Along with new stories in the cosmic and Multiversal divisions of the MCU, the franchise is also leaning heavily into Marvel Comics' more supernatural elements. This started off in last year's Eternals with Kit Harington as Dane Whitman and Mahershala Ali's first credit as Blade, and it continued with Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight on Disney+.
The MCU's sixth Disney+ series introduced MCU fans to legends of ancient Egyptian mythology while delivering full manifestations of multiple gods as they made Marc Spector, Layla El-Faouly, and Arthur Harrow their Avatars. While it's still unclear when Moon Knight will actually return to the MCU, whether it be in Season 2 of his own show or a future movie, a new side of the franchise is here and ready to make its presence felt.
One of Moon Knight's defining traits was how it largely stood as its own story apart from the larger MCU - the only nod being a quick shot of the Global Repatriation Committee from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, according to the show's head writer, Marvel almost put one of its newest and most mysterious characters into the show alongside Marc Spector.
Kit Harrington Almost in Moon Knight?
In an interview with ComicBook, Moon Knight head writer Jeremy Slater revealed that Kit Harington almost reprised his role as Dane Whitman in the MCU's latest Disney+ show.
Slater admitted that Harrington's return was discussed because of his job "in a history museum," which could have led to an easy connection between him and Steven Grant. However, he didn't want to have Harington in the show and not have him fully suit up as the Black Knight:
"We talked about Dane Whitman a little bit just because he works in a history museum and that could be a natural interaction. My feeling was if we got Kit Harington to show up and he doesn't suit up and he doesn't kick ass, as a fan I'm pissed off."
Slater also noted how there was no room in either of the first two episodes to have Harington become the Black Knight, but it was certainly something that was on the table early in the development process:
"Also, there's only so much you can do to tease those reveals before people get frustrated. There was no space in those first two episodes to have him suit up and play Black Knight in the storyline, so we ultimately decided that it didn't make sense to make this connection. But it was something we definitely talked about a couple days in the room."
If Harington was going to be involved, Slater wanted to "see him go full Black Knight" rather than just have a quick interaction as Dane Whitman with Oscar Isaac's Steven Grant. He also looked at it from a logistical standpoint, calling the idea "a waste of money" had Harington just appeared as a less-interesting Whitman:
"If I see him show up I want to see him go full Black Knight. Just seeing an interaction where he walks past and goes 'Oh hey Steven,' who responds 'Oh, hey Professor Whitman!' It felt like that would be a waste of the money it would cost Kit Harington in there."
No Room for Harington's Hero in Moon Knight
Kit Harington only enjoyed about 10 minutes of screentime as Dane Whitman in last year's Eternals, taking a backseat to the movie's core team of heroes before he becomes one himself. The film's post-credits scene only started to tease where he'll go as the Black Knight when he moved his hand toward the Ebony Blade and heard the voice of Mahershala Ali's Blade in his ear warning him of what's in his future.
With his ties to the supernatural, Dane Whitman could have been a natural fit with Moon Knight as he starts his own journey towards becoming a hero. There was even a natural avenue toward introducing Dane to Steven Grant due to their shared expertise in natural history, but Slater didn't see enough time in the show to make it happen the way it should've happened.
More than anything else, Slater wanted Harington to have his full moment as the Black Knight if he was going to show up in Moon Knight alongside another equally powerful character in Marc Spector. While the show still worked without that kind of MCU connection, it certainly would have started that supernatural story a little sooner.
Moon Knight and Eternals are both streaming on Disney+.
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