The MCU has been a powerhouse, always on the rise, between theatrical releases and Disney+ content. Indeed, as fans celebrate the success of Deadpool & Wolverine, many viewers recall that not all Marvel movies have fared equally. One of the most notable disappointments came with Eternals, by Chloe Zhao, failing to impress both critics and audiences. Flawed in various ways, the film did mark the MCU debut of Game of Thrones star Kit Harington, who now has given his candid and rather amusing reason for joining the project.
Kit Harington reflects on his Marvel debut
In Eternals, Harington portrayed Dane Whitman, a character relatively minor compared to the ensemble cast that graced the screen. His character is teased in a post-credits scene to possibly lead him on to bigger things in future films, but so far, that’s only potential. His character hasn’t resurfaced again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whether he will return for a future film is up in the air, but Harington himself recently shared how, exactly, he came to land the role with GQ.
Harington has confessed, “I’m not gonna pretend I took that [role] because it was different and interesting. If Marvel calls, you gotta do it.” His statement confirms the fact that, following the end of Game of Thrones, it opened him up not just to new experiences but also to the wide potential of the MCU as a base for the future.Â
After all, with Marvel Studios under the Disney umbrella, smart to build a relationship with one of the biggest players in the entertainment world—even if the character of Dane Whitman, Black Knight, does end up fighting with a sword in a manner far too Jon Snow Westeros-ian. But whether fans will ever actually get to see Harington realize that role within the MCU remains to be seen.
Kit Harington on his franchise future
At this point, it would seem that Harington is content to stay low as far as the franchise goes; he did, after all, reportedly let pass even the possibility of a spin-off series featuring Jon Snow. He ultimately passed on the project, citing the quality of the story as a limiting factor. When asked about that opportunity, Harington said: “What I can tell you is it was HBO that came to me and said, ‘Would you consider this? ‘ My first reaction was no. And then I thought there could be an interesting and important story about the soldier after the war.”Â
While excited by the concept, Harington would go on to step away from the project a few years later. He came to realize that forcing the idea too much more would likely result in something less than great, and that is the very last thing he would have wanted to see.
Not to forget, Harington also recognized how emotionally heavy it was for him to return to the world of Jon Snow, as he mentioned that there was a lot of baggage in regards to reprising the character. That trepidation could provide an explanation for why he had been so choosy about what to do next, including over his uncertain future in the MCU. And even though Eternals has dominated the box office since its release, fans have had little reason to believe it’s advancing one bit further inside the MCU with its characters or story. Most recently, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige nipped an Eternals sequel right in the bud—snuffing out the desires created in fans who wanted to see the many plot points set up through the film’s credits sequences play out.
However, it has been reported that Captain America: Brave New World might finally answer what happens with the frozen Celestial Tiamut. This is one element of the story not resolved toward the end of Eternals.
Even if Eternals never gets a direct sequel, Harington may still have another chance to appear somewhere in the MCU—maybe in the new Blade movie. The purported link between Whitman and Mahershala Ali’s vampire hero was teased in the post-credits scene of Eternals, captured the interest of fan speculation about how both storylines could combine on the big screen. While Eternals 2 isn’t in development at the moment, and Blade delayed, it remains to be seen when, or even if, Harington will ever suit up again for the MCU. For now, though, he doesn’t seem to have any regrets about joining the Marvel universe.
