The Game of Thrones star played Dane Whitman in Chloé Zhao’s Eternals.

Actor Kit Harington is known for his role as Jon Snow in the legendary TV series Game of Thrones. He was one of the lead characters of the show, with one plot thread dedicated to his experiences on the Night’s Watch and his eventual team-up with Daenerys Targaryen.

After the show’s end, Harington made his MCU debut in the ensemble film Eternals. The actor played the role of Dane Whitman in the film, and it was hinted that he would become the Black Knight in the MCU. While Harington hoped that the character would play a major role in the films to come, that might not be the case anymore.

Kit Harington As Black Knight In The MCU

Kit Harington with Gemma Chan in Eternals

After his eight-year stint in the HBO series Game of Thrones, which had a controversial finale, Kit Harington set his eyes on the next big franchise which is the MCU. Harington joined his Game of Thrones Richard Madden in Chloé Zhao’s Eternals, which also featured Gemma Chan, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie among others.

Harington played the role of Dane Whitman, the partner to Chan’s Sersi, who works with her at the Natural History Museum. Whitman does not have any superpowers in the film and is merely the human adversary in the action. However, in the mid-credits scene of the film, it is teased that Whitman would soon wield the Ebony Blade and would turn into his comic-book counterpart, Black Knight.

A still from Eternals

Harington spoke about the character and its future in the MCU in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He mentioned that he got into the franchise as there was more potential for his character and he did not appear as ‘just a boyfriend’. He said,
“No, I kind of knew that that might be a possibility. I wasn’t that interested in rocking up in a Marvel movie just to play someone’s boyfriend. I knew of some future possibilities, so that’s always been part of the conversation.”
He also went on to say that shooting the mid-credits scene was exciting but he was not aware of Marvel’s plans with Black Knight.

Black Knight Was Supposed To Be In Blade

Mahershala Ali

As Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman looks at the Ebony Blade in the mid-credits scene of Eternals, we hear a voice that asks him, “Sure, you are ready for that, Mr. Whitman?” The voice is that of actor Mahershala Ali, who will officially be playing Blade in the MCU.

MCU mastermind Kevin Feige announced in 2019 that Ali would be receiving his own solo film in Phase Five of the MCU. Yann Demange was set to direct, with filming to begin after the WGA strikes. While initially, it was rumored that Kit Harington’s Black Knight was supposed to be in Blade, the actor refuted them in this year’s Superhero Comic Con & Car Show. He said,
“I think there was some misunderstanding about whether he was going to be in the Blade movie. He was never meant to be in the Blade movie and isn’t.”
The actor added that he could not confirm or deny Whitman’s involvement in the MCU and said that he believes that there is potential.