Although Eternals 2 hasn’t been announced and Harry Styles doesn’t have any immediate intentions to act again, Eternals 2 may still succeed without Harry Styles as Eros/Starfox. The future of the Eternals in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still unknown. After the events of Avengers: Endgame, the original Avengers team was rendered inactive. As a result, the MCU has already established a new group of superheroes, Chloé Zhao’s Eternals, who are the universe’s oldest squad.
The Celestial Arishem the Judge created the Eternals, a group of artificial beings, and sent them to Earth centuries ago to guard it against the Deviants, their evil opposites. The Eternals helped mankind advance after the Deviants were vanquished, but after several arguments and conflicts among themselves, the group finally broke apart. After Ajak (Salma Hayek), their leader, passed away, the Deviants came back, and the impending doomsday event known as “The Emergence,” which was the birth of a new Celestial from the center of Earth, the Eternals came back together many years later.
Because he is both an Eternal and Thanos’ brother, Starfox has the potential to play a significant role in the MCU’s future, but his future is currently just as uncertain as that of the other Eternals. Harry Styles confirmed to Rolling Stone in August 2022 that he is choosing to prioritize his music career for the time being and does not anticipate embarking on another film project anytime soon, making his return to Starfox rather challenging. However, Eternals 2 may continue without him.
Eternals 2 was left off of Kevin Feige’s list of Phase 5 movies in the MCU as well as three Phase 6 films (Fantastic Four, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers: Secret Wars). The future of the Eternals in the MCU is currently unknown due to how isolated they have felt from the rest of the MCU and how just lately, courtesy of She-episode Hulk’s 2, the events in it were acknowledged, although softly. Eternals 2 may have difficulties as a result of the Harry Styles career announcement, but Starfox is not necessary for the sequel to function. Thena (Angelina Jolie), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), and Druig (Barry Keoghan) were told by Starfox that he knew where to find the other members of the team, although this information might have been changed to postpone Starfox’s participation with the Eternals. It wouldn’t be the first time the MCU changed a post-credits scene, and it would give Marvel the freedom to move ahead with Eternals 2 without being constrained by Harry Styles’ schedule.
Thena, Makkari, and Druig might be told what Starfox knows about Arishem and the rest, and then Starfox could just go. This would be a lackluster explanation, but the MCU isn’t unfamiliar with these kinds of simple fixes. The main plot point of Eternals 2 is the kidnapping of half the team and how Arishem will judge them, therefore Starfox’s presence isn’t really necessary. If Harry Styles continues to prioritize his music career, Starfox may not return until Phase 7 while the Eternals continue on their own.