Kit Harington Reveals The Surprising Aspect Of Dane Whitman That Intrigues Him

Amidst the earth-rattling encounters between the Eternals and Deviants in Chloé Zhao's new Marvel film, one mild-mannered mortal caught in the middle of it all is Dane Whitman. Played by "Game of Thrones" star Kit Harington, Whitman is one-third of a love triangle at the center of "Eternals," and as fans of the comics will know, could have a much more substantial part to play if the post-credits scene is anything to go by. See, Whitman also happens to be the sword-swinging hero and occasional Avenger, Black Knight. A major force to be reckoned with in the Marvel Universe, he's fought alongside Captain America, Blade, and many others over the years. So what does that mean for his live-action iteration in this ever-expanding franchise?

So far, there's been no mention of Whitman taking up arms in his own solo film, but following the events of "Eternals," it's clear a path is being laid for the Black Knight to ride down. Thankfully, The Hollywood Reporter spoke to the man who will eventually wield the Ebony Blade (the Black Knight's signature sword) to see if he had any info on what that will look like. While he naturally applied the usual zip-lipped Marvel technique, he did discuss what drew him to the role in the first place.

As surprising as it may seem for a character in one of the most carefully-planned franchises in history, Kit Harington admitted to The Hollywood Reporter: "There is no roadmap that I know of at the moment. If they have ideas about where my character goes, I'm not privy to it. All I know is that when I came on board, they said, 'There's a really interesting future for this character, and if you read up about him, there are many different ways we could go with him.' And that intrigues me."

As comic book histories go, the life of the Black Knight hasn't been a great one. Burdened with a dark family line, Whitman is the nephew to the original Black Knight, who used the moniker and the previously mentioned Ebony Blade to do evil. Attempting to clear the family name, Whitman took up the magic arms to do good as the new Black Knight, unaware that the sword came with a tragic curse. Able to cut through any material, the blade can only be wielded by the impure of heart and draws out their darkest emotions.

Upon doing his research for the role, Kit Harington concluded that the Black Knight is a role he can't wait to delve deeper into. "If I look at the comics and I look at what I read on the Internet about him, I'm fascinated by the idea that any character in any story is driven by some addiction to something," Harington said to The Hollywood Reporter. "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."

With cursed versions of Doctor Strange already present and vampire hunters soon to be in the mix, it feels like the Black Knight could find himself in an MCU that is only getting darker. For now, you can see how he handles working with space-gods and the like in "Eternals," which is in cinemas worldwide starting today.