Game of Thrones Helped Kit Harington Keep Marvel Secrets
Kit Harington's Game of Thrones experience has helped him keep Marvel secrets. The English actor is part of the large ensemble of Eternals, the next film in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao's movie has already had its official premiere and is scheduled for wide release on November 5.
Beginning his career as a stage actor, Harington's breakout role was playing Jon Snow on the HBO series Game of Thrones, an adaptation of George R.R. Martin's popular fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire. The show became one of the most-watched programs in the premium network's history over the course of its eight-season run and is regularly ranked among the best of all time, having the most Emmy wins of any drama series with 59. As one of its principal characters, Harington himself picked up a total of three nominations, twice for Supporting and once for Lead.
Being a cast member on Game of Thrones required a lot of secret-keeping, but when asked by Insider to compare that job with his current one, he doesn't hesitate to say Marvel represents a new level of spoiler-control. He reminds fans that his HBO series wasn't the biggest thing in the world when it came out, and it was only after the show had run past Martin's published material that the need for absolute silence was paramount. Eternals, meanwhile, sees Harington dropped into a blockbuster machine with a lot of headway:
The thing is, I think I learned along the way with Thrones, you know? Like, Thrones became big as I was in it, so I learned along the way how to keep secrets. Whereas with Marvel, I'm just entering this universe and being told there's things I can or can't say, so I'm learning as I go again.
Harington does admit, however, that some of the secrets he had to keep as Snow definitely helped prepare him to do so again as Dane Whitman in Eternals. Indeed, he kept one of the biggest secrets in all of fiction, as the official story of Jon being the bastard son of the uber-honorable Eddard Stark never sat right with either readers or viewers. Numerous theories circulated for years, before Game of Thrones season 6 finally confirmed him as the son of Eddard's sister, Lyanna, and Rhaegar Targaryen, making him the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.
Harington's identity in Eternals is at least more clear, as Dane goes on to assume the alter-ego of Black Knight in the Marvel comics, though this would put him in a similarly difficult position. Entering the MCU in a role fans know will become a superhero all but assures appearances in future Marvel films or Disney+ series, and until the studio makes an official announcement, Harington needs to remain tight-lipped about any other projects he may already be a part of. It's easy to see how the web of secrets required of a Marvel actor is more difficult to keep than one big Game of Thrones bombshell, but he certainly seems to be handling the responsibility well so far.
Source: Insider