Interview: The Cast and Crew of MCU’s “Moon Knight”

Moon Knight is a miniseries revolving around the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Created by Jeremy Slater, Moon Knight mixes psychological horror, adventure, and superheroes all in one. Marc Spector plays Moon Knight in this action-packed series that brings up a deadly mystery and its connection with Egyptian gods.

There is sure to be chaos when the main character is dealing with multiple personalities.

Catch Moon Knight on Disney+ March 30th!

Here’s the scoop on the cast and crew from Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight!

Cast and Crew of Moon Knight

Oscar Isaac portrays the iconic Marvel Comics character, Moon Knight, and his alternate identities, Steven Grant and Marc Spector. His acting abilities have led him to star in many films including Dune, The Card Counter, and Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse.

Ethan Hawke plays the villain Arthur Harrow in the MCU series. His impression within the entertainment industry boasts quite a few nominations for awards. Other than writing novels and directing films, he has also made appearances in The Black Phone, Before Sunset, and Training Day.

May Calamawy is an Egyptian actress that plays Layla, Moon Knight’s ally. She has starred in quite a few movies and television shows but is most well-known for her role in Ramy.

Mohamed Diab is an Egyptian screenwriter and director who makes an effort to showcase pressing issues within Egyptian society. His works include Amira, 678, and The Island. Diab aims to change the media’s perspective of Egypt in Moon Knight.

Justin Benson is a director who partners up with Aaron Moorhead for many of his projects. Even though he is known to be a director, Justin also writes, edits, and acts in movies. His role as the director has led him to create shows and movies like The Endless, Synchronic, and Archive 81.

Aaron Moorhead also directs and is best known for his projects with Justin Benson. Justin and Aaron both worked together on Spring, V/H/S Viral, and many more!

Grant Curtis is an American producer who has worked with the director, Sam Raimi on Drag me to Hell, the Spiderman movies, and The Gift.

Bringing Moon Knight into the MCU

Many of the Marvel comic characters have come to life on the big screen over the years and we’re not surprised that Moon Knight is the next character to appear in the spotlight. Grant Curtis talks about the history of the character and that it’s only natural for Moon Knight to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Curtis explains his reasoning by revealing that he “first appeared in “Werewolf by Night” in 1975. Then, he kind of bounced around in the Marvel Universe for the next five years, and he got his own offering in 1980. And when you look at years and decades of storytelling, as the great storytellers and artists on the “Moon Knight” pages have been doing, I think this is a natural progression.”

Oscar talks about the moment for Moon Knight’s appearance by saying that “it just seemed like there was a real opportunity to do something completely different, particularly in the MCU, and to really focus on this internal struggle of this character, and to use Egyptian iconography and the superhero genre and this language to talk about this real internal struggle that this person is having.  And also, to create an indelible, unusual character, particularly with Steven Grant.”

Fresh Take on Superheroes

Moon Knight introduces a whole new side to a superhero with a flawless combination of action and comedy. Oscar Isaac reveals that “you’re just in the skin of this guy, and you’re seeing things happen.  You’re experiencing it just as he’s experiencing it.  So, there’s something that’s terrifying about that.  I think Steven, in particular, there’s a sense of humor there that is different from what we’ve seen.” He further comments on Marc Spector’s personality in comparison to the hero’s personas by saying, “in some ways leaning into a bit of the stereotype of the tortured, dark vigilante guy, but what makes him so special is that he has this little Englishman living inside of him.”

Intriguing Characters

May Calamawy first mentions her character Layla and describes her as strong “but at the same time, I felt like I got to play the full gamut of a woman with her because she’s strong and she’s for the people and fights for what she believes, but she’s also really vulnerable and scared.  So that was fun for me.” Ethan Hawke is next to talk about playing the villain in Moon Knight. He reveals that “there are countless stories of mentally ill villains, and we have a mentally ill hero.  And that’s fascinating because we’ve now inverted the whole process.  And so now as the antagonist, I can’t be crazy because the hero’s crazy.  So, I have to kind of find a sane lunatic or a sane malevolent force.  And that was an interesting riddle for me to figure out how to be in dynamics with what Oscar was doing.”

Personal Connection

It’s always a treat to see the reasons why directors and producers decide to join projects. Mohamed Diab mentions his background as an independent director in Egypt. He describes how he came across the Marvel show, “I had other offers before to make big-budget movies, but I never connected to anything like this, intimate stories that has some big stuff happening around them.  So just imagine that line.  You as a normal person discovering that you have another identity that is a superhero.” Mohamed Diab also adds that “the other aspect that really attracted me was the Egyptian part of it, the present and the past, the Egyptology of it.”

Egyptian Perspective in Moon Knight

Most films and television shows fail to depict Egyptian society properly, but Moon Knight shows realistic characteristics of the culture. Mohamed Diab further comments on the Egyptian perspective within the Marvel series, “As an Egyptian, we always see us depicted or the Middle East depicted in a way that is – we call it orientalism when you see us as exotic and dehumanized.  Just showing us as a human, just normal human beings, through Layla’s character and seeing even Egypt as Egypt because 90 percent of the time, Egypt is not Egypt.”

Storytelling

Moon Knight offers a different perspective on a superhero and Justin Benson mentions that “in the roughly 50 years of comic books this character is somewhat defined by being bold and being an outsider.  And there was something attractive about telling a superhero story like that, but then also working with a bunch of people who were so clearly going to make it something personal to them and then finding what’s personal in this at such a large scale.”

Aaron Moorhead also brings to light storytelling and mythology by revealing that “The Great American Myth right now comes from Marvel.  And a lot of other places, but it is really cool to actually be a part of that and telling a story that’s actually about these ancient myths and things that we all grew up on.”

What Audiences Need to Know

Moon Knight attempts to blend in many genres, which is bound to help the Marvel series stand out even more. Mohamed Diab perfectly wraps up his thoughts on the upcoming show. “One of the things that I’m really proud of — again collectively every one of us — is putting all those genres together and blending them in a way that doesn’t feel alien.  You have horror, you have action, you have comedy, and you have very serious drama.  And you never feel like, okay, this is not going well.”

Stream Moon Knight on Disney+ March 30th!

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