Marvel always have a plan when it comes to their post-credit scenes, and recently those plans have been changing constantly up to the point the scenes appear in the final version of the movie they are tagged on the end of. Eternals has two post credit scenes, and the second of these sets up the character of the Black Knight, the alter ego of Kit Harington's Dane Whitman and also teases the arrival of another long awaited character to the MCU in the form of Blade. Originally, this scene was planned to feature Sam Wilson's Falcon, now Captain America, but as the upcoming roster of Marvel movies has expanded it became clear that Blade was a character who needed to be teased at this exact moment because ultimately there is a link between the Daywalker and Black Knight, as Marvel revealed.

In the post credit scene, Dane Whitman is seen opening up a casket that contains the Ebony Blade, and as he reaches out to touch it a voice speaks to him, asking whether he thinks he is ready to wield the sword. The voice in the scene belongs to Mahershala Ali, who will be taking over playing the role of Blade when he arrives fully in the MCU, and he could have possibly made his on screen debut in this very scene if only Marvel had completed the design work on the character's costume.

While there is a connection between the characters in the comic books, with both Blade and Black Knight having worked together in MI-13, the British spy organisation, but this cameo appearance has also made a connection between Blade and the Ebony Blade that is yet to be revealed. Eternals producer Nate Moore made it clear while speaking on the Phase Zero podcast that the choice of Blade in the scene was not something that was just plucked out of the air and there is more to the decision. "The Ebony Blade, the characteristics of the Ebony Blade are not dissimilar to some degree of vampirism," he explained, "and we think that's an interesting kind of thing to play with. So we kind of knew that was on the table."

With much of Marvel's superhero world having evolved from mythology, Black Knight comes from the Marvel iteration of Camelot in the Middle Ages, a time when across Europe the legends of vampires also had a founding, so already having Blade know a thing or two about the sword has some kind of foothold for Marvel to have built on. When you then add in the comic book history of the Ebony Blade, a weapon forged from a meteorite which carries with it a blood curse and has in recent years also been revealed to also consume souls, there is a darker story to the weapon that would fit with the expected tone of Blade. While the Black Knights are the guardians of the Ebony Blade in the comics, controlling its powers and preventing its lust for blood overpowering everything, Dane Whitman being asked if he things he is ready to wield the power of the sword could well suggest that he isn't and Blade will have some part in helping him achieve his true power.

Of course, as of now we have no idea when Blade will make his full MCU debut, or when the Eternals will be seen again, but discounting possible small cameo roles, neither will be happening until late 2023 at the earliest so there is still plenty of time to get all those theories out for discussion in the meantime. This news originated at Screen Rant.