critics and audiences upon its release.

The film reportedly had a troubled production and various other problems, such as the conflict between Wilde and Styles' co-star in the film Florence Pugh and the exit of Shia LaBeouf, who Styles then replaced.

That same year, Styles appeared in the Prime Video film My Policeman directed by Michael Grandage, which also received mixed reviews.

Edited by Angad Sharma