Famous, Infamous or Forgotten: Harry Styles' MCU debut as Starfox

Harry Styles is primarily known for his associations with Britain's The X-Factor and beloved boy band One Direction, but do you recall his time with the Eternals and the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

That's the inaugural topic in Popverse's new weekly series Famous, Infamous, or Forgotten - a vigorous, opinionated, and intense look at one specific corner in the pop culture realm we inhabit to determine how its been received and if it will stand the test of time. In this case its Harry Styles as the MCU's Starfox - is it famous, infamous, or forgotten?

First reported by Variety weeks before the intended surprise reveal in the Eternals' public theatrical debut, Harry Styles debut as Thanos' brother Eros (AKA Starfox) was intended to be the latest MCU post-credits scene surprise but like a band out of tune, it failed to hit the right note.

And it can't be blamed on Styles. Styles blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo (he's on screen for less than a minute, and that's including the time he's standing in shadow) was built entirely on his star power, with no real room given for him to act or establish his character. A character that, even for the most ardent Marvel Comics fans, is a minor character in the mix of things.

While Thanos' MCU debut hit like a hammer (even if the actor at the time was an unknown, with Josh Brolin later filling out the part years later), Starfox's MCU debut all sizzle, and no steak - doing a disservice to fans, to the MCU, and to the then-budding Eternals movie franchise.

According to Eternals director and main writer Chloé Zhao, Styles' role as Eros was in her mind going all the way back to 2017.

"I kept tabs on Harry Styles since he appeared in Dunkirk. Whoever Nolan casts I always keep an eye open," Chao told CinemaBlend. "I thought, ‘This person makes me think of Eros as a character.’"

While the initial surprise of Styles as Starfox led to many fans' tongues wagging, as well as reports by spurrious newspapers like The Sun that he'd signed a "five-movie deal with Marvel Studios worth $100 million," once the initial buzz had worn off people haven't spoken about Styles-as-Starfox, the Eternals movie, or any major interest in a sequel or tie-in to another MCU project, since.

And its been two years.

While I can't completely write off the idea that Styles will make a return to the MCU (hey, they had the Inhumans' Black Bolt return for Dr Strange in the Multivere of Madness), as Marvel and its parent company Disney are aiming now to focus more on quality of releases over quantity of releases, I don't see a way to do it that'd make anyone happy. After all, there are a lot more people waiting for the next Avengers movie than there are