Moon Knight has been living up to his “mystery man” image so far.
The upcoming TV series–based on the Marvel Comics character and slated to air on Disney+ the first half of 2022–has been pretty much shrouded in secrecy for months now, but some nuggets are starting to drop, as reported by comicbook.com.
Mohamed Diab–who will direct four of the six episodes of the series–said in a recent interview that he was so interested in the project that he drafted a 200-page pitch to Marvel Studios with his wife, producer Sara Goher. “It was a great pitch,” he said. “The moment we finished it, I told Sara that if we didn’t get this job, something was wrong.”
Well, right now, Diab is overseeing production of the series in Budapest, where Moon Knight will finish up soon before shooting in Atlanta. It also has been learned that two other directors–Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead–will helm the remaining two episodes, with Jeremy Slater handling the bulk of the scripting.
Moving from behind the cameras to the cast involved in the project, it was previously announced that Oscar Isaac will star in the dual roles of Marc Spector and Moon Knight and Ethan Hawke will play the main villain. In addition, it has also been learned that May Calamawy–best known for her role on Hulu’s Ramy–has been cast in an undisclosed role.
Hawke has been a bit forthcoming recently about his undisclosed villainous role–some rumors have him playing Raoul Bushman, Spector’s former employer and betrayer–and why he was interested in the show. Those reasons seem to center around the Marvel aura and the acting chops of Isaac.
“If you were an actor in the ’50s, they made Westerns,” Hawke said. “If you’re an actor in the 2020s, you’ve got Marvel. And I’m really fortunate because we’re dealing with a story that doesn’t have a lot of ancillary baggage. With Moon Knight, people don’t know much about it.”
And, Hawke added, his co-star Isaac “is giving an absolutely phenomenal performance, and it feels exciting to be a part of it with him.”
But don’t expect too much more out of him before the show hits the small screen. Marvel keeps a tight lid on information leaks. “I’ve signed 10,000 NDAs,” Hawke said, “and they give me a hard time anytime I say anything about it. They like to create a lot of anticipation. But I understand why people love working for them.”
The Moon Knight character–created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin–made his first appearance in Werewolf by Night No. 32 (Aug. 1975). The mysterious anti-hero enjoyed a strong run in the 1980s in his own title, courtesy of Moench and artist Bill Sienkiewicz.
A brand-new Moon Knight comic debuted this summer, in which the character is described as a “renegade priest of the unworthy god Khonshu” who “observes his duty: protecting those who travel by night.”
Keep reading Horror News Network for further updates on the Moon Knight series on Disney+.
