‘Daredevil: Begin Again’ was supposed to be Marvel triumphantly proving it can take a character that has been brought to TV screens elsewhere (Cox played the character for three seasons and the ‘Defenders’ team-up limited series on Netflix, produced by a different Marvel small-screen team).
Commissioned from writers Chris Ord and Matt Corman, it was set for a mammoth 18-episode shoot and cameras started rolling back in March. Less than half the episodes had been filmed when the writers’ strike closed down production, but that was far from the only issue.
In the Reporter’s story, there is mention that the executives screened the available footage and didn’t like where the show was headed, including the fact that Cox allegedly didn’t show up in costume as Daredevil until episode four.
Which, we must admit, is surprising, because you have to assume the team signed off on the scripts, and the character’s actions would have been apparent on the page.
Now, a big overhaul is planned, with Ord and Corman out and the directors hired for the season also let go. The search is on for new writers and directors to bring the show more closely in alignment with Marvel’s thinking once Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio (reprising his role as classic Daredevil villain the Kingpin from the Netflix version, having also appeared in the MCU’s ‘Hawkeye’ series) and the other cast can return to work with the resolution of the actors’ strike.
Much of the acquired footage will be repurposed and new storylines added.
This is far from the first of the MCU-linked series to see problems behind the scenes. The Reporter’s story also mentions that ‘Moon Knight’ head writer Jeremy Slater quit the show, with main director Mohamed Diab taking on more of the creative workload.
On ‘She-Hulk’, show creator and writer Jessica Gao was largely sidelined once director Kat Coiro came on to oversee a production that suffered with Covid issues. But unlike Slater, Gao was brought back in during post-production to finish the series.
And perhaps the most chaotic example –– which can truly be seen on screen –– is ‘Secret Invasion’, which suffered a revolving door of creative teams even through pre-production, with the back-and-forth even threatening to foil the series completely as schedule changes meant cast could have been unavailable.
The result? One of the worst-reviewed and least-watched Marvel TV series to land on Disney+.
It’s clear Marvel is struggling to adapt its successful movie method to TV despite aiming to change how shows are produced.
From the sounds of it, the plan now is to switch back to a more traditional process, including working up pilots and show bibles instead of cranking out whole first seasons of series at big expense.
Last week’s episode ended with us in paradise, welcome to the season finale of ‘Moon Knight’.
We open on Marc being dragged out of the pool by Arthur’s men, who place the scarab on his chest and leave. Only for it to be picked up by Layla. Arthur is stopped, and we witness Ammit’s power. Layla goes to kill him, only to be held back by Tawaret taking over her body to tell her she needs to break Khonshu’s statue to bring Marc back.
Harrow breaks into the vault of the gods, getting into a fight with the other avatars and defeating them. He breaks the statue, releasing Ammit back into the world. The goddess asks who brought her back and mentions that Arthur’s scales “lack balance.” Layla also finds and destroys Khonshu’s prison, releasing him. She refuses to become his avatar, only agreeing to help if they can work together.
We cut to Marc in the afterlife being told his scales are balanced. Tawaret explains to him that his afterlife is everything he wanted. Sensing it isn’t right, he tells the goddess they need to get Steven back. Marc runs the other direction and paradise instantly fades. Marc finds Steven buried in the sands, and finally admits he saved him. Apologizing that he couldn’t protect him, all as Marc slowly turns to stone.
The golden door opens and the two of them come back. Tawaret helps Marc and Steven get back to the world of the living while Khonshu and Ammit fight in the Vault. Khonshu senses them returning and inhabits Marc’s body again. He now must talk to both Steven and Marc, and they strike up a deal. They will be his avatar, but once Ammit is gone, they will be freed.
Layla learns how to trap Ammit, but she needs more avatars. Without even words, it’s revealed she’s accepted Tawaret’s offer for help. Arthur makes it to the top of the great pyramid, now working as Ammit’s avatar, eating the souls of the unworthy.
Marc & Steven make it in time, and their fight with Arthur shows how the two of them both have control over the Moon Knight power. Layla appears just as Arthur is about to get the upper hand, looking nearly as powerful as they are, and is the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the Scarlet Scarab.
Layla saves a car full of people from Arthur and is asked if she’s an Egyptian superhero. In a very moving, but quick scene, she hastily replies, “Yes.” Arthur gets the better of Marc, same as Ammit with Khonshu. It seems Marc’s about to lose before he blacks out, waking up to Arthur nearly dead beneath him. Once again, it wasn’t him or Steven who did it!
They take Arthur back and return Ammit to his body as a prison. Khonshu tries to get Marc to kill the body and Layla tells him to stop. He sides with Layla, telling the moon god to release them.
Steven is shown back in the white room with the doctor. He asks the doctor if he believes gods are real, to which he responds, “No.” Marc returns to tell him “What if we disagree?” The doctor walks away bleeding, and Marc and Steven team-up to escape their personal afterlife. Marc wakes up back in Steven’s apartment, with two of everything, including goldfish. And that’s the end!
Now before we touch on anything else in the episode, let’s discuss that end-credit scene.
We’re shown Arthur is now in a mental hospital, really, this isn’t a dream. He’s shown being led away by a man in black, and is taken out to a white car, passing the bodies of killed nurses. He gets thrown into the car and is shown Khonshu in a very fancy suit. He explains that Marc truly thought he left, and that the god needs an avatar strong enough to do his work and not be afraid to get their hands dirty. But that isn’t Marc or Steven.
The god Knocks on the windows, and we’re introduce to Jake Lockley, another alter of Marc’s and the cause of the blackouts. He aims a gun at Arthur, and fires, presumably killing him, and drives off. So ‘Moon Knight’ finally gives us Jake Lockley, but only in the post-credit’s scene. And that, this whole time, it is implied Jake was Khonshu’s avatar. Almost like Marc and Steven were borrowing the powers for themselves.
This version of Lockley is a bit different; we’re obviously shown him more brutal, almost gleefully killing Arthur at the end. In the comics, Lockley was a taxi driver, basically Moon Knight’s ears to the ground. He would gather info on targets, but he was never seen as a killer. So, it’s very interesting where they’re taking the character in the future!
Now, for my verdict. How did Marvel do with ‘Moon Knight’? Well, in my opinion, there was way more highs than there were lows. While the show was plagued with Marvel’s telltale CGI fights and spectacles, especially in this last episode, there was plenty of heart and emotion.
A lot of that praise can be placed on Oscar Isaac for absolutely killing it as Marc, Steven and now Jake. He gave a crazy different performance for each character and seeing him switch between two personalities near the end of this last episode blew me away. I would easily put him up there with the likes of Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth as fantastic Marvel character casting.
Ethan Hawke plays a very interesting villain, but he weirdly starts off incredibly scary in my opinion but then eventually…is less menacing? At least, he doesn’t stay as threatening as the show puts him up to be, which can be chocked up to Moon Knight himself being way deadlier. I guess I just wanted more of Harrow as a villain. On the outside, he’s a creepy cult leader that is reminiscent of real life evil, but as the show progresses, I just didn’t feel that at the end of the series.
But, even with all the flaws ‘Moon Knight’ had, it’s still one of my favorite series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I cannot wait to see where the hero goes in the future, and if Layla will ever return in her superhero form.
Episode 4 had a lot to answer for! Welcome to episode 5 of ‘Moon Knight’!
Marc is shown a woman claiming something is “all his fault” and he’s shot back to the asylum. Spector knows something isn’t right now. But he goes along with the Arthur Harrow look alike.
The Doctor brings up that Marc was talking about a boy. He’s knocked out by the guard and brought back to Taweret. The god informs Marc and Steven they are, in fact, dead. Still wonderfully joyful as she goes through her motions welcoming them to the Underworld, she explains that this is Marc’s specific afterlife and that others also exist.
Because the afterlife cannot be perceived by humans, they all look familiar, so it can be understood by mortal eyes. Marc finally says “we’re crazy” before opening a door and revealing the actual Egyptian afterlife. Rolling sands, howls of the dead, and a scale with a feather, as Taweret takes their hearts, seen as two rocks.
If Marc & Steven’s combined hearts weigh less than the feather, they’re going to the afterlife. If it’s heavier, it’s off the boat and left for the dead. Marc tells Steven that they should kill the hippo and steal the boat, but the scale is going crazy. Taweret claims Marc & Steven’s hearts aren’t full. She tells them to go back into their afterlife and tell each other the truth.
Marc informs Steven that his memories are a mess. “Mine too” the latter responds, as they begin to go through them. They stop at a door to which Steven asks Marc if they remember something. It’s a street, with a man in front of a red car. Then they are stopped by a scream, Marc and Steven then enter a cafe with dead bodies. It’s revealed they are all people killed by Moon Knight, sentenced to death by Khonshu. This causes the scale to slow, as Steven spots a child in the room.
He chases after him and locks the door behind Marc. He’s in a backyard, and with what appears to be his family, and him and his brother. Steven chases the kids into the woods, and into a cave, stepping on the skeletal body of a bird in the process. Steven calls to the kids, telling them to get out as rainwater is filling the cave and will most likely drown them. This appears to be a memory, as Marc is exploring the white hallways seeing others through the doors.
This new memory he stumbles on is a funeral. It’s revealed his mother blames him for the death of his brother, and basically starts to avoid Marc, ignoring his birthday party. We’re shown that as a teenager, Marc left home thinking that his mother would never get better. Marc throws Steven out of the memory and into another one of his own, at the Egyptian tomb where he met Khonshu.
He tells Steven how he became a mercenary, and shows him dying, crawling towards the god’s statue. As Marc is about to pull the trigger and kill himself, Khonshu begins to speak to him, offering him to become his eyes, his hands, and his warrior.
They are called outside and realize Arthur is closer to his goal back on Earth. Taweret agrees to help them get back and have Layla help rescue Khonshu. Steven claims they need to go into the bedroom Marc didn’t want them in during the funeral memory he saw earlier. The two argue, and the former breaks down. Now he’s back with Doctor Harrow.
Harrow asked Marc if he created Steven to hide, or if Steven created him to get revenge. He tells Marc that he must open up to Steven, so they can understand each other. Marc shows Steven the room, and how his mother would threaten to beat him. We’re shown his first shift to Steven, and how his alter is based off an Indiana Jones-type movie poster. All the way down to his full name as Steven Grant.
It’s finally revealed that Steven was made to forget that their mother abused them, and he’s told that their mother is actually dead. Now it’s Steven’s turn to meet Doctor Harrow and the man nearly takes it as a joke. Doctor Harrow tells Steven he brought him and Marc to the psyche hospital when he found out his mother died.
Harrow offers to call her, and Steven begs him not to do that. He gets emotional, and it’s obvious what Marc had told him had an impact. He’s visually emotional and finally tells the doctor “my mother is dead.” We’re shown another funeral, and it’s revealed the earlier memory was Marc outside of that funeral. In an emotional outburst he switches back to Steven, who calls his mother like she’s still alive.
Steven tells Marc everything that happened wasn’t his fault. The ground shakes, and they realize the scales never balanced. Meaning the undead souls of everyone Marc had killed are coming after them. Marc attempts to fight back and is dragged to the ledge.
Steven pilots the boat, attempting to help, and Marc is knocked out, once again taken to the ledge. Steven instantly starts fighting back and saves Marc. He takes out another zombie, and it’s shown that even he has some latent violence.
Marc is once again grabbed, and Steven throws the zombie over the ledge, sending himself with it. He tries to chase after the boat but is captured by the sands and turned to stone. As Marc asks for the boat to stop, the scales balance themselves. The setting changes to a wheat field, with music playing in the background. This is paradise, at least Marc’s version of it. Then the credits roll.
The cool aspect of this episode is the way the show has interpreted real Egyptian myth so far. Contrary to popular belief, Khonshu is not a god Marvel just made up for the comics. He was real, and the Ancient Egyptians worshipped him as a benevolent, helpful deity, and as the show mentions, protecting travelers in the night. It is incredible fascinating to see Marvel take so heavily from actual myth for a character like this, adding real, researchable history to a story.
We have one more episode left in Moon Knight, and let’s hope the show ends as it’s been going so far; loud!
Hope you’re all ready for more action, because episode 4 of ‘Moon Knight’ is here!
We open on one of the avatars carrying Khonshu’s statue to a pedestal that holds many other gods, like a prison. We see Layla trying to wake up Marc while also being shot at. Arthur’s men are looking for survivors, only to be stopped by Layla who distracts them and sets the truck off and destroys it. It’s revealed Steven is alive, and they head to the tomb.
On the way, Layla tells Steven they need Marc. He explains that the two of them made a pact; when Khonshu was gone, Steven got the body. An argument breaks out between Steven and Layla and they move to foot, finding the cult (who are already inside) the tomb.
As they ransack the camp, Marc and Steven have more of a conversation. They talk about how Marc can’t really go away and have one more argument before splitting up. Steven meets up with Layla and finally explains why Marc was so nervous, how Khonshu wanted her for his avatar, and how Marc wanted to protect her.
She explains she doesn’t need protection and Steven kisses her (once again, odd) and the two zip down, but not before Marc punches Steven in the face. Layla brings up her father again and the two descend into the cave.
They descend further only to find bullets in the sand. Something is out there. Steven discovers the tomb is a maze and finds where the inner tomb is, and that the Pharaoh was Ammit’s avatar. They find an alter for human sacrifice, covered in blood and viscera. Steven goes to the ceiling to find an exit and they are stopped by gunfire.
It’s revealed the creature being shot at was a literal mummy, disemboweling people in the old ways. ‘Moon Knight’, in the span of a week, has gone from superhero action to flat out horror.
The monster spots Steven, who separates from Layla, the latter crossing a deadly cavern. Another mummy tries to grab her, and she barely escapes, and a literal horror movie fight ensues. Layla throws it off the cliff and barely climbs back up.
Across the way, she spots Arthur. Steven finds the tomb, excited out of his mind only for Marc to confront him about kissing his wife and telling her the truth. Steven cuts him off, going through the tomb and realizing they might have found Alexander the Great.
“Why must men like you have to be so condescending.” Layla insults Arthur before the man tries to get in her head, talking about her Father and the fact he believed that the gods were real.
We cut to Steven and Marc opening the tomb to try and find the artifact. He believes since Alexander was the mouth of Ammit, there’s only one place where it could be. Arthur continues to test Layla, claiming Marc was the one who killed her father.
Marc finds the statue of Ammit, and Layla finds him. It seems like Arthur has gotten in her head, and she forces Marc to tell her what happened. He’s adamant that he didn’t kill her father but admits he was there. Layla asks how he died, and Marc says his partner killed everyone at the site.
This isn’t good enough for Layla, and he reveals his partner also shot him, which led to Khonshu. This is how Layla and Marc met. Arthur’s men invade the room. Marc kills the cult members, only for Arthur to shoot Marc square in the chest twice. Killing him.
Okay, things are getting weird. We’re shown what looks like a late 80s/early 90s ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark‘ type movie featuring a character named Steven Grant! A white room is revealed, it’s an insane asylum and we see a woman drawing a bird with Khonshu’s head, as well as Marc, looking totally out of it.
The woman is Layla, and she offers to help him, though it’s “not really her.” Could this be a weird afterlife maybe? Marc tries to get up and falls, revealing a little Moon Knight action figure by his side.
It cuts to Steven talking to who we can assume is a therapist, and it’s Arthur! (Looking shockingly like Ethan Hawke’s character in ‘The Black Phone’.) Explaining how Marc is indeed unwell and needs their help.
The room looks familiar. Pillars of an old tomb, organ jars, God statues. It’s like a personal hell. Marc escapes and fights off the people trying to sedate him. It’s clear something isn’t right.
Marc runs and locks himself in a room with a coffin that has someone locked in it screaming, only for it to be Steven. The two reunite and hug. Marc asks him what he remembers, and the two realize they haven’t gone crazy.
They pass another coffin, staring at it, and suspiciously walk by. The door is open to a large, anthropologic Hippo who greets them … warmly and kindly? The episode then ends.
So, a lot just happened. First, let’s cover the two name drops in the episode. In the comics, Marc’s partner is Raul Bushman. It’s right to assume that was the man who killed Layla’s father and set everything with Khonshu into motion. Layla’s father on the other hand, in the show, is the equivalent of Peter Alraune, who is Marlene’s father in the comics (Marc’s girlfriend).
Now for the two major characters we have hinted at in the final scenes. We have a good idea who’s in that third coffin, and it’s most likely Jake Lockley. Another one of Marc’s alters, Jake is a cab driver and a more “boots on the ground” type of guy. We’ve already seen hints of him in episode 3, and it would be weird for the show to only include Steven and not Jake.
Finally, the Hippo goddess at the end. Her name is Taweret, and in Egyptian myth she was a benevolent god of protection, specifically in fertility and childbirth. But outside of that, she was always the goddess who protected souls as they took the ferry to the afterlife. Which confirms to us where Marc and Steven could be…
Episode 4 was an insane trip, and we’ll see where that it takes us in the last two episodes of the series! See you all next week!
‘Moon Knight’ episode 3 opens with Layla getting herself a fake ID. We’re told she hasn’t been back to Egypt in a while, and that her father was involved in a dig site. It’s implied that Layla is not safe on her trip.
Cut to Arthur Harrow scouring the Egyptian desert and finding Ammit’s tomb. He knows Marc is there, but it doesn’t matter to him. Marc is seen chasing after someone, an informant who knows about the dig site, only for him to get murdered by two of Harrow’s men.
A fight ensues, and before Marc can kill them – Steven stops “him.” But then Moon Knight continues to fight and brutally murders the other men. It is hinted at that neither Marc nor Steven are controlling the hero at the time, leaving the possibility of a third alter.
Khonshu blocks out the sun, the god claiming it’s a “sign none of them could ignore.” He tells Steven the avatars are gathering, and that the last time he was seen by the gods, he was banished. A gate opens up, and Marc is allowed into the gathering.
He’s welcomed by another avatar, and their bodies are slowly taken over by the other Egyptian gods, and Khonshu calls them to judge Harrow. He’s summoned, and Harrow instantly begins to lie, claiming the moon god was the one to find Ammit’s tomb.
Harrow begins to use Marc’s disorder against him. Claiming he doesn’t know his own name, and knowing about his other alters. The gods asked to speak to Marc, and while he doesn’t deny being ‘unwell,’ he still tries to get them to see his point of view, but due to Khonshu’s reputation, the other gods excuse him and go off.
But a woman, who was the avatar of a goddess, explains one person knew about Ammit’s tomb, but their own sarcophagus was sold on the black market. Marc instantly goes to find it, only to be intercepted by Layla and begrudgingly excepts her help.
Layla tells him that she’s aware of where the body is, and a touching scene occurs, where we get more backstory on Marc. It was only recently that he had begun losing “control” of Steven and allowing him to take over, with no further details given.
Marc and Layla go to meet the black-market dealer, Anton (Gaspard Ulliel), who has the sarcophagus. While he claims to be a collector, it’s obvious that he is one sketchy guy. They find the coffin, while Marc and Steven talk about ‘unlocking’ the sarcophagus. They get into a fight, Steven begging to take over but Marc keeping him at bay.
Steven begins to explain to Marc the puzzle, only for the arms dealer to stop him. Harrow then shows up and tries to get Anton to take his side. He starts to convince everyone to turn against one another, including Layla on Marc because of her father’s death and the fact that he has been lying to her about it.
Then all hell breaks loose. Khonshu yells at Marc to summon the suit, and Harrow destroys the sarcophagus. We then get what is probably the coolest fight scene in the show so far. Specter in the full suit kicking ass, while also having Steven at the same time trying to stop the violence.
Of course, he breaks through, changing to Steven. It’s a matter of seconds before he’s literally impaled and yelling for Marc to take over. He gets held down, Layla’s hurt, and that causes Marc to go berserk and kill everyone.
The two of them escape, and Layla begins to question Marc about what Harrow brought up. He promises Layla that what he said wasn’t true. But Marc doesn’t deny the fact that she truly doesn’t know him as they drive into the desert.
Marc and Layla attempt to put together the pieces from the coffin. She tells him they need Steven’s help. But Khonshu claims the alter won’t give Marc the body back. He grumbles about it but walks away, letting Steven take over.
He explains how ancient Egyptians used both sun and the stars to navigate the desert. Steven finishes the destroyed piece, and explains why the stars won’t help them, but Khonshu says he knows where the stars were the night of the burial. “I remember every night.” He drawls and explains he can turn back the stars to that night. But that it would come at a cost.
Steven and Khonshu begin to turn back the sky like a clock. It’s a gorgeous sequence, and quiet honestly, one of my personal favorites in this cinematic universe thus far. The two of them change the constellations back to where they were in the past.
Khonshu is imprisoned by the other gods for obviously breaking multiple rules he wasn’t supposed to. The god and his power fade away, trapped in a stone. Marc will now most likely die, as Khonshu was keeping him alive.
We’re shown Harrow led to the gods chamber by one of the avatars. Harrow speaks with the statue, explaining how he was glad that Khonshu let him go when he did. He claims he owes everything to the god, and the episode ends.
So, we learned a couple of important things from this episode. The first one is that the other gods do exist. We meet them for the first time, even if we only see them as their avatars. There is no confirmation that the gods are actually gods (and not weird celestials like they are in the comics), but we finally know they do exist in this world and it’s not just Khonshu. What this could mean for the future isn’t know, but this confirms that it’s not just the Greek gods that rule in place of heroes and celestials.
One scene from the episode that should be important is Khonshu changing the sky. It’s showed prominently in the show that everyone saw the sky changing. Not just Layla and Steven. What am I getting at with this? Well, ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ releases on May 5th, and the last episode of ‘Moon Knight’ releases on May 4th … so are we going to see Doctor Strange in ‘Moon Knight?’
Benedict Cumberbatch in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ from Marvel Studios.
Next to Wanda Maximoff & the Sorcerer Supreme, Marc Specter is the next main magic user in the MCU. While not fully magical himself, he fits the bill. Strange would see the stars changing and want answers, and it would be a great way to connect the Disney+ series to the timeline (even if Oscar Isaac has been on record saying the show is “disconnected” from the movies.)
Another major Easter egg that showed up in this episode was the name drop of Madripoor. While it’s been mentioned before, it was first shown in ‘The Falcon & the Winter Soldier’ and later in ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’. Madripoor is basically the MCU’s version of the black market. That’s where the cage match in ‘Shang-Chi’ took place, and where Sharon Carter calls herself the Power Broker. It would make sense Layla & Anton would make deals on artifacts in Madripoor.
Once again, Marvel gives us another great episode. With a mixture of both character drama and action, we can only guess where the next few take us.
Episode 2 of Disney+’s Marvel series ‘Moon Knight’ delivers more Marc Spector, Steven Grant, Arthur Harrow, and finally introduces us to our new show-exclusive character, Layla. In this episode, we learn how the Moon Knight power works, and get more connections to the source material.
The episode begins with Steven waking up and instantly going to the museum in hopes of catching Arthur after the frantic fight he had the night before with one of his jackals. But when he shows up at the museum, the camera show nothing but Marc Spector walking out. And Steven knows that isn’t him in control of his own body.
We finally see Layla in the flesh, and she informs Steven (whom she still believes to be Marc) that they are married, that she misses their time together and that they are supposed to get a divorce. Steven and Layla share a nice little connection between poetry and myth, only for the police, who are members of Harrow’s cult, to show up at Steven’s door and kidnap him.
The audience is given a tense scene between Steven and Arthur, all with Khonshu breathing down Steven’s neck commanding him to brutally murder Arthur. Harrow seemingly knows more about the god than Steven does, and reveals he too worked for him at one point. While this is not proven to be true as of yet, it shows that the god is not afraid to change his vessel as often as he wishes.
Arthur is still looking for that scarab, and Steven is following Marc’s wishes and telling Harrow that he doesn’t have it. Up until Layla appears, claiming she has it and freeing Steven. The two escape, with Steven having another terrifying jackal on his heels. With Marc pounding in his brain and Steven terrified, he attempts to summon the suit … well, a suit.
We finally have the reveal of Mr. Knight, hilariously coined by Marc as “a psychotic Colonel Sanders.” Steven himself has some sort of control over the power! Though it’s clear to see that Khonshu only gave the powers to Marc, not any other of his alters.
The episode closes with Arthur getting the scarab (revealed to be a sort of tracking device to Amitt’s tomb), Khonshu threatening Marc that if he doesn’t stop Arthur, he’ll take Layla as his next vessel, and Marc himself awakening in Egypt, facing the great pyramids of Giza.
The biggest revelation of this episode is the fact we now know Steven is an alter-ego of Marc. While the show’s first episode played this off as a mystery, with Steven being revealed first, episode 2 confirms the comic connection. Though we still don’t have a confirmation on Marc’s other personality, that of Jake Lockley. Which would indeed be weird if Marvel chose not to include it.
While it’s clear the show is taking more liberties from its source material, the biggest change in this episode is Layla, most likely based off Marc’s girlfriend in the comics, Marlene Alraune (more on her in a bit.) Which is surprising for a show that has so far stuck to the source material rather well. Especially for something so out of left field for Marvel and Disney.
Like the last episode before it, episode 2 is filled with some cleverly hidden Easter eggs. One of them being another comic book hidden in a QR code. While this could be a fantastic way for people to get into the comics, it’s fascinating the Marvel team is hiding them instead of putting them in the open. Though, if they continue to do it for future episodes, it could be a great way to get more people into the story.
The other Easter egg (if it could be called that) in the episode is Layla herself. As mentioned before, she’s more than likely based off of the character of Marlene Alraune, Marc Specter’s on and off again girlfriend in the comics. While it’s interesting for Marvel to just transfer her character over, she also wasn’t exactly the most interesting character in the comics. So, their choice to make someone completely brand new with close to the same backstory totally works.
One thing that should be mentioned is where ‘Moon Knight’ fits in the Marvel Cinematic timeline. It was revealed just recently on Disney’s official timeline; ‘Moon Knight’ takes place directly after ‘Hawkeye’ and ‘Eternals’. How this will affect the show is yet to be seen, but we shouldn’t be surprised if both the Blip is mentioned, or the giant Celestial that is still currently in the sea.
Episode 2 of ‘Moon Knight’ was another fun ride, with some cool fights and great moments. It’s refreshing to see a show so dark and unafraid to hide from the weirder side of the Marvel universe, even more so than something like the ‘Eternals’.
Hopefully the next few episodes hold up that weirdness and give us more brutal fights.
‘Moon Knight’ is Marvel’s newest Disney+ show, and the first time the titular character has found himself on the live-action screen. Staring Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke, the show follows Isaacs in the role(s) of Steven Grant and his many personalities—as the man suffers from DID, dissociative identity disorder, and his journey as the new anti-hero Moon Knight.
The first episode dropped this week, so let’s discuss what we saw, what it could mean going forward, and how does this first episode hold up with the rest of the MCU streaming shows!
Steven Grant is, well, awkward. And, well, strange. He falls sleep with a chain around his ankle, has tape on his door and doesn’t even remember setting up a dinner date with a co-worker. Steven suffers from DID, and it appears his alter-egos are doing things without his knowledge. Throughout this first episode we see Steven slowly start to lose his grip with everything he thought he knew, all leading up to the rather long finale of the episode.
Quick flashes of an English countryside that is totally hosting a cult, Steven hearing someone’s voice in his head and being attacked by what is possibly the creepiest MCU monster we’ve ever seen. It all leads up to him (well, the Marc Spector alter), clad in the Moon Knight costume and standing over an insanely brutalized monster.
‘Moon Knight’ starts rather slowly compared to the other MCU shows, but honestly that’s not much of an issue. Compared to other characters we’ve seen get shows on Disney+, ‘Moon Knight’ is the one character that people would know the least about. Compared to, say, Scarlet Witch or Loki, this is the first time we have seen Moon Knight in, well, anything. But does the episode hold up as a good introduction?
Honestly, it does its job. We’re shown Steven Grant, and get glimpses of his DID in the form of flashes in the last half of the episode, and seen his life outside of whatever the hell craziness that his alter-ego gets into.
Khonshu is given a small role in the episode, seen more as a slasher movie villain as he spookily watches from the sidelines in the last half. His voice is different, at least from what I expected, but it does a great job of portraying an ancient god that is tired of whatever Steven Grant is doing, which is stopping Marc Spector from doing his job.
There isn’t much to discuss when it comes to Ethan Hawke and his portrayal of the villain Arthur, only that he indeed succeeds at portraying a very creepy and threatening cult leader. We’re shown in the episode his abilities; he can weigh the hearts of others just as the ancient Egyptian myths of the afterlife have explained.
For those who are not aware, in Egyptian myth, your heart is weighed against a feather when you die. If your heart is lighter, you’re allowed passage to the afterlife. If not, your heart is unceremoniously eaten by an alligator. We see this in action when Arthur weighs the hearts of two people in the town square scene, one getting told they were worthy and the other just keeling over.
There’s been talks in Hollywood how recent films have handled the culture and country of Egypt in film and TV, and I personally believe it’s too early to tell with ‘Moon Knight.’ The handling of the myths, at least to my knowledge, are on point and match up with history (obviously not counting the Marvel universes’ changes) so we have yet to see how the rest is going to work. Khonshu himself is not a real Egyptian god, but how the show has depicted him so far is more horror movie villain than mythical being.
Now, a main part of this show is indeed the inclusion of Steve’s DID. There is always a constant debate on how mental health is portrayed in film and whether it’s used as a stereotypical gimmick or something to villainize a character.
While Oscar Isaac himself is not diagnosed with DID, it’s obvious he has done his research and is doing his best to respect the diagnoses and those who have it. Though, I will admit it is kind of jarring seeing him go from shy and timid Steven Grant to serious and intense Marc Spector. I honestly can’t tell if the accent is a good thing or if it plays Grant off to be a bit of a nerd-like character.
I personally think the first episode does a good job at portraying a character like Moon Knight in way that’s both accessible and so much different from what came before it. Compared to the other Marvel shows on Disney+, it isn’t the most intense or the craziest action wise. It’s the start of a story that not everyone is familiar with, and we obviously need more time to see how marvel is going to handle introducing such a wild character.
Premiering on Disney+ beginning March 30th is the new Marvel Studios series ‘Moon Knight,’ which is based on the popular comic book character of the same name. Oscar Isaac (‘Dune’) stars as Marc Spector, a mercenary with dissociative identity disorder who is granted the powers of an Egyptian moon god, making him a superhero. The result is a series that feels more like a movie and is one of the best origin story projects Marvel Studios has ever produced.
The series begins by introducing us to Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac), a meek gift shop clerk who happens to work at a museum in the Egyptian history wing. Grant has strange visions of an Egyptian god, loses track of large amounts of time, and wakes up unaware of why he is chained to his own bed. Grant soon discovers that he actually shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector (also Isaacs), who has dissociative identity disorder and was chosen by the Egyptian god Khonshu (voiced by F. Murray Abraham) to be the hero Moon Knight.
Grant also meets Spector’s wife, Layla El-Faouly (May Calamawy) and discovers that a cult led by Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) are pursuing them to retrieve a valuable artifact that they have in their possession. With the artifact, Harrow will have ultimate power and now Marc and Steven must work together as Moon Knight (or Steven’s alter ego – Mr. Knight) if they want to stop the cult leader from taking over the world.
As much as I love Marvel, one of the issues I’ve had with the Disney+ shows are that even at six to eight episodes, they always feel like they are one or two episodes too long. But as I have screened four out of six of the ‘Moon Knight’ episodes, I can tell you that the series is tight, and at least in the first four episodes, there is no filler. Moon Knight’s story is complicated, and the series benefits from the fact that it has six hours to tell his origin, without feeling rushed or truncated. But it also doesn’t waste its time and everything that happens seems necessary and important to telling the character’s story.
In some ways this is the least Marvel project Marvel Studios has produced, certainly on Disney+, but also still feels very much like it takes place in the MCU. The prior Marvel shows were all heavily dipped in MCU folklore with references to S.H.I.E.L.D. or The Blip, for example, and appearances from characters that belong to other Marvel franchises. But while ‘Moon Knight’ doesn’t have any direct MCU references or cameos (at least not in the first four episodes), it still feels very much like a Marvel movie and very much exists in the same universe as ‘Doctor Strange‘ and ‘Shang-Chi.’
It’s hard enough to introduce one new character to an audience, but with superhero projects you essentially have two characters to introduce, the hero and their alter-ego. With this series, they have the difficulty of introducing not just Marc Spector and Moon Knight, but also Steven Grant and Mr. Knight, with all four characters portrayed by the same actor, Oscar Isaac.
In the comics, Spector is the main character and the focus is usually on him, when it’s not on Moon Knight. But the series made the wise choice to focus the series, at least initially, on Steven Grant. Like the audience (at least those not familiar with the source material), Steven has no idea what is going on in his life, and as the audience we get to learn about Marc, Layla, Arthur Harrow, and Khonshu, at the same time Steven does. It was a risky choice, but ultimately works and serves the series well.
The supporting cast is very good, especially Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham who voices Khonshu. May Calamawy creates a strong and really fun character in Marc’s wife, Layla. She has great chemistry with Isaac (no matter which character he is playing), and the character takes some odd twists and turns in the later episodes.
But a hero is only as strong as the villain he has to battle, and Ethan Hawke creates a very strong villain in Arthur Harrow. In fact, calling him a villain is not even fair as the character would tell you he’s the hero of his own story, and Hawke walks that line well. Channeling inspiration from cult leader David Koresh, as well as psychiatrist Carl Jung and even the Dalai Lama, Hawke plays the role in a sympathetic yet commanding way.
But the series’ success really hinges on finding an actor that can realistically portray all the aspects of the lead character, and Oscar Isaac fills that role exceedingly well. Isaac really creates two separate characters with Steven and Marc, and he is so good that at times you really believe they are two different people and you forget that the same actor is playing both roles. The series handles the character’s DID quite well, and Isaac’s performance is extremely believable and sympathetic.
In the end, at least for the first four episodes, ‘Moon Knight’ is an extremely tight, dark, and very enjoyable superhero series that is just as good as any Marvel movie without getting bogged down by the MCU mythology.
‘Moon Knight’ (first four episodes) receives 4.5 out of 5 stars
‘Moon Knight’ premieres on Disney+ beginning March 30th.
Ethan Hawke plays Arthur Harrow in Marvel’s ‘Moon Knight’ on Disney+.
Premiering March 30th on Disney+ is the new six-part Marvel TV series ‘Moon Knight,’ which is based on the popular comic book character.
The series follows Oscar Isaac (‘Dune’) as Marc Spector, a mercenary with dissociative identity disorder. One of his multiple identities, Steven Grant is thrown into a mystery involving Egyptian gods and Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke), a religious zealot and cult leader.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with four-time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke (‘Training Day’) about his work on ‘Moon Knight’ and joining the Marvel Universe.
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You can read our full interview with Ethan Hawke below, or watch a video of our interviews with Hawke, actress May Calamawy (Layla El-Faouly), executive producer Grant Curtis, and directors Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, and Mohamed Diab by clicking on the player above.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your experience joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe and watching how Kevin Feige and his team create these huge projects?
Ethan Hawke: Well, as a guy who basically grew up in independent cinema, I was a little blown away to see all the equipment. I mean, to see all the toys. When they want a crane shot, they got four cranes. You want a better crane shot? We got bigger. Do you want a helicopter shot? Let’s get the chopper. You want a pyramid? Let’s build one. You want a hospital? Let’s build one. You want Cairo? Let’s build it. In the independent cinema, it’s like, “No. No crane shots, no Cairo, no pyramids. We’re going to shoot it in the basement and talk about it.”
MF: I understand that you used some interesting real-life inspiration for playing your character, Arthur Harrow. Can you talk about your character and you approach to playing him?
EH: Yeah, because we’re in new terrain here, most people don’t know Moon Knight. There isn’t a definitive Moon Knight villain that I have to hit certain notes. It could be its own thing. As I got to know Oscar better and what he was doing, he was taking the mental illness aspect of the character so seriously and studying dissociative identity disorder. He was so interested in what that was, and he was talking a lot about the dream landscape and the power of symbols.
I started thinking about Carl Jung and all his dream teachings and how, in a lot of ways, that could work well with superheroes because there’s a dream aspect to them. They do seem to work in myths and icons. I started reading Carl Jung, and I started thinking, “Oh, if my character could be like a cross between a monk and Carl Jung, I could be the different aspect in it.” I mean, as this series continues, you really start to see that the Moon Knight himself doesn’t understand reality, and so he’s not sure if my character is really a supervillain.
MF: Finally, what was it like for you to work with Oscar Isaac and create the unique relationship between your two characters?
EH: Well, that’s the thing, heroes and villains. Right? You can’t have one without the other. There is no hero without a villain. So, I had to be a counterpoint. If he was going to really play somebody deeply unbalanced, well, the counterpoint would be to find somebody who is incredibly balanced and to try to always be moving left when he moves right. If he’s going to be the moon, inconstant and changing, I needed to be the sun, penetrating and even. That was my thought.
‘Moon Knight’ premieres on Disney+ beginning March 30th.
Of all the Marvel characters that have gotten a live action adaptation, ’Moon Knight’ is one of the more obscure. Hailing from the same dark corner of Marvel comics as The Punisher, Moon Knight is much more supernatural, and his comics often included such beings as vampires.
Yes, ‘Moon Knight’ is totally on the far end of what Marvel has done in the past, but even with how obscure he is as a character, he is one of the most interesting anti-heroes in all of Marvel’s mythology.
Here are the top five things you need to know about ‘Moon Knight’ before it premieres on Disney+ March 30th!
1. Moon Knight is a Hero with DID
As described by the Cleveland clinic, Dissociative Identity Disorder, or multiple personality disorder, is having two or more personalities in a single person. These personalities can take full control of the person and cause missing memories.
In the comics, the character has five personalities. Marc Spector, his main personality. Steven Grant, the millionaire. Jake Lockley, the detective. Mr. Knight, the snappy dresser, and Moon Knight himself.
Everyone of Marc’s personalities help Moon Knight in some way, from detective work to getting the funds for his weapons and gadgets. How the show will touch on this (and handle a major MCU character with mental illness) is yet to be seen, and how they will handle a neurodivergent superhero.
Contrary to what the older comics have suggested, Marc’s DID was most likely a side effect of the powers given to him by Khonshu, the Egyptian god. Which leads into our next important fact to know…
Not many viewers of the Marvel Cinematic Universe know that Marvel comics love to dip into the idea of ancient myths and lore. Obviously, we have stuff like Thor and all of the Viking mythology, but Marvel also has delved into ancient Egyptian myth as well.
While this God is not based off any existing God in mythology, Khonshu is the Egyptian God of the Moon. But in all actuality, is a God so old, he was worshipped by multiple ancient peoples. Of course, this would go to anyone’s head, and Khonshu is no different.
If he had to be compared to actual, historical Gods, he’d be close to Atum, the self-created God of real myth. How far the show is planning to go with Khonshu will be interesting to see, as he dives into a side of Marvel comics that hasn’t fully been touched on.
We’ve seen the Eternals mention false Gods/androids but not “real” Gods as Khonshu is. It’s a mythical corner in a universe that’s kept grounded as far as Gods and monsters go.
3. Moon Knight Has Always Worked Alone But There Are Times He Hasn’t
Moon Knight is as close as we’re going to see on screen to what you would consider a ‘loner’ when it comes to heroes. In the comics, he’s solo. Working for himself and taking down the seeder supernatural side of Marvel’s universe. But this hasn’t always been the case.
Moon Knight has been a part of every group from the Avengers to the Midnight Sons, the latter being an upcoming video game. Avengers are straight forward, we know them, but the Midnight Sons is incredibly more interesting. Nine heroes that were brought together by Doctor Strange, all having ties to the occult at some point, to take on the villainous Lilith.
Now the chances of Marvel bringing in Doctor Strange is incredibly unlikely, but this would connect ‘Moon Knight’ with the greater MCU and give him a larger place in the Marvel Universe as a whole. With the addition of a darker side of the occult, Marvel can bring in some villains that normally wouldn’t fit in, with Mephisto being a big one that comes to mind (and has been heavily rumored for a while).
While this is indeed a guide to understanding Moon Knight, we need to take a look at his villain, Arthur Harrow. Portrayed by Ethan Hawke in the TV show, in the comics Harrow was a brilliant scientist studying pain theory, even winning a Nobel prize for this work, which was taken away due to his questionable ethics.
In the comics he is closer to a one-off villain then a recurring character, which is how the show portrays him. But the possibilities of how they could use him in the series are intriguing. There are huge doubts that Marvel is going to leave his old backstory behind, but it seems they are leaning him more towards the supernatural while keeping his disability from the books.
He suffers from Trigeminal Neuralgia, meaning that basically the left side of his face is paralyzed. We have seen him using a cane on the show, which could be a hint towards a backstory they chose to keep. But we can only guess what other aspects of the characters they kept, as the trailers have hinted at him being some sort of self-help (cult) guru.
5. Moon Knight is Not Your Normal PG-13 Superhero
When it comes to the gallery of superheroes we’ve seen on Marvel’s big screen, they’ve varied in spectrum from the family-friendly ‘Avengers’ to the very adult oriented streaming series such as ‘Daredevil’ and ‘Luke Cage’. So, here is your subtle warning before the show’s release; ‘Moon Knight’ is not going to be a show for children.
The show is going to be violent and push the limits on what Disney+ has shown up to this point. In the comics Moon Knight, while being a hero, is brutal and deadly. Other than fighting a deplorable scientist and some of the scariest supernatural creatures, Marc Spector is a man plagued by his own mind. Which obviously leaves him to (most likely) be an unreliable narrator.
The series may contain some disturbing and scary imagery, which can be scary to young kids. While it’s great Marvel is leaning more towards its adult audience, parents with children should take note of what they might be showing their young kids.
For fans of the Marvel streaming-verse, ‘Moon Knight’ is everything they could have wanted. Another dark, gritty and fascinating hero story. But for those who are not too familiar with the new hero, they’re about to enter a series that strays a lot from Marvel’s mainstream!
