The mid-credits scene shows Pip the Troll (voiced by Patton Oswalt) introducing Eros to Eternals Thena (Angelina Jolie), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), and Druig (Barry Keoghan). Pip refers to Eros as the "Royal Prince of Titan, brother of Thanos, the Knave of Hearts, defeater of Black Roger, the great adventurer, Starfox."
"What a pleasure to make your acquaintance my fellow Eternals," Styles' character says.
Marvel fans are more than familiar with Thanos (Josh Brolin), the villainous Mad Titan who was at the center of the Infinity Saga. But his brother has never been mentioned in the MCU, leading to a plethora of questions about his origin.
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Zhao explained how she cast Styles and Oswalt in a new interview with CinemaBlend, saying: "I pitched Pip the Troll and Eros to [Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige] a while back. "
"I love the idea of getting to know Thanos' brother," the director continued. "He's an Eternal, and the idea of him having gone through what the Eternals have gone through, doing their work for the Celestials, is very interesting. And how that might have affected Thanos to become who he is today, I love that idea."
Zhao said that she's had Styles, who rose to fame as a member of the British-Irish boy band One Direction, on her radar since his film debut in Christopher Nolan's 2017 war film "Dunkirk."
Coincidentally, Styles and Keoghan both appeared in that movie together before sharing the screen in "Eternals."
"I kept tabs on Harry Styles since he appeared in 'Dunkirk' because whoever Nolan casts, I keep an eye open," Zhao said.
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The director said that she chooses actors that remind her of specific characters, which was the case for Styles.
"This is how I cast a little bit is like, who you are makes me think of Eros as a character," she said. "He comes to life when I met him. So, it was very much, 'This is a package. If he says yes, if Kevin says yes, then it's a go.' And luckily, they both said yes."
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