Kit Harington teases secretive Eternals role: "I think this is the tip of the iceberg for my character"

Kit Harington in Eternals
(Image credit: Marvel)

Eternals may primarily be about the titular supergroup, but there's one major human hero who will appear. Dane Whitman – known in the comics as the Black Knight – will be portrayed by Game of Thrones' Jon Snow actor Kit Harington.

In the comics, Dane has a romantic relationship with Sersi, a member of the Eternals who's set to be played by Gemma Chan. However, Sersi looks set to be linked with Richard Madden's Ikaris, with Madden – best known for playing Rob Stark in Game of Thrones – previously saying the relationship is deeply romantic.

Speaking with Total Film in the upcoming issue of the magazine, featuring Eternals on the cover, Harington says Sersi and Dane have a "special connection" but stops short of confirming a love triangle.

"I think there’s been a few things said about that in the press," he adds. “I wouldn’t say that a lot of it is accurate. But he has a connection with Sersi, as does Richard’s character."

As for Dane himself, Harington sums him up as "the human character of the story. He’s not an Eternal. He’s a character who works with the Natural History Museum in London. But he’s not an Eternal – that’s the main takeaway!"

"I’ve got no idea whether my character goes on or not,” he says. "I had read up on who he could be, or might be. So there’s the possibility for a longer trajectory. And hopefully, I think this is the tip of the iceberg for my character. I hope. But I just don’t know, you know? I’m as in the dark as anyone else. And I try not to live too far ahead in the future with anything. Even when I was in Game of Thrones, even on the sixth season, I presumed the seventh season wasn’t going to happen!"

Whether there will be more Eternals remains to be seen – but director Chloé Zhao has promised that the first movie will have major ramifications on the wider MCU

Eternals is set to open in cinemas on 5 November. For more on Eternals, be sure to pick up the new issue of Total Film magazine – featuring exclusive interviews with Zhao and the entire cast – when it hits shelves this Thursday, September 16. And as this is a special line-up, there’s not one but FOUR covers to collect, featuring all 10 heroes. Check them out below…

Total Film's four Eternals covers.

(Image credit: Total Film/Disney)

And if you’re a fan of Total Film, why not subscribe so that you never miss an issue? You’ll also get it before it’s in shops, and you’ll get exclusive subscriber-only covers like the Eternals one you can see below. With our current subscription offer at MagazinesDirect, you’ll get the magazine half price too, so what are you waiting for?

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(Image credit: Total Film/Disney/Warner Bros)
Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.