MCU Phase 4’s Most Wasted Villain Was Almost Marvel’s Most Terrifying

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Summary

Eternals villain Kro has potential, but he ended up feeling underwhelming in the final MCU film.
Early concept art shows Kro as a horror movie monster, different from his final look, hinting at a missed opportunity for a more impactful character.
The decision to tone down Kro's appearance for Eternals may have been to appeal to a wider audience, but a scarier design could have made him more memorable.

When Kro appeared in Phase 4 via 2021's Eternals, he proved to be underwhelming but he was very nearly a terrifying villain more fearsome to behold than anything else in the MCU. There was no question that when he first did battle with Eternals' cast of superheroes, he seemed to combine immense power with a menacing appearance. He was also framed as a major antagonist for the film, and it almost looked at one point as if he could become a serious bad guy in the MCU as the story went into phases 5 and 6.
There was solid evidence that Kro would be a big bad when he succeeded in killing some important characters throughout the film, but then by Eternals' ending he is neutralized by Thena and, in actuality, his apparent powers and fierce appearance weren’t enough to ensure his staying power. This led to him feeling like he was a wasted opportunity in Phase 4 and, instead of becoming a major player in the vein of Thanos or Kang, he was just one more generic baddie dispatched to move Eternals story forward. But things could have been very different.

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MCU's Unused Kro Design Looks Like A Horror Movie Monster Early Designs For The Character Could Feel Like They're From A Different Universe Close A series of Eternals concept art illustrations shared by character artist Jerad S. Marantz showed a startling early design for Kro and the difference is so striking that the villain seems better suited to a horror movie than fighting superheroes in Eternals. Even the clay renders for the design have an eerie feel to them, and it’s very likely that if the creative team had gone with this rendition for Kro’s final look then it would have left a much bigger impression on audiences and given the film a unique identity that could have helped it stand out.
Compared to his final form, Kro almost seems to be in the wrong film entirely.
The addition of a more skeleton-like look and menacing eyes is embellished even further by horns and gruesome tendrils that lend him a monstrous aura. Kro’s first iteration looks less like an MCU baddie and more like something from an HP Lovecraft horror story, which is entirely fitting for a cosmic being who wields extraordinary power. Compared to his final form, Kro almost seems to be in the wrong film entirely. Rather than doing battle in Eternals, he could well have been a better fit in the more horror-themed Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness.
Was Kro's Original Character Design Too Much For The MCU? Playing To The Masses Means Sometimes Creators Have To Tone It Down

It isn't known exactly why the creative team behind Eternals decided not to use Kro’s final design, but one possible explanation is that his appearance was too scary for a family-friendly superhero film consistent with the look and feel of the MCU. Kro’s appearance in the early prototype is literally the stuff of nightmares so it would have felt somewhat out of place in a film that placed more emphasis on science fiction and fantastical beings. His final design in the film definitely feels like something that packs a punch without being too over the top.
Eternals isn't the only MCU movie in which earlier character designs were jettisoned in favor of something more toned down in the end product. A look at some unused MCU concept art reveals a host of horror-adjacent designs, including a demonic Wanda Maximoff, an extra-disfigured Red Skull and a vision of Gorr The God Butcher so ghoulish that it could have been designed by HR Giger. As with these designs, while they look great as illustrations, bringing them to life onscreen may have been more challenging, thus it was decided to leave them on the drawing board.
Kro's Final MCU Appearance Makes Sense (But The Unused Design Could've Worked Better) Decisions Over Kro’s Final Look Reveal A Wasted Opportunity

Cool alternate design aside, Kro’s presence in Eternals presents a threat and his character design does makes sense. His look is consistent with the rest of the film, and he manages to be intimidating, but not in a way that could cause issues for younger audience members. At the same time, it's hard not to feel like he also represents a wasted opportunity in Phase 4. With Eternals score of 44% on Rotten Tomatoes, it remains a divisive film and a scarier Kro could have mitigated this.
The bait-and-switch towards Eternals climax makes narrative sense in the context of the film, but there is also a strong case for arguing that the twist could have hit much harder if Kro looked like his original horror-inspired design. His horrifying appearance would have given the character a more memorable screen presence so that when he was finally killed, the death would have felt like more of an event. As it is, his first and only appearance in MCU's Phase 4 became a wasted opportunity, that felt like a safer play.
Eternals memorably finished on a cliffhanger ending, so there is still potential in continuing the character's journeys, with an opportunity for a new villain who could unite the powerful team again. There are some significant potential villains for a possible Eternals sequel who could land heavier punches than Kro managed, and the maximalist approach inherent to most sequels could include beefed-up character designs. With that in mind, the team behind a potential Eternals sequel have a real opportunity to outdo Kro.

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Eternals is the 25th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is part of its fourth phase. Over 500 years ago, when the ten Eternals complete the task given to them by the Celestial Arishem to wipe out the invasive alien species known as Deviants that roam the earth, the group decides to go their separate ways as they find themselves at odds with how to continue their interactions with humanity as they grow and learn. Blending into society, the Eternals continue to live their lives in the modern day until the Deviants emerge again. When one of the Eternals is supposedly slain by a deviant, events are set in motion that will reunite them once again to discover why the Deviants have returned and what the true intentions of the Celestial have been for all these millennia.
Director Chloé Zhao Release Date November 5, 2021 Studio(s) Disney , Marvel Distributor(s) Disney Writers Matthew K. Firpo , Ryan Firpo , Jack Kirby Cast Angelina Jolie , Gemma Chan , Richard Madden , Salma Hayek , Kit Harington , Kumail Nanjiani , Lia McHugh , Brian Tyree Henry Runtime 157 minutes Franchise(s) Eternals , Marvel Cinematic Universe Budget $200 million Main Genre Superhero Expand Upcoming Marvel Movies
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