Marvel Rushed To Put Pip The Troll In Eternals Post-Credits Scene

The introduction of Pip the Troll in Eternals was rushed by Marvel Studios. Patton Oswalt officially joins the MCU by playing the fun-loving space creature. Debuted during Eternals’ post-credits scene, he introduced Starfox (Harry Styles) when Thanos’ brother joined the remainder of the Eternals. But apparently, Pip’s arrival was a last-minute decision.

Directed by Chloé Zhao, Eternals brought an entirely new superhero squad to the MCU. The main Eternals team consists of 10 members who were sent to Earth thousands of years ago to protect humans from alien Deviants. But aside from the titular heroes, the movie also introduced several more characters who are expected to play pivotal roles in the MCU moving forward. That includes Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman/Black Knight and Mahershala Ali’s Blade. Finally, there’s also the Titan prince Eros and his hype man/sidekick, Pip. But while Zhao had planned for a long time to bring Starfox into the universe, the idea of introducing the troll was made towards the end of production, which, apparently, made things challenging for the film’s VFX team.

Related: Kang’s Phase 4 Multiverse Introduction Creates A Problem For Avengers 5

Speaking with The Wrap, Stephane Ceretti, Eternals‘ VFX Supervisor, and Matt Aitken, WETA Digital VFX Supervisor talked about their work on the film. They recalled that the decision to bring Pip to the MCU was made last minute, and the fact that he’s a CGI character meant they needed to work double-time to make sure they get him right. The character being brand new to the MCU added an extra layer of difficulty since they needed to first figure out the comic book character’s cinematic design. Check out the filmmakers’ comments below:

Stephane Ceretti: Let’s be honest. But it was a bit challenging to get that done in time, but we did what we could. It turned out okay. It’s…

Matt Aitken: Another new thing to the MCU… And so, just try trying different things out. And I think I might have said to you at one point, Steph, we’re getting close to our hard out. We need this much time. If we’re going to change the design again, and build the facial rig, and get all the nuances of the facial performance, we’re going to need to have that approval of the design right here. And then I think we went way past that.

Stephane Ceretti: We were way past that. I was like, “Guys, we got to go. We really got to go. But what if we try this. We got to go. Try this. Okay, we’ll try this.” We’ve all been there, but I mean, in the end you’re putting, for the first time, a CG character next to Harry Styles. And 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. I hope it’s a character we’re going to see more, because he’s hilarious. What’s hilarious is that Patton has agreed to do it. And I think the best thing, there’s so many good possibilities because of that. And Harry doing that too is just freaking cool.

Eternals‘ VFX team did their best given the circumstances, but it’s safe to say that Pip’s appearance in the film isn’t exactly up to the same visual standards as the rest of the movie. There were immediate criticisms about the character’s look despite the initial excitement over seeing him in the MCU. Leading up to Avengers: Infinity War, Pip was rumored to be making his introduction to the universe, but that obviously didn’t happen until now. Knowing the constraints the artists were under, fans can now be more understanding of how the troll looks like in Eternals considering it was Marvel Studios’ last-minute decision.

In any case, since Pip’s return to the MCU after Eternals is pretty much confirmed, Marvel Studios has the chance to redeem the character by polishing his design. Thanos’ appearance changed multiple times until they got him right in Avengers: Infinity War. Since they seem to know that Pip could’ve looked better based on Ceretti’s initial comments, it’s safe to assume that they will be committed to making up for this VFX misstep next time.

More: Thanos’ Soul World Moment Betrays His Infinity Saga Arc

Source: The Wrap

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