This Is How Thanos Is Connected To The Eternals

Everyone's favorite purple people-snapper, Thanos, has been around in the canon of the Marvel Universe for a long time. In the original Marvel comics, he's one of the Eternals, a type of superhuman who lives eternally (get it?) and is tasked to protect various planets. His version of protecting it is a little twisted, but he's an Eternal nonetheless. A big, bruise-colored Eternal who goes on to be one of the Avengers' greatest foes. Naturally, the Marvel Cinematic Universe took some liberties with this, but that doesn't mean he's not getting directly tied into the new "Eternals" movie. 

In "Eternals," out now in theaters, writer-director Chloé Zhao takes a deep dive into some of the most powerful beings in all of the Marvel canon. "Eternals" is a story that spans centuries, following characters that have lived for more than 7000 years, so of course there's going to be some crossover with the amethyst arch-villain, played by Josh Brolin in previous MCU outings like "Avengers: Endgame." 

Read on to find out just how Thanos is woven into "Eternals" and how it could affect the MCU moving forward, but be warned: there are massive spoilers for "Eternals" ahead.

In the post-credits sequence for "Eternals," Eros, also known as Starfox, appears to tell the rest of the gathered Eternals that there's trouble afoot. Eros is being played in the MCU by One Direction group member and hit pop star Harry Styles, complete with flaming red hair and an Eternals suit. He is accompanied by Pip the Troll, voiced by comedian Patton Oswalt, who announces Eros as the "royal prince of Titan, brother of Thanos, and knave of hearts." There are rumors that Styles is signed on to be a major part of the MCU, which means this after-credits cameo is going to lead to much bigger things. So who the heck is Eros, and why does he share a nickname with a beloved Nintendo character who does barrel rolls?

Eros travels the universe and has a wealth of cosmic powers, so that's probably where the Starfox nickname comes from. He has superhuman strength, metabolism, and regenerative powers. He's immune to planetary diseases and is practically immortal, just like the rest of the Eternals. He can surround himself with a personal force field, fly at 800 mph, and perform telekinetic stunts. He can also speak 500 extraterrestrial languages. Basically, he has the best dating app profile you've ever seen.

The reason he's called Eros, though, is because of his ability to stimulate the pleasure centers in other people's brains. He often uses this power unconsciously, making everyone around him have feelings of euphoria. Eros in mythology is the Greek god of love, sex, and pleasure, so it makes sense. Thanos does not have a pleasure center, which makes him immune to his brother's special charms.

In the post-credits sequence, Starfox flirts with Angelina Jolie's Thena, then pulls the orb out of his chest that allows Eternals to communicate with the Celestials. (Only the leaders of each Eternals team have these, so it points to Eros being especially important.) He says, "Your friends are in trouble. And we think we know where to find them."

Thanos is already dead in the MCU after the events of "Avengers: Endgame," so there's no telling if he'll be back. There's plenty of opportunity for another version of Thanos to come back, the way Loki did, so maybe we haven't seen the last of the grape-toned genocidal maniac. They're going to need a good reason for explaining why Eros didn't help with the whole finger-snapping kill half the universe thing, but it's probably got something to do with the Eternals not interfering in human history. Maybe. Who knows the whims of creatures that are basically gods?

"Eternals" is currently playing in theaters.