Apart from “Doctor Strange,” Marvel hasn’t ventured too far into the mystical or supernatural side of the MCU. But there’s also a more sub-genre street-level side to the supernatural Marvel universe— that includes characters like “Blade” and “Moon Knight” — that hasn’t really been explored on screen yet. Today, helping jumpstart the ground level side of mystic Marvel, Deadline has revealed that Oscar Isaac, known for roles in the ‘Star Wars‘ universe, as well as a number of incredible films, has been cast as the character “Moon Knight” for Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney+ limited series.
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Jeremy Slater, known for developing and writing Netflix’s “Umbrella Academy” series, is developing and leading the writing team on “Moon Knight.” It’s unclear if he’ll be considered the showrunner as of right now. No other writers or directors have been unveiled.
In the comics, Moon Knight is less clearly-defined than some of Marvel’s other heroes, 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 fight the criminal underworld, but with a fractured state of mind that suffers from a split personality disorder.
Moon Knight is Jewish-American Marc Spector, a mercenary who has numerous alter egos — cabbie Jake Lockley and millionaire playboy Steven Grant—all of which are used to fight crime. One of the more recent iterations of the character has seen Spector, a former CIA agent, whose life is saved by the Egyptian Moon God Khonshu (where the more mystical elements are imbued). The through-line, however, is essentially a character that suffers from mental illness and thus more of a loner generally (though yes, has been in several teams) and usually quite different from the rest of the MCU’s heroes.
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It’s very possible “Moon Knight” could connect to “Blade” starring Mahershala Ali— a film that isn’t expected until Marvel’s phase 5 and features a character also more connected to a supernatural, gritty underground— or similar street-level heroes not yet introduced into the MCU like “Daredevil” and “Iron Fist” (Netflix’s series canon has been discontinued).
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“Moon Knight” isn’t expected to appear in Marvel’s Disney+ series line-up until Phase 5 and likely 2022 at the earliest. Phase 4, the shows that will come first, will include “Wandavision,” (coming December 2020), “Loki,” “Falcon & The Winter Soldier,” (rumored to tie into “Black Widow” which is now a summer 2021 movie), the animated “What If?” and then “Hawkeye.” Phase 5 also includes “Ms. Marvel,” and “She-Hulk,” with “Moon Knight” likely being the last of this batch considering it’s a little bit further behind with its staffing and casting.
Isaac was supposed to make our December great this year with the new “Dune” film, but that has been pushed back to 2021. However, for Marvel fans, this might be something that helps ease that pain.