Spoilers ahead for Marvel’s Eternals.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe recently expanded in a major way with Chloé Zhao’s Eternals, which told an epic cosmic story that spanned hundreds of years. A number of new characters were introduced for Phase Four, including Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman. And the Game of Thrones icon is encouraging MCU fans to move on from the Blip and Thanos’ infamous attack.
The Infinity Saga ended with Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, which saw Thanos destroy half of all life… before the Avengers were able to bring everyone back thanks to the Time Heist. When Eternals was heading to theaters, fans were wondering where those heroes were during this time, and if anyone got dusted. In response, Kit Harington appealed to the rabid fandom, saying:
This is me talking to the Marvel fans, so shoot me. You mustn’t get too bogged down. This is a new phase; this is a new group of people coming in. If it becomes too much about the Blip or events that happened in the previous stuff, you can trip yourself up everywhere. We need to remember to keep a level of suspended disbelief.
Jon Snow has spoken. And given his experience working with fan-favorite fantasy material, it seems he wants Marvel audiences to not overthink things. Phase Four is about what happened to the universe after The Blip, but that doesn’t mean that every story will be focused on who was or wasn’t dusted. Eternals was certainly telling a new narrative.
Kit Harington’s comments to National Post come in the wake of the actor making his Marvel debut in Eternals. Chloé Zhao’s movie is technically the third movie installment in Phase Four, following Black Widow and Shang-Chi. But despite this time passing, the fandom does seem fixated on who did or did not get snapped out of existence by Josh Brolin’s Thanos in Infinity War.
Luckily for Kit Harington, the events of Eternals have inspired their own slew of fan questions and theories. Many of them are about his character Dane Whitman, who was the star of the mysterious post-credits scene. After alluding to his family history, Whitman is shown opening an old family chest that features the Ebony Blade. A voice asks him if he’s ready for that responsibility, a voice later revealed to be none other than Mahershala Ali’s Blade.
Given how dense the mythology of Eternals is, as well as the twist ending and introduction of Harry Styles’ Eros, perhaps Kit Harington will get his wish for Marvel fans. Chloé Zhao crafted a new corner of the MCU, and there’s certainly enough story to focus on without worrying about The Blip and Thanos.
Then again, Josh Brolin’s big purple villain will likely still factor into future MCU stories. After all, he was name-dropped by Pip when introducing Harry Styles’ Eros to the Eternals in the movie’s mid-credits scene. We’ll just have to wait and see if this new character is a friend or foe.
Eternals is in theaters now, and the next MCU installment is Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17th. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
