How Kit Harington’s Black Knight Fits Into Mahershala Ali’s ‘Blade’
Kit Harington made his Marvel debut in Eternals, but he wasn’t part of the titular god-like group of immortals. Instead, Harington’s character was a human named Dane Whitman, the alter ego of a superhero known as the Black Knight.
It wasn’t until the post-credits scene that Dane’s other identity was actually acknowledged, teasing that the character would come into play in a future MCU project. The indication was that Harington would be showing up in the upcoming Blade film starring Mahershala Ali. But how would the Black Knight fit in?
Who is Kit Harington’s Marvel character Dane Whitman, aka The Black Knight?
Dane Whitman first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the nice, human museum guy that Sersi (Gemma Chan) — one of the Eternals — was dating. He didn’t get a lot of screen time, and mostly stayed put in England while Sersi went around the world with her team.
But Dane and his family have quite the extensive history in the Marvel comics, as he is the descendant of an Arthurian knight. At the end of the film, Dane finally alludes to this when he hints to Sersi that he has uncovered an old, complicated family secret.
They never truly revealed his superhero status, but the post-credits scene did introduce the Black Knight’s iconic weapon — his ancestor’s cursed sword, the Ebony Blade.
Who was the voice in the post-credits scene?
Dane is conflicted when it comes to opening the long, ornate wooden box that could tell him more about his family’s legacy. When he does finally decide to open it at the end of Eternals, whispering voices emerge among a whoosh of air as he reads the Latin words carved in the box.
“Mors mihi lucrum,” the box reads. Which translates to “Death is my reward.”
Inside is the Ebony Blade, a long, black sword with a blade that gravitates towards Dane’s hand. As he reaches for the powerful weapon he says, “I’m sorry, I have to try.” But just before he can touch it, viewers can hear a voice off-screen that says, “Sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?” before the screen quickly cuts to black.
Eternals director Chloe Zhao later confirmed that the off-screen voice was Mahershala Ali. She said, per Cosmic Book News, “That was the voice of one of my favorite superheroes, Mr. Blade himself. Blade, Blade, Blade, yeah!”
How would Kit Harington’s Black Knight fit into ‘Blade’?
Once Zhao confirmed that the voice was indeed Ali’s, rumors started swirling that Harington’s Dane Whitman/Black Knight would appear in the upcoming Blade film. According to YouTuber Grace Randolph, Blade will take place “within multiple time periods.” And one of those time periods is the present day, which will include The Black Knight.
“So yesterday, I told you Blade would be in the ’20s and ’30s, right, they would have scenes take place within that time period. Well, I got some more clarification on that, and in fact, Blade will take place within multiple time periods and the ’20s and ’30s is one of those time periods,” Randolph dished.
“And there will be a storyline in the current day, and that’s where Black Knight comes in, Kit Harington’s character.”
How are Blade and the Black Knight connected?
The connection between Blade and the Black Knight comes from Marvel comics when they were on a team together known as MI13. This was a UK agency that was set up to focus on supernatural occurrences and the paranormal.
This is when Dane realizes that the Ebony Blade he was using was actually a fake forged by Dracula, which happened in the Secret Invasion crossover.
Rumor has it that Dracula will be in the upcoming Blade film, with Breaking Bad alum Giancarlo Esposito’s name attached to the role.
Will ‘Blade’ form the ‘Midnight Sons?’
Despite the connection between the Black Knight and Blade in the comics, Dane Whitman and the influence of the Ebony Blade doesn’t really seem to fit into a solo film about a vampire hunter. This is why some fans are speculating that Blade could be forming the Midnight Sons in Ali’s first MCU film.
Just like Nick Fury, it’s possible that Blade — aka Eric Brooks — could be assembling a team of supernatural Avengers, with Dane Whitman’s Black Knight being part of the team. However, this would be a challenge since none of these new characters have had their own solo film like the original Avengers.
The Ebony Blade will certainly be in the Mahershala Ali-led film
All of this talk about Harington’s Dane Whitman appearing in Blade has been purely speculation up to this point. But Eternals VFX supervisor Stephan Ceretti has confirmed that the Ebony Blade will for sure be in the movie. So, the logical conclusion is that Harington will co-star alongside Ali.
Ceretti told ComicBook.com that the infamous weapon will be part of the film when he revealed that his additional supervisor would be “supervising Blade very soon.”
“The funny thing is my second on the show, which is Martin Lawson, my additional supervisor, is actually going to be supervising Blade very soon. So I told him, I said, ‘I’m giving that to you as a gift, use it wisely and make good out of it.’ But I’m sure it’s going to do actually even better.”
‘Blade’ will finally start filming in July, but Kit Harington has ‘no idea’ about his MCU future
It’s been three years since Ali was announced at San Diego Comic-Con as Marvel’s daywalker, and production has been delayed numerous times. But it was recently revealed that Blade will finally start filming on July 4 in New Orleans and Atlanta. And the working title of the movie is “Perfect Imprints.”
There’s been no confirmation that Harington is in the cast, and the actor has played coy about his future in the MCU. In the fall of 2021 — ahead of the Eternals theatrical release — the Game of Thrones alum insisted he had “no idea” if his character would continue.
“I’ve got no idea whether my character goes on or not,” Harington told Total Film. “I had read up on who he could be, or might be. So there’s the possibility for a longer trajectory. And hopefully, I think this is the tip of the iceberg for my character. I hope. But I just don’t know, you know?”
Eternals is now playing on Disney+.
