Taking The Black
In what seems like another in an endless series of new character announcements being rolled out for MCU Phase 4 & Phase 5, Marvel Studios has tapped Kit Harrington to play Black Knight in the forthcoming The Eternals movie.
He will be joining his fellow Game Of Thrones alumni Robert Madden, who will be playing the leader of The Eternals, Ikarus.
Harrington and Madden will be joined by fellow A-listers Angelina Jolie, Selma Hayek and Millie Bobby Brown.
Few details are known about the 2020 release except an official logline:
The saga of the Eternals, a race of immortal beings who lived on Earth and shaped its history and civilizations.
We have delved more extensively into the creation and history of The Eternals in the article ETERNALS Vs. NEW GODS: Staying True To Kirby’s Vision.
Black Who?
Kit is going to be playing Dane Whitman, the 3rd Black Knight from Marvel/Atlas comics. Whitman was a member of The Avengers on and off for at least two decades and even becoming de facto leader at some point.
Although I can’t find any information on Black Knight ever being a member of The Eternals he was romantically involved with the Eternal known as Sersi, who will be played by Gemma Chan in the upcoming movie.
So being involved in this movie could be a way to get him into The Avengers without having to feature him in his own movie or TV show.
In the comics, Dane Whitman’s Black Knight started out with a power lance that fired energy blasts, a suit of body armor, and a genetically engineered winged white horse with the ridiculous name of Aragorn. He inherited this equipment from his uncle, Nathan Garrett, who was the second Black Knight.
Whitman traces his lineage back to Marvel Comics’ first Black Knight, Sir Percy of Scandia, who was a legitimate medieval warrior.
At some point later, Dane Whitman came into the Ebony Blade, a black bastard sword that could absorb energy as well as cut through almost any substance. Unfortunately, it was also cursed: should Whitman ever draw blood with the sword it would drive Whitman into a mad, raging bloodlust.
After giving up the Ebony Blade, Whitman designed and constructed what is essentially a lightsaber. A Lord Of The Rings and a Star Wars hack in one character — nice, Marvel.
