Marvel Role in ‘Eternals’ Wasn’t Different or Interesting

“Game of Thrones” isn’t the only major franchise Kit Harington is unlikely to return to at the moment. In 2021, the actor made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Dane Whitman in “Eternals.” The character was a supporting role in the movie, but Harington was being positioned as a major new addition to the franchise. The post-credits scene for “Eternals” teased Dane becoming Black Knight in an upcoming “Blade” movie.

While “Eternals” ended with a note suggesting the characters would return in a sequel, the Chloe Zhao-directed tentpole was a box office disappointment with $402 million worldwide, well below Marvel’s standards. Marvel is reportedly not developing a sequel. Meanwhile, the Mahershala Ali-starring “Blade” movie that Harington’s Black Knight was being teed up for has gone through multiple overhauls. It’s unclear what the future holds for Harington at Marvel.

While the actor didn’t offer up any details in a recent GQ magazine profile about whether or not he’s continuing with Marvel, he did quip about his brief time in the MCU: “I’m not gonna pretend I took that [role] because it was different and interesting. If Marvel calls, you gotta do it.”

Marvel has been developing its own “Blade” reboot with Ali for the past couple years, although it has faced numerous development issues. The movie was announced in July 2019, two years before “Eternals” set up Dane Whitman’s connection to Blade. Bassam Tariq was the first director to join “Blade” although he exited in September 2022, roughly two months before the film was set to begin filming. Several screenwriters have also been announced through the years, from “Watchmen” scribe Stacy Osei-Kuffour to Michael Starrbury. It was announced on June 12 that director Yann Demange was exiting the movie and that a new screenwriter, Eric Pearson (“The Fantastic Four,” “Black Widow”), was coming on board.

As for Harington, he’s staying out of the franchise spotlight for now. While he flirted with the idea of reprising his “Game of Thrones” role in a Jon Snow spinoff series, he ultimately backed out because there wasn’t a good enough story to warrant his return.

“What I can tell you is it was HBO that came to me and said, ‘Would you consider this?’ My first reaction was no,” he told GQ. “And then I thought there could be an interesting and important story about the soldier after the war. I felt that there might be something left to say and a story left to tell in a pretty limited way. We spent a couple of years back and forth developing it. And it just didn’t… nothing got us excited enough. In the end, I kind of backed out and said, ‘I think if we push this any further and keep developing it we could end up with something that’s not good. And that’s the last thing we all want.’”

Harington added that there’s also “a lot of baggage that goes with” playing Jon Snow and returning to the world of “Jon Snow.”

“And I think that was part of the problem,” he added. “In some ways, you need to divorce completely from this previous thing, and we’re only a few years after it. The role will always be just such a significant factor of my life. It might very well be the biggest, most important piece of work I do. I met my wife on it. I have kids from it. Have some lifelong friends from it. I’m recognized in the street because of it. [But] it was also working against what I’m trying to do, which is separate myself from [the show]. By still being with it, it [would be] very hard to ask people to see you as something else.”

Head over to GQ’s website to read Harington’s profile in its entirety.