Eternals added a lot of new characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Harry Styles' Eros and his unlikely ally, Pip the Troll. Played by Patton Oswalt, there's a lot of intrigue surrounding the character and what he could bring to both this franchise and the wider MCU moving forward.
There have been some criticisms online about Pip's appearance, with comparisons made to the CG characters seen in The Polar Express! That's a little harsh, but it seems there's a good reason why the teleporting Laxidazian looked a little rough around the edges in that mid-credits scene.
Talking to The Wrap, VFX Supervisor Stephane Ceretti confirmed "we shot that during the additional photography," before revealing new details about Eternals' original ending. "It was still with Harry Styles actually, but it was in the spaceship with all the other Eternals. It was a little bit more sad, and not as exciting in a way, so it didn’t kind of resonate. Chloe had that idea of bringing Pip, the troll, as his sidekick for the end of the movie. We did that pretty quick at the end."
You can hear what Sprite actress Lia McHugh told us about that in the player below, but Ceretti would go on to admit "it was a bit challenging to get that done in time, but we did what we could. It turned out okay. You’re thinking, 'Hmm, Harry Styles is going to be hard to beat.' It is what it is. I still think it’s a fun moment. I still think it’s a lot of opportunities for fun stories later down the line."
Interestingly, it sounds like there's a lot more Pip the Troll somewhere in Marvel Studios' vaults, as Ceretti told the trade, "I’ve seen a lot of takes. It was very fun. And I know that they had a good interaction as well with Angelina, and all this stuff. It was a good moment that they did at the very end of the additional photography."
In the comic books, Pip is commonly associated with Adam Warlock, but it looks like the MCU is taking things in a different direction by aligning him with Starfox instead. His teleportation powers could prove key in finding Sersi, Kingo, and Phastos after they were abducted by Arishem the Celestial, though that's a story we probably won't see play out until Eternals 2 is released.
Check out our interview with McHugh below: