Eternals: Patton Oswalt Shares Pip the Troll Motion Capture BTS Photos

Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt has taken to Twitter to share behind-the-scenes shots of his motion-capture performance as Pip the Troll in Marvel’s Eternals. Oswalt, who has had a long association with the Marvel brand over the years, first joined the cast of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2014 as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Eric Koenig in the show’s inaugural season. After his character was killed off, Oswalt returned throughout later seasons portraying the identical brothers to his original role, as well as the character’s own grandfather in the show’s seventh and final season.

Beyond Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Oswalt has also provided the voices of Uncle Ben and Chameleon in 2017’s animated Spider-Man series and also headlined Hulu’s M.O.D.O.K. as the voice of the titular Marvel villain. More recently, Oswalt finally made the leap across to the MCU proper, making his debut as the voice of Pip the Troll in the mid-credit sequence for Eternals, alongside Harry Styles’ Starfox. Jim Starlin, the comic book writer responsible for creating Pip’s hedonistic character has even recently praised Oswalt’s casting as “perfect for [the role].”

Off the back of recent reports that he not only voiced the role of Pip, but was also on set to record a motion-capture performance that would assist in bringing the character to life, Oswalt took to Twitter to share behind-the-scenes photos of the shoot. Showing the actor decked out in motion-capture gear and surrounded on all sides by cameras in a motion-capture rig, Oswalt accompanied the images with the tongue-in-cheek caption: Albert Finney voice: “Ah, an actor’s life…” Check out the original post below:

Given the extensive use of motion-capture technology throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is probably not surprising that they brought Oswalt on board to lend a physical performance to his CG character. While other Marvel CG characters like Guardians of the Galaxy’s Rocket Raccoon may have his motion-capture performed on set by Sean Gunn rather than Bradley Cooper, who supplies his voice, having the voice actor lend their physical performance does seemingly make it easier for animators to match their own final product to finished audio. Even Rocket’s offsider, Groot, has required actor Vin Diesel to come in and occasionally lend his own mo-cap performances for certain key sequences with the character.

While Oswalt’s introduction as Pip in Eternals may have been constrained to a cursory mid-credit scene, it would seem that Kevin Feige and the powers-that-be at Marvel Studios have bigger plans for the character in the future. There is no doubt Oswalt’s brief encounter providing motion-capture for the character will only serve as an appetizer for future turns in the role as both Pip and Starfox begin to make their mark on the wider MCU. Fans of Eternalsand the MCU at large are undoubtedly already be wondering when Oswalt’s debaucherous space troll will make his next appearance.

Source: Patton Oswalt

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TC Phillips
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TC Phillips is a scribbler, mess maker, and storyteller by nature. He is also a publisher and an author of his own special brand of warped fiction, and he revels in delving headfirst into all things strange, bizarre, and fantastical. A self-proclaimed nerd of the highest order, the vibrational energy generated by his constant state of fanboy excitement should probably be harnessed to power a small city. When his pancreas is not screaming under the pressure of his dietary habits, he is constantly befuddled by his three children and amazed that his long-suffering wife has not yet taken it upon herself to murder him in his sleep. He Tweets at @T_C_Phillips

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