Kit Harington, known for his role as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, portrayed Dane Whitman in Chloé Zhao's Eternals. The film was widely understood to be an introduction to a much larger narrative for Whitman, who in Marvel Comics lore, eventually wields the mystical Ebony Blade to become the Black Knight.

However, in a recent interview with MovieWeb, Harington shared a rather somber update regarding his character's MCU future. "I'd love to [see that transformation happen]. I don't think there's any plan to," he stated, adding, "I hate to break it to you. [...] I think he's a wicked character. There's a part of him, that whole Ebony Blade stuff, where the more he kills, the worse he gets, the more addicted. I think he's such a great parable of addiction. I think he's someone who starts good and goes bad. But we'll see, I don't know if there's any plan."

Kit Harington as Dane and Gemma Chan as Sersi looking up at the sky at the end of Eternals

This news, while disappointing for fans, isn't entirely surprising. Eternals garnered mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office, grossing just over $400 million globally — a remarkably low figure for a Marvel Studios production at the time. Its reception, in many ways, foreshadowed some of the subsequent struggles the MCU has faced.

Marvel Studios Appears Content to Sideline Eternals Content

When Harington joined the MCU, fresh off his Game of Thrones success, the Eternals franchise was anticipated to be a significant, ongoing component of Marvel's ambitious plans. Original intentions for the Eternals were reportedly grander, but the film's lukewarm reception prompted a swift shift in strategy.

Kit Harington as Dane looking at the Ebony Blade in the Eternals post-credits scene

The Eternals post-credits scenes specifically teased major developments for the MCU's future. One saw Dane Whitman finally making contact with the Ebony Blade, directly setting up his transformation into the Black Knight. Another introduced Harry Styles as Starfox, yet another intriguing thread that has remained untouched nearly five years later. For the most part, Marvel Studios seems to be treating Eternals as a missed opportunity, content to move on from its specific narrative elements.

While Captain America: Brave New World (2025) is slated to address some of the larger, unavoidable loose ends from the Multiverse Saga, such as the colossal, half-emerged Celestial in the middle of the ocean — a direct consequence of Eternals' climax — smaller, character-centric setups like Dane Whitman's Black Knight appear destined to be quietly swept under the rug. It's an unfortunate casualty of an MCU phase that hasn't always gone according to plan.