BLADE Rewrites May Have Reduced - Or Scrapped - Kit Harington's Return As ETERNALS' Black Knight

BLADE Rewrites May Have Reduced - Or Scrapped - Kit Harington's Return As ETERNALS' Black Knight

We have another update on Marvel Studios' upcoming Blade movie, and while it sounds like the movie is finally starting to take shape, it appears there's no longer room for Kit Harington's Black Knight.

By JoshWilding - Mar 20, 2023 08:03 AM EST
Filed Under: Blade
Source: The Hot Mic

Eternals somewhat dropped the ball on Kit Harington's Dane Whitman, and we can't help but feel like the character joining Sersi and her fellow immortals on their mission would have helped to better establish him in the MCU. On the plus side, a post-credits scene at least teased his eventual transformation into Black Knight. 

After watching on helplessly while the woman he loves was taken from Earth by the Celestial Arishem, Dane contemplated picking up the Ebony Blade, only for a voice to ask whether he was ready for that. 

We'd later learn it was Mahershala Ali's Blade who confronted the teacher, with the assumption being that Black Knight's story would continue in the Daywalker's planned solo movie. 

That's since been through a few different creative teams and faced several delays, and Jeff Sneider recently shared an update on John Rocha's The Hot Mic. Explaining that "things have gotten a little bit better" with Blade, he'd add: "the script is leaner and meaner and they cut out the fat."

"But the script I heard about was like 87 pages, like there wasn't enough and they'd shaved it to the bone," he continued. "What they'd cut out I heard is that 'Blade' was gonna tie-in with 'Eternals' and Kit Harrington's Black Knight. Black Knight's not really involved in the 'Blade' thing anymore."

"They may be recasting a few parts including maybe the daughter, was there like a 14-year-old girl? They may recast that."

If Black Knight's role has been reduced or even scrapped, then it leaves poor Dane with no clear future in the MCU. Eternals 2 could include the character, of course, but it's a shame to think we might no longer get to see him team up with Blade (making the stinger feel a tad...pointless?).

Nothing is confirmed right now, of course, and work is still taking place on Blade so more changes could be in store. 

Blade is currently set to be released on September 6, 2024, while Eternals 2 remains undated. 

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Vigor
Vigor - 3/20/2023, 8:08 AM
They can (And should have all along) pick up the stinger in a team up project, ala midnight suns. Don't shove black knight into Blade's first appearance
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 3/20/2023, 10:16 AM
@Vigor - Marvel Special Presentation. Would make a good Halloween Special.
supermanrex
supermanrex - 3/20/2023, 11:14 AM
@SonOfAGif - special presentation would be perfect. i think the special presentation format should be used more often than holidays. perfect spot to test the waters for characters and gauging reception for a series or a movie
StSteven
StSteven - 3/20/2023, 2:04 PM
@Vigor @SonOfAGif @supermanrex - Yeah I agree. To be honest I wasn't really a fan of sticking BK into "Blade" either, as it just kinda seemed (to me anyway) as a way to do something more interesting with his character after Eternals, and like you guys said, if the point was to find an interesting way to introduce BK properly a SP is the way to go.

Otherwise to me BK just doesn't seem like a natural fit for a "Blade" movie which will likely deal with any number of supernatural creatures (logically at least vampires), and while BK does have supernatural elements to him, that's just not how I perceive his character. But then again I'm not that familiar with BK in general so I could be wrong on that , and theoretically you could insert just about ANY MCU character into a "Blade" movie and it could work as long as the writing is good enough, but with some characters that writing would have to be REALLY damn good for it to work.

And it should go without saying, but when I'm referring to "BK" naturally I mean "Burger King" cause it's lunchtime here and I needs me a Whopper (with cheese, bacon, and jalapeños naturally). Beside, have you seen the size of that guy's head? Jesus! There's definitely something supernatural going on with him for sure.
Vigor
Vigor - 3/20/2023, 2:57 PM
@StSteven - there's definitely something supernatural about burger King. I mean have you seen their slogan? Have it your way? Only sorcerors have the power for such conjuring
StSteven
StSteven - 3/20/2023, 6:58 PM
@Vigor - Oh hell yeah I've seen their slogan, as their commercials pop up all the time depending on hat site I'm visiting. And, yeah, "Have it your way" (an obvious nod to being able to manipulate reality, i.e. the Multiverse), but how about "You rule!".

Oh my stars and garters, I think we may have just stumbled upon something here... "Have it your way" and "You rule!"? Who does THAT sound like?!? Oh dear God it was right in front of us the whole f**king time: the Burger King IS a Kang!!! Seriously, "Burger Kang"?!? How in the hell did we not see this before????

(Now that I think about it, their onion rings are MUCH tastier than they have any right to in THIS universe...)
Spidey91
Spidey91 - 3/20/2023, 8:13 AM
not the biggest loss in the world, a Blade movie should be about Blade. maybe throw Jon Snow in a post-credits scene if you must.
LeonNova
LeonNova - 3/20/2023, 8:14 AM
He’s hardly a character we need in a Blade movie
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 3/20/2023, 8:16 AM
I don't know if he's necessary in a Blade movie or not, but I feel like the real priority of changes in this movie should be the idea that Blade will pass the mantle to his daughter in the first movie...
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 3/20/2023, 8:21 AM
@CorndogBurglar - yeah, I kinda doubt Ali is gonna stick around for long. So would make sense to set up the next Blade already
Unites
Unites - 3/20/2023, 8:22 AM
@CorndogBurglar - I mean, probably not. Marvel has this problem lately of forcing unnecessary characters into their movies that don't add much and take away screen time from the lead characters (America Chavez in Doctor Strange 2, the children in Thor 4, etc)
marvel72
marvel72 - 3/20/2023, 8:53 AM
@CorndogBurglar - We get Blade in one movie then have his daughter replace him.



I'd rather not have Blade in the MCU if they are going to replace him so quickly.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 3/20/2023, 11:03 AM
@marvel72 - That was the rumor, and this article even mention his daughter.

That would explain why Ali was so pissed about the movie. Could you imagine landing a role of a popular character only to he replaced and hand off the mantle in your first appearance?
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 3/20/2023, 11:21 AM
@CorndogBurglar - That'd be really ballsy or just plain weird... I'm thinking the latter.
PatchesOhulihan
PatchesOhulihan - 3/20/2023, 12:42 PM
@marvel72 - This just in...."Blade 2" to be retitled "The Blades"
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 3/20/2023, 8:20 AM
Only 87 pages? That's not a long movie if one page translates to roughly one minute.

Do hope Black Knight is in this though. Wanna see the two of them take on Dracula.
UncleHarm1
UncleHarm1 - 3/20/2023, 10:25 AM
@bkmeijer1 - To be fair it is a cbm, half of the pages just say "they punch on each other"
Unites
Unites - 3/20/2023, 8:20 AM
How can u 'cut out the fat' in a 87 pages long script?
marvel72
marvel72 - 3/20/2023, 8:54 AM
@Unites -

Vigor
Vigor - 3/20/2023, 9:19 AM
@Unites - they cutting of the fat happened first. The result was 87 pages
KaptainKhaos
KaptainKhaos - 3/20/2023, 8:27 AM
The less Kit Harington the better!
RedHood92
RedHood92 - 3/20/2023, 8:28 AM
Did Kevin Feige shot himself for moving forward with this project. The only reason this film was included in the MCU slate because Mahershala wanted to be BLADE.
Unites
Unites - 3/20/2023, 8:32 AM
@RedHood92 - I don't see why there wouldn't be a place for Blade in the MCU. I'm glad they are taking their time with the script and finding the right creative voices to guide the project. Everything better than a rushed production like they have been known for the last couple of years.
SeanMPC
SeanMPC - 3/20/2023, 8:35 AM
Honestly this sounds good. The weakest bits of recent MCU stuff have been when it felt like "Okay cool story or whatever, but make space for character X, because we need them for Y" which we haven't really felt since Iron Man 2
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 3/20/2023, 8:37 AM
Black Knight should be developed in a separate special feature or film.
SATW42
SATW42 - 3/20/2023, 8:40 AM
what's a John Rocha?
GhostDog
GhostDog - 3/20/2023, 8:41 AM
Good. Not a huge loss by any means.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 3/20/2023, 8:44 AM
I bet all the money that Kim was going to get a series after this movie, because all the side characters need a show for some reason. I'm fine with a special presentation instead of shoe horning him into Blade
bobevanz
bobevanz - 3/20/2023, 8:44 AM
@bobevanz - *Kit lol
bobevanz
bobevanz - 3/20/2023, 8:45 AM
@bobevanz - gimme edit button naow
Polaris
Polaris - 3/20/2023, 9:06 AM
Good move, I think. Still wanna see Dane back asap. A special presentation would be ideal, or a team-up movie of some kind. I find the mythos surrounding the character very interesting
Taonrey
Taonrey - 3/20/2023, 9:45 AM
God blade is so simple but they want to do the most, y'all introduced enough female versions in phase 4. How about we get a couple blade movies before his daughter shows up.
xfan320
xfan320 - 3/20/2023, 9:53 AM
I think 2 swordsman (one magical) teaming up to take on a rising vampire threat sounds pretty awesome and easy to make. Almost like 2 origin stories in one, but Blade is already established and works as the "Obi Wan" to Dane's "Luke" giving the audience exposition and our hero training, all leading to an epic final "Death Star" run on a vampire base as a throwback to the Wesley Snipes Era...insert Eternals 2 tease. Done.

Why does Hollywood have such a hard time making entertaining movies??
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 3/20/2023, 10:44 AM
How does this film critic know about this stuff and why should we believe him?
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 3/20/2023, 11:22 AM
@MosquitoFarmer - Fair and valid question.
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