Marvel Studios VFX Supervisor Teases Black Knight's Appearance in Blade
The second and final post-credits scene in Marvel Studios' Eternals provided both a tease and a mystery for MCU fans as they watched it unfold in theaters late last year. Kit Harington's Dane Whitman opened the box containing the Ebony Blade, the infamous sword belonging to his ancestors, seemingly confirming that he would take on the mantle of the Black Knight at some point in the future. As he reaches for the sword in the scene, and the sword begins reaching back, a voice from off-screen asks, "You sure you're ready for that, Mr. Whitman?"
It didn't take long for Marvel to confirm that the voice belongs to none other than Mahershala Ali, aka Marvel's new Blade. This scene established that the two characters have a connection, but it now appears that we will see them both on-screen when the solo Blade movie arrives in theaters. ComicBook.com recently sat down with Eternals VFX Supervisor Stephane Ceretti to chat about the effects of the film. While speaking about the magnetic effects of the Ebony Blade in the post-credits scene, Ceretti explained that the mystical sword will be used in Blade in a bigger capacity than it was in Eternals, teasing Black Knight's inclusion.
"The funny thing is my second on the show, which is Mårten Larsson my additional supervisor, is actually going to be supervising Blade very soon," Ceretti told us. "So I told him, I said, 'I'm giving that to you as a gift, use it wisely and make good out of it.' But I'm sure it's going to do actually even better."
Larsson is taking on a bigger role in Blade, serving as the film's VFX Supervisor, and one of the tasks of that position seems to be expanding the effects of the Ebony Blade. The sword's inclusion in the film doesn't completely confirm that Dane will show up, or that he'll show up as the infamous Black Knight, but it's hard to imagine the sword having a part to play without him wielding it.
In the post-credits scene, before Blade speaks to Dane, we see the first glimpse of the dark magic within the Black Knight's sword. It's clearly calling to Dane as he opens the box, Ceretti explained that magnetic ferrofluids gave him the inspiration for the sword's effects.
"I showed Chloe [Zhao] these ferromagnetic fluids and things like that. And it's like these little pieces of metal that you bring a magnet, and they start to all align in a way," Ceretti said. "Actually, that effect was my idea that we should have the feeling that as he's getting his finger close to it, the blade almost wants to suck him in. 'I'm talking to you, and you're going to be mine.'"
Do you hope to see the Black Knight and his eerie sword appear in Blade when it hits theaters? Let us know in the comments!