Eternals’ Kit Harington Fascinated By Potential For Black Knight Future

Warning: This post contains Eternals spoilers

Eternals star Kit Harington is fascinated by the potential for Black Knight’s future in the MCU. Harington is best known for playing the character of Jon Snow on HBO’s Game of Thrones, starring in all eight seasons of the mega-hit show. Harington has dabbled in other roles between and after his time on Game of Thrones, including the mini-series Gunpowder and Amazon’s Modern Love, as well features like Paul W.S. Anderson’s Pompeii, MI-5, and as the voice of Eret in the How To Train Your Dragon franchise. He also lent his voice to Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare as Admiral Salen Kotch.

In Eternals, Harington plays Dane Whitman, a Marvel character that eventually becomes Black Knight, a superhero who gains his powers from a magical sword forged by the legendary Merlin and Sir Percy. The sword gives Whitman the ability to cut through anything, prevent the wielder from death, and deflect any magic used against them. However, the blade also carries a curse, as the longer a user wields it, the more they will succumb to bloodlust and violence, before it eventually turns them into a bloodthirsty berserker.

Talking to THR, Harington addressed his future as Dane Whitman/Black Knight, which he continues to insist that he is unaware of any “roadmap” for the character in the MCU and that he’s not privy to where Marvel may want to take him. However, when Harington came on board for Eternals, he was told that Whitman has “a really interesting future” and that “there are many different ways” they could go with him. Harington says he was intrigued by that idea and read up on Whitman/Black Knight, both in comics form and on the Internet, saying that he was fascinated by the potential of the character. Here’s what he had to say:

“…I’m fascinated by the idea that any character in any story is driven by some addiction to something. And with [Dane Whitman], it’s very palpable that this sword, this blade, has an addictive pull on him, and I find that really interesting.”

While Whitman is not expected to become Black Knight in Eternals, he does play a part in the overall story and how it shapes up, particularly with his relationship to Cersi (Gemma Chan), who is his lover in the film. The love triangle aspect has been discussed quite a bit, with Harington, Chan and former Game of Thrones co-star Richard Madden all sharing a dynamic that has some part to play in the film. While Harington and Madden appearing on the big-screen together after playing brothers on Game of Thrones seems like an exciting thing for Game of Thrones fans, Harington says it doesn’t have the same effect that it does on fans. “…to see two major roles from [GOT] in another one feels like a bigger thing than it does to me and Richard,” he says.

While it’s possible Harington really doesn’t have any idea what Marvel’s plans are for Whitman/Black Knight’s future beyond Eternals, it’s likely not the case for Marvel themselves, who surely had a plan (or intent) in mind by casting the actor in the role. Black Knight is an intriguing character and one that Harington has the potential to flesh out in a special way, especially given the range he’s shown previously on Game of Thrones. In many ways, it’s the perfect superhero parallel to Jon Snow, which should make it a walk in the park for Harington, minus the superpowers.