The story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe moved further with the studio’s latest installment, Eternals. The movie helped Chloé Zhao make her MCU debut. The team of compelling immortal superheroes introduced accomplished stars such as Angelina Jolie and Kumail Nanjiani to the MCU.

The project was one of the more unique ones created by Marvel Studios. It featured an entire team of new characters for audiences to get familiar with, radically different from what we received in the Infinity War and Endgame days. 

Warning – This article contains spoilers from Eternals.

To add to the fantastic streak, the post-credits scene of the movie Eternals blessed the audiences with another new face to meet from scratch. This is no other than Eros, brother to the Mad Titan, Thanos. Not only does the character bring intrigue to the story, but he’s played by yet another big-name actor, Harry Styles.

While a character as magnetic as Eros raises interest, there ought to be a version of the film with a much more critical sequence. Perhaps something as significant as being the Ikaris in Sersi’s storyline. It comes as a massive disclosure that Richard Madden’s Eternal was one of the main reasons Starfox didn’t cut the story. 

Was there ever a version of the story that gave Eros a longer screen time? 

Eternals screenplay writers Ryan and Kaz Firpo recently sat down for an exclusive conversation with The Direct. And there, the writing duo discussed the involvement of Eros in the post-credits scene of the film.

To acknowledge the fact that whether the character was ever considered to be included in the pre-credits part of the movie, Ryan Firpo stated that at the beginning of the process, “[Eros was] definitely a card that went up on the board to be in the main movie:”

“You know, when we first started doing our pitch, we basically just had all these cards of, let’s say about 40 different Eternals, and we started kinda picking out the ones that we liked. And [Eros] is definitely a card that went up on the board to be in the main movie.”

So what exactly was it that stopped it from happening? The Firpo cousins admitted that they eventually agreed “to concentrate on Sersi and Ikaris’ love story”. And Ryan noted that “if there’s Ikaris, there can’t be Eros too:

Also Read: Writers Of Eternals Say Harry Styles’ Eros May Have Been Responsible For Infinity War

“But we eventually decided that we really wanted to concentrate on Sersi and Ikaris’ love story. And we just thought in the broader group dynamics, if there’s Ikaris, there can’t really be Eros too. Because it feels like they’re just kinda stepping on each other’s toes.”

However, the two also added that they did not even see the possibility of Eros never making it to the film at all. Ryan said that he was “the perfect coda character to introduce, especially because he has that connection to Thanos:”

“But we knew he was a great character who could potentially be our portal into the bigger world. Bigger community of Eternals that lives out in the Cosmos. So eventually, we realized that he’s the perfect coda character to introduce, especially because he has that connection to Thanos as well. So I would say that he was never involved in the main story. But always from very early on, there was the idea of introducing him in the post-credits.”

The Eros & Ikaris inclusion clash

Why the Firpo cousins decided to pan out the story the way they did is quite obviously stated. Starfox’s character in the comics is that of a player mainly because his powers can stimulate the pleasure centers of one’s brain.

So it is apparent that if it were for him, Harry Styles’ Eros would have tried to approach Gemma Chan’s Sersi. And that too as soon as they arrived on Earth. However, the unfolding would have rather been more subtle and clever and quick. As opposed to Ikaris’ slow and thoughtful descent.

Watching the two get into small quarrels would bring in a factor of lightheartedness. But maybe not so much for them. However, sneaking in the broken family angle and bringing back a link to a previous mega villain was a good choice at the end of the day. Also, giving Ikaris the story and space, they did work out well. 

At least fans can now anticipate Eternals 2. They know that Harry Styles’ Eros will be incredibly amazing to watch and get to know. Eternals is currently running in theaters worldwide.