Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Eternals!
As with all other Marvel Studios releases, the post-credits scenes from Eternals teased the future of the MCU in big ways, with two new characters making their live-action debut and a vocal cameo setting up one of the most highly-anticipated solo films of Phase Five. However, both sequences could have ended up looking very different. While speaking with The Wrap, screenwriters Kaz and Ryan Firpo discussed other ways these scenes could have played out.
By now, anyone who’s seen Eternals knows that the mid-credits scene introduced Eros/Starfox (Harry Styles) and Pip the Troll (Patton Oswalt). Meanwhile, the end-credits stinger featured the voice of Mahershala Ali as Blade. But in earlier drafts, the Firpos played around with the idea of having the Eternals join a new Avengers lineup. They also considered including Jonathan Majors’ Kang, who would “come hang out and have a little conversation with these guys.”
“There was about, I would say half a dozen solid versions of those end credit sequences that we explored,” revealed Kaz. “I think so much of that process is about leaving doors open. That’s really what it’s about. As much as everyone would like there to believe that there’s a master whiteboard that hasn’t been touched in generations and sits in Kevin’s office that has everything that’s happening for the next 40 years, really it’s a process of what do people want to see? What’s fun in that moment? What door can we leave open that will become satisfying later on?”
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Ali’s vocal cameo was arguably the biggest surprise in either of Eternals’ post-credits stingers. Regardless, it was almost a completely different superhero delivering his one line of dialogue. The writers wouldn’t confirm rumors that Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange was one of the candidates. But they did reveal that Anthony Mackie came pretty close to making the cut, fresh off his first appearance as Marvel’s new Star-Spangled Avenger in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
“I think that once upon a time it may even been Sam [Wilson], our new Cap,” added Kaz.
Eternals is now playing in theaters everywhere.
Do you think the writers made the right choices regarding the film’s post-credits scenes? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: The Eternals by Jack Kirby Vol. 1
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