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Entertainment Journalist and Marvel Comics Lover
He wears white so you see him coming. Moon Knight is finally here.
Moon Knight is a Marvel Studios production being released via Disney+ on March 30th for the entire world to see. Marc Spector is finally here to grace your silver screen. Or should I say Steven Grant, or perhaps something completely else… I guess you’ll have to watch to see for yourself in this absolute mind-bender of a show.
Moon Knight Plot Synopsis
According to Disney, here is the official plot synopsis for Moon Knight:
When Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life, he discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marc’s enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt.
Disney
The Cast of Moon Knight
According to IMDB, the official cast is as listed as follows.
- Oscar Isaac – Marc Spector
- Ethan Hawke – Arthur Harrow
- May Calamawy – Layla El-Faouly
- Gaspard Ulliel – Anton Mogart
- F. Murray Abraham – Khonshu
I will not go into any further details about that in this article, so as to not cover spoilers for anyone who wants to keep some characters a surprise before they see the show. If you do want to see the extra characters, they are listed in the IMDB list linked above.
The Duality of Man… Literally
The basis of Moon Knight is built upon Marc Spector’s journey and hardships through his own DID. DID — or Dissociative Identity Disorder — is a mental health condition that separates a person’s brain into multiple personalities, or alters. When one alter is in control, the others do not remember the memories and experiences as the other, like multiple people living inside the same body, fighting for control.
When it comes to Marc Spector in the Marvel comics, he has two other people inside of him that switch in and out, sometimes not when he needs it: Jake Lockley and Steven Grant. One is a taxi driver, while the other is a genius who builds a corporation. This, then, of course, leaves Marc. He is a mercenary left for dead, but saved and given the powers of the Egyptian god of the moon, Khonshu.
Being a psychologically broken man forced to serve as the avatar of Khonshu, Moon Knight serves the purpose of questioning his own reality and powers at every chance possible. Is he actually the servant of Khonshu? Or is he just a mentally ill man slowly getting crazier and crazier by the minute?
The television version of this character goes very in-depth with his own psyche, with the show being seen from his point of view.
Cutting back and forth between Steven Grant and Marc Spector, not knowing what has transpired while the other was fronting in the body, truly shows how susceptible a broken man is to the wrath of the gods. Not knowing who he truly is at any moment, Marc Spector’s psyche treads the line between reality and not.
Egyptian Influences
As heavily inspired as Moon Knight is by Egyptian influences, this show does not hold back on any of it. Much of the credit is due thanks to the great Mohamed Diab, who has perfectly crafted a mixture of modern and ancient Egyptian art and style into this show. From Moon Knight‘s garb to the theme and transformation music, to even maybe some other deities appearing alongside Khonshu.
The show is composed by Hesham Nazih, beautifully crafted with every scene. From off-tune strings to portray a menacing and approaching threat, to grand and epic Egyptian traditional music put over landscape shots of the pyramids and sprawling deserts. The score is absolutely one of the strongest components of this series for me personally.
Oscar Isaac is Shining!
Oscar Isaac absolutely shines through in this role, one of the best additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in its cinematic history thus far. He impeccably plays all the personalities in Marc’s body, flipping at the drop of a coin, and it is absolutely mesmerizing to see on screen. This is how you do Moon Knight in live-action. Absolute perfection.
This is not to pull away from the rest of the cast though; they kill it as well. However, Oscar Isaac is about to become the new voice for Moon Knight in the comics, and that is all I am going to say.
Alongside Isaac, I would love to discuss more of Ethan Hawke’s portrayal of Arthur Harrow. Although, with his character being an MCU amalgamation of two separate characters, I feel it’s inappropriate to discuss how his characterization has been shown on screen, plainly because it’s heavily linked to the comic counterparts and that can indeed enter spoiler territory. All I will say is, he is menacing for his role. His motivation and master plan is great, exactly what Moon Knight needs to go up against in this six-episode event.
Speaking of it being an event…
MCU Continuity
One of my favorite pieces of MCU content has barely any MCU connectivity inside of it. This show is very self-contained, and I can confidently say that it was the best way to go for it. There were points in time I caught myself not even realizing that I was watching the newest entry into the MCU, and I loved that.
This show is massive, with each episode packing in so much lore for the Egyptian mythology, the story, and Moon Knight backstory. I will say that this show will need rewatches, and at the pace of this show, I would be surprised if there will be a second season. This show is one hundred percent an event, in the four episodes I have seen; there is an unbelievable amount of story to unpack.
Ending Thoughts/Episodes to Look Out For
Overall, this show is basically a Top 5 MCU project for me, without a doubt. It is absolutely the most different thing Marvel Studios has done; the darkest, grittiest. scariest, bloody, and violent project to date. In fact, the brutality is something that I hope the MCU goes more straightforward with in the upcoming supernatural projects like Blade and Werewolf By Night.
Props also to the series’ cinematography, which is done by both Andrew Palermo and Gregory Middleton. This show is absolutely beautiful. One scene that I will not spoil, but is now one of my favorite scenes in all of the MCU as of now, appears in this show. I will say it is shown in some of the marketing, but I am not going to say which.
Episodes to look out for are the second and third ones. Spectacular.
Let me know your thoughts on these episodes when it releases on The Cinema Spot‘s socials, here on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Entertainment Journalist and Marvel Comics Lover
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