Eternals Writer Explains Why Dane Whitman Had a Limited Role in the Movie

In the months leading up to Eternals, Marvel fans grew excited over what they thought would be the live-action debut of the Black Knight. Fast forward to November and, as it turns out, Kit Harington's Dane Whitman ended up appearing in just a handful of scenes, none of which had a real heavy impact on the film. Outside of a post-credits scene that set up the immediate future of the character, some might feel Harington's role was far too little.

According to Eternals scribe Kaz Firpo, Whitman's inclusion in the film was a direct result of his comics-accurate relationship with Sersi.

"…[Dane] has a long history with Sersi in the comics. They have a really complex and interesting relationship that goes back in a lot of different runs… what we really wanted with Dane… [was] somebody that had that gravitas… that power, [who] frankly had the potential to be something great… a character that learns the rules of this world, and then still has this love for Sersi, and still has this potential for where they could go… where their characters could end up," Firpo said in a recent interview with The Direct.

Furthermore, it seems as if the team never intended for Whitman to become the Black Knight in the film, they simply wanted to focus on his human relationship with Sersimarve (Gemma Chan), an immortal superhero.

"So it wasn't a choice to say 'Dane should only be this much,' it was really like, 'who would this human [character] relationship with Sersi be?' For it to become Dane was this no-brainer once you looked at the mythology of the universe," Firpo added.

Eternals is now in theaters while Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is streaming on Disney+.

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