Why Eternals’ Credits Song Is So Weird (& The Perfect Opportunity Missed)

Marvel’s Eternals has a problem with music, and it’s never more apparent than with the choice of credits music for the MCU’s newest release. There’s something of an identity crisis at play that appears intent on reflecting the timeless nature of Marvel’s “immortal” superheroes, but it ends up leading to the most eclectic, head-scratching Marvel movie soundtrack yet put together. That, fundamentally, is why Eternals‘ end credits music is so weird.

Despite repeated accusations that Marvel doesn’t know how to do superhero themes properly, music has been a prominent part of the MCU’s story-telling for many of the franchise’s ten-plus years. James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy movies are the easiest example to point to, given the director’s affectionate adoption of songs as the heart of Peter Quill’s story (and his link to his mother), but it’s not the only place. Thor has used Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song”, Iron Man went full AC/DC for one sequel (and then used Eiffel 65 bafflingly in Iron Man 3), and WandaVision paused to break the fourth wall with “Agatha All Along”. It hasn’t always been perfect, but it’s been memorable.

But in Chloe Zhao’s Eternals, music gets a little out of hand, and following Harry Styles’ after-credits appearance as Starfox, the movie ends on the strange note of Foreigner’s “Feels Like The First Time”. It’s a great song, but there’s a disparity between the song and the modern, forward-looking thrust of Eternals, and especially the promise tied into the One Direction singer’s future. And it feels remarkably like Eternals is putting aside what might fit most with the movie’s audience for the sake of building up the mythos of Styles’ Eternals character, Starfox, and letting the audience know in no uncertain terms the vibe he’s bringing. After all, Starfox is the most sexed-up superhero the MCU has ever seen, wrapped up in the delightfully modern playboy packaging of Harry Styles, and “Feels Like The First Time” oozes a message tied closely to sex. So while it’s an odd choice, it’s clearly intended to set out Starfox’s cards immediately. But then, the same could be said of Styles’ own “Watermelon Sugar”, which might arguably have been the perfect alternative.

Just in AC/DC’s “Shoot To Thrill” was intent on capturing Tony Stark’s hedonist/heavy artillery energy, and “Immigrant Song” was appropriate as an ode to Marvel’s God of Thunder, “Feels Like The First Time” is presented as Starfox’s swaggering anthem. But “Watermelon Sugar” probably means more to Harry Styles’ fans than a Foreigner song, no matter how classic, and carries the same connotations (whether Styles admits it or not). And at some point, Eternals fans have to concede that Styles’ Starfox casting is laser-focused on piggy-backing on his appeal and giving his fans something to get excited about. Hence the missed opportunity here.

On a broader point, Eternals‘ music problem is a very strange one. The Eternals soundtrack is an eclectic affair, including Pink Floyd, Lizzo, BTS, and Skeeter Davis, which perhaps speaks to the diversity intended and the broad time spectrum the heroes have been on Earth for, but the first song that greets the “Modern Day” time jump is from 1973. And the credits song is from 1977. It all feels a little too James Gunn-like without enough narrative justification, Starfox’s assumed sexscapades aside. Perhaps more modern songs would have been a better way to bookend the modern day parts of the story? That way Eternals strange needle drops might not have stood out so much.