[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Eternals]
In Eternals’ last post-credit scene, we see Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) admiring the Ebony Blade, a powerful weapon that belonged to the original Black Knight, King Arthur's most powerful warrior. Dane is feeling nervous about holding the sword in his own hands, as he keeps repeating to himself: “You can do it! You can do it!” Just as Dane seems to have made up his mind and he reaches to touch the Ebony Sword’s blade, a mysterious voice asks him from outside the frame: “Sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?” Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe don’t need to wonder for too long who’s the owner of that mysterious voice is, as we already have a clear answer. However, knowing to whom that voice belongs is just part of the mystery because now we’ll keep wondering what the heck Black Knight has to do with vampires.
So Who Is That Mysterious Voice?
Writer and director Chloé Zhao has recently revealed that the mysterious voice at the end of Eternals belongs no none other than Blade, the vampire hunter who’s set to join the MCU in a solo movie starring Mahershala Ali. That’s right, Marvel’s most famous vampire hunter is in Eternals, something no one saw coming.
Created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciler Gene Colan for 1973’s The Tomb of Dracula #10, Eric Brooks, a.k.a. Blade, was first introduced as a supporting character. However, the hero would become so popular with fans that he would soon star in his own solo adventures. Eric’s mother had her blood drained by a vampire while he was still in her womb, turning him into a half-vampire creature himself. While Blade can still walk in the daytime—the reason why he’s also known as the Daywalker—the hero inherited the super-strength of a vampire, regenerative abilities, acute senses, and a thirst for blood. Blade fights against his bloodlust in every way he can while hunting vampires in the night.
Blade became even more famous worldwide at the end of the 90s due to a trilogy of movies starring Wesley Snipes as the hero. After Marvel announced an MCU Blade film starring Ali back at 2019’s Comic-Con, fans expected another vampire-hunting saga, maybe with some major bloodsucking characters such as Dracula. However, it seems like Blade might actually be a team movie since the post-credit scene of Eternals indicate the Daywalker is following Dane’s transformation into the hero Black Knight. Well, director Bassam Tariq did say that Blade’s MCU reboot would not stick too close to the comic book canon.
Will Black Knight Be a Part of ‘Blade’?
In Eternals, Dane goes on a personal journey to reconnect with his uncle and ends up uncovering the truth about his lineage. Dane is the distant descendant of Sir Percy of Scandia, the most powerful knight of Camelot. In the comic books, Dane’s uncle is Nathan Garrett, a man who discovers the powers of the Ebony Sword and becomes the villain Black Knight. While we haven’t seen Dane’s uncle in the MCU yet, he tries to tell Sersi (Gemma Chan) that he found out some disturbing truths about his family — that is, before the Celestial Arishem kidnaps Sersi.
Considering how the blade draws Dane and how hesitant he is to touch, it’s safe to assume that the MCU will stick close to the original story. So, why the heck is Blade involved with the rise of the heroic Black Knight? Well, for starters, both characters are British. Dane was born in Massachusetts, while Blade is originally from Soho, in London. Furthermore, as British superheroes, both characters are also prominent members of the MI-13, a fictional British intelligence agency created by Warren Ellis, Chris Claremont, and Michael Ryan for 1996’s Excalibur vol. 1 #101.
Considering that Blade is either recruiting or guiding Dane, it’s not a stretch to imagine that the MCU might be preparing the ground to introduce a new superteam. We already have the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and now the Eternals. So, we would be well served with the MI-13, a grounded team whose adventures are closer to our day-to-day life. As a vampire hunter, Blade is also connected to Marvel’s mystic threats, which means he could know about the curse of the Ebony Sword and has been keeping an eye on it.
Be that as it may, it seems like Eternals post-credit scene confirms the Black Knight will be part of Blade. As for when we’ll see Ali as the Daywalker, Marvel hasn't announced an official release for Blade yet. However, one of the company’s official Twitter account published an image that put Blade’s premiere on October 2022. The image could be the product of a mistake, or maybe the intentional leak of a secret released. Marvel still didn’t give a statement about it, so for now, we can only hope Blade and Black Knight will soon be back.