Could The Black Knight Bring a New Genre to the MCU?

Marvel released a full trailer for ‘The Eternals’ this week, giving us our first look at Kit Harington’s Black Knight. Marvel boss Kevin Feige has said in an interview with Good Morning America they have bigger plans for the Black Knight beyond his Eternals appearance. So, who is the Black Knight and what could these plans be?

The Black Knight’s name is Dane Whitman; he’s the 9th member of his family to wield the legendary Ebony Blade. This powerful blade can cut through almost everything, including magical barriers. The Black Knights have generally started out wanting to do good with their new title and weapon. All but two become corrupted by the Ebony Blade. The first uncorrupted knight, and now a spiritual advisor to Dane, was Sir Percy of Scandia. Percy was the original Black Knight in the comics. His books pre-date Marvel and came from Stan Lee himself. Dane Whitman’s uncle, Nathan Garrett, was a villain and even fought the Avengers. Dane now seeks to redeem his lineage and the Black Knight title.

Kevin Feige told Good Morning America in 2019 that the Black Knight “could perhaps grow into something else in the future.” What could the Marvel Studio chief do with the Black Knight? Bring in the fantasy genre! Marvel knows the future of the MCU needs to branch out into new genres to keep the films fresh. Some examples include a space opera with Guardians of the Galaxy and a spy thriller with Winter Soldier. Many MCU movies either bend or change their genres, and the Black Knight could introduce a new one.

The fantasy genre exploded in popularity with 2001’s Lord of the Rings. After a slew of fantasy movies in the early 2000s, things cooled off. Then Game of Thrones roared onto the scenes. Now we have studios making their own Game of Thrones-like properties, including HBO. Marvel can do the same with the Black Knight. Dane is in the modern-day but could bring in villains and characters who are tied to the past. If they tell Percy’s story then we can see a medieval world with wizards and dragons.

Here are some characters that lived during the medieval times that both Dane and Percy could have in their film:

Asgardians: They have been around for a long time and like to visit Midgard (Earth).

Cosmic Characters: With Guardians came a ton of cosmic characters. Many of them have lived a long time. And Ego was a fan of the Earth ladies. He could have come down to hang out.

The Ancient One: This long lived mystic could a Merlin stand in if Marvel want to simplify the world. It would also be a good time to recast the character to the Tibetan version from the comics.