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.