Funny, when people think of an actor likely to die on screen, they usually think of Sean Bean. He's famous for it. But instead, it's his Game of Thrones nephew/son who is apparently most likely to take the hit. Kit Harington was given the highest odds to die in a movie. Is that a bad sign for his character in Marvel's The Eternals, Dane Whitman a.k.a. Black Knight?
The Kit Harington on-screen death statistic comes from Movie Mortality. According to the site, Danny Trejo is the actor who has had the most movie deaths so far at 65. Percentage-wise, though, Kit Harington is said to be the most likely actor to die on screen. He hasn't even been in that many movies -- his filmography includes Silent Hill: Revelation, Pompeii, Testament of Youth, Seventh Son, Spooks: The Greater Good, Brimstone, The Death & Life of John F. Donovan, and two How to Train Your Dragon movies.
But, based on the methodology used by Movie Mortality, Kit Harington has a 62.5% chance of dying in a movie. That put him at #1 on the list of Top 10 Actors Most Likely To Die On-Screen. It put him ahead of Merritt Butrick, Mahershala Ali, Mickey Rourke, Dave Bautista, Michael Biehn, Gary Oldman, Taylor Kitsch, Holt McCallany, and -- there he is! -- Sean Bean, who was given a 42.3% chance of dying. That's just for actors. For actresses, A.J. Cook is the most likely to die on screen with a 50% chance of death.
It's a fascinating but macabre way of looking at cinematic history. What does it mean for Kit Harington's next movie, The Eternals? Maybe it'll actually help lower his percentage. Back in August 2019, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige hinted to Harington lasting a long time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe:
He’s a really amazing actor, and this part came up in The Eternals film that we’re doing. We were so happy when he agreed to join, and it is a part that could perhaps grow into something else in the future.
That sounded really hopeful for Kit Harington's post-Eternals future as Dane Whitman, who might be more like Jon Snow than the Game of Thrones star wanted.
Kit Harington said he was excited and terrified to join the MCU, which sounds like the sane response. It's a massive undertaking and he knows about huge fan pressure from Game of Thrones.
Marvel.com has an official page up for The Eternals, with this synopsis on the story:
Marvel Studios' The Eternals features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind's most ancient enemy, The Deviants.
Yes, it's confirmed to explore what happens after Avengers: Endgame. (Unlike Black Widow, although that will still have to connect the dots to The Eternals, right?) Here's everything you need to know about the Deviants.
Black Widow, which opens May 1, and The Eternals are the only two MCU movies for 2020. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 had to be delayed when James Gunn was fired then rehired. But the MCU does have fun plans on the Disney+ front with both The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and -- cannot wait for this -- WandaVision coming this year.
The Eternals only recently finished filming, and among other things it will include Marvel's first major same-sex relationship. But the biggest chatter so far has been about Kumail Nanjiani's surprising physical transformation, giving him Pornhub "Muscular Men" status.
The Eternals also stars Kit Harington's on-screen brother (sort of) Richard Madden, whose Robb Stark was actually the one to die in Game of Thrones. Jon Snow got to live on with Tormund. Technically, Jon Snow did die and came back to life. But, also technically, since GoT is not a movie, it might not count.
The Eternals also stars Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Lia McHugh, Don Lee, and Barry Keoghan. Directed by Chloé Zhao, The Eternals opens in theaters on November 6, 2020. That's when we'll know if it did or did not kill Kit Harington's character. I'm guessing not, but we'll see.
