‘Moon Knight’: Ethan Hawke Says Oscar Isaac Recruited Him For The Marvel Role In A Coffee Shop

Usually, when there’s casting underway for a Marvel movie, it’s a big to-do, there’s a long list, there’s a short list, there’s a big list of names in the trades and the back and forth can go on for months. Not so with “Moon Knight,” a new, upcoming Marvel limited series for Disney+ that is expected to hit sometime in 2022, starring Oscar Issac as the underground superhero and Ethan Hawke as the unnamed bad guy.

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During a recent “Late Night with Seth Meyers” appearance, Ethan Hawke, looking a little Waco/David Koresh-ian with long locks, revealed that he got the part as offered to him casually by Oscar Issac when they bumped each other in their Brooklyn neighborhood.

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“I heard about it from Oscar Isaac, who lives like three blocks down the street from me in Brooklyn,” he said. “I was at a coffee shop; he came up to me. He’s like, ‘Hey, I really liked ‘The Good Lord Bird.’ I was like, ‘Oh, cool, I really like your work. You’re amazing.’ He’s like, ‘Hey, want to be in the ‘Moon Knight’ with me?’ I was like … yeah! So, it happened the right way.”

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That’s kind of hilarious, and you kind of imagine Isaac getting on the phone with Kevin Feige or the “Moon Knight” director Mohamed Diab following the accidental meet-up with Hawke and going, “Uhhh, guys, I just offered Ethan Hawke the part of the bad guy in the film, you think we can make that happen?

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Hawke noted that he couldn’t talk about the film much and “had to sign like 10,000 NDAs about what I would and would not say,” jokingly insinuating he wouldn’t follow its terms.

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Moon Knight is less clearly defined than some of Marvel’s other heroes in the comics, as there have been multiple iterations of the character in many short-lived solo series. Sometimes Moon Knight has superpowers; other times, he’s Marvel’s version of Batman fighting the criminal underworld, but usually, with a fractured state of mind that suffers from a split personality disorder, the one constant of his characterizations presumably the one Marvel Studios will follow.

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Hawke said, “Moon Knight” sets are “mind-boggling” and transport him “to some alternate universe… We’re conjuring ancient gods, and we’re fighting for good and evil. It’s very exciting.” As for that David Koresh vibe, he’s sporting? Hawke gleefully reveals that’s a good observation, and the cult leader actually inspired his villain character. “I’ve based my character on David Koresh! So, I guess [the look] is working.” “Moon Knight” has been shooting in Hungary and is expected to premiere on Disney+ in the latter half of 2022.