After the release of the second trailer during the Super Bowl, it's safe to assume that Marvel Studios' Moon Knight is one of the most highly anticipated series arriving this spring. That hype has continued to grow, as star Oscar Isaac has claimed the project is a 'character study,' an aspect to the MCU that hasn't been seen all too often.
After portraying the villainous mutant Apocalypse in Fox's X-Men: Apocalypse, Isaac will make his MCU debut as Marc Spector, a mercenary who embodies the complicated vigilante and suffers from a dissociative identity disorder. Spector was a former US marine facing death before his life fell within the hands of Khonshu, the ancient Egyptian god of the Moon, for whom he has now become a conduit. The multiple identities of Moon Knight fight for control of his body amid a war against the backdrop of modern and Ancient Egypt.
Following his other big role as Poe Dameron in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Isaac decided to step away from big blockbusters for a bit, as he was desperate to get back to smaller, more homemade types of projects. “Often on these big movies it can feel like you’re building the plane on the runway,” Isaac recently shared with Empire. “The idea of getting back to ‘handmade’ films, character studies… I was desperate for that feeling.”
What Isaac wasn't thinking was that another Marvel project would give him that opportunity. "It felt ‘handmade,'” Isaac said about Moon Knight. “And it’s the first legitimate Marvel character-study since Iron Man. I thought, ‘Maybe I can hijack this thing. Maybe this is the chance to do something really fucking nutty on a major stage.’”
While the many character and storyline crossovers are always exciting to see, a big reason for the MCU's success is the audience being emotionally invested in the heroes. This main principle can date back to the first Iron Man, as the film that kicked off everything was more interested in establishing a main hero rather than desperately trying to set up future films. And while many of the films and now series do set up future events, it always comes down to creating great characters first that will have fans wanting to see more of them.
While many can point to plenty of other MCU projects that serve as a character studies, it's relieving to know that Moon Knight is more focused on telling a great story and writing compelling characters rather than just the big action spectacle. Created by Jeremy Slater, Moon Knight will consist of six 40-50 minute episodes, with Mohamed Diab directing four episodes and duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead directing the other two. The series will also star Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow, the series' main antagonist, Gaspard Ulliel as Anton Mogart/Midnight Man, Lucy Thackeray as Donna, and May Calamawy in an undisclosed role.
Moon Knight is set to premiere on Disney Plus on March 30, 2022.
Source: Empire