Today, with a post on Twitter, Marvel Studios revealed that Oscar Isaac is going to play Moon Knight on what will surely be a very weird Disney+ show, confirming rumors that we heard back in October of last year. There’s not a ton of concrete info in the reveal, which features part of Isaac’s face, various examples of Moon Knight art from the comics, and the quote “WE ARE MOONKNIGHT” attributed to Isaac, but there are still a few things we can glean from it.
For one thing, Isaac is definitely playing Moon Knight (or maybe it’s now stylized as MoonKnight, like WandaVision?). For another, it seems like the show is going to embrace the complex nature of the character’s backstory, which involves multiple personalities and superhero personas within this one guy, rather than sanding over the edges and taking the easy route—which, for Moon Knight, would just be saying “he’s like Batman but different.” We don’t know for sure how far Marvel is going to take this stuff, but the Venom-style “we” in the quote and the use of multiple different Moon Knight costumes and aesthetics in the art behind Isaac seem like good hints that Marvel has something fun up its sleeve.
As for who Moon Knight is, here’s a primer: He was a mercenary named Marc Spector who died in Egypt and was resurrected by Kohnshu, the ancient Egyptian moon god, so he could promote the moon god’s agenda on Earth. That essentially means that he became a street-level superhero (more Daredevil than Thor), with his old Marc Spector identity serving as one of his personalities alongside his superhero Moon Knight persona, a Bruce Wayne-style billionaire playboy persona, a taxi driver, and other superheroes that he either imagines being or that he imagines appearing to him to offer him advice.
Disney+’s Moon Knight comes from The Umbrella Academy’s Jeremy Slater and will star Ethan Hawke and May Calamawy alongside the now-confirmed Isaac. Hawke is reportedly playing the villain, but when it comes to Moon Knight, that could mean a few different things. As for Isaac, entering the MCU makes this his second role in a major Disney franchise (he was in Star Wars!) and his second Marvel role (he was Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse for some reason!).
109 Comments
Rise of Skywalker was so bad, they held this for almost a year and a half to let the stink die down.
que?
I don’t think anyone blames Oscar Isaac for the problems with Rise of Skywalker.
yes and this meme featuring him is the only good thing that came of it.
That was truly a laugh out loud moment.Last Jedi felt like a parody at times, but ROS just seems to know its cliche to its bones
My 8-year-old finally saw Rise of Skywalker. His response upon learning that Palpatine was back was a sarcastic, “Really?”
Star Wars fandom is so toxic that fans have to mention Star Wars constantly even if there’s no way it relates to anything. Yes, we get it, you liked The Last Jedi better than the other two, nobody cares.
Yes, we get it, you liked The Last Jedi better than the other two, nobody cares.
Most people who liked TLJ also really enjoyed TFA. Which is why they lothe Rise so much.Also, someone mad at people who liked TLJ claiming no-one cares? Sure bud. See you in the next Rian Johnson article.
They all sucked. I can’t wait till this whole franchise falls apart under its own weight.
I, otoh, am a Star Wars fan who just loathes all three sequel trilogy movies, equally for different reasons. Although I will say that, while in no way part of my head canon, Rise did entertain me in a completely batshit crazy insane way. Which is more than I can for the other two movies in the trilogy.Is anyone else picking up Legion vibes here?
I like all the Star Wars, dangit! Just variable levels. I would have been ticked at Rise of Skywalker if it wasn’t Palpatine and just Snoke or some No Name New Guy (which was how it was going with the Jurassic World guy before JJ did came back). But Palpatine really ties the whole room together. Of course he somehow returned! He cheats! He literally told Anakin that! (which is where Abrams got the setup from the episode III opera scene)
Wait, am I confused? I thought Star Wars Fans (TM) liked The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker and only art-school nerdy-kid Rian Johnson fans who loved his take on noir with Brick and loved him bringing back the parlor murder mystery with Knives Out and really appreciated his take that you don’t have to be born into a royal family to be important liked The Last Jedi?
TFA worked fine as a soft reboot that both pays homage to old fans while introducing Star Wars to new. It had some good ideas and great character potential, all of which were abandoned or squandered over the next two movies because nothing was planned or fleshed out. They just handed it off to the next guy to write and direct the sequel and then back in the third with the task of not only fixing everything in TLJ but also wrap everything up, which failed even harder.Sure the first two made money but I don’t judge a movie’s quality by box office numbers because by that standard, ‘Avatar’ and ‘Endgame’ are the greatest movies of all time.
You can dislike the movies and not be toxic.You can even dislike the movies and like the all the cast and sets *GASP*The new trilogy suffered from poor scripts and no real direction as to where the 3 movies where leading to.
Yes, we get it, you liked The Last Jedi better than the other two, nobody cares.
Clearly you do.
Too bad Disney is going to water down the writing. It’s rumored to be PG-13 which means the script will be reduced and simplified for Mousketeers.
Sounds like Saturday morning cartoons. Wish it were made for grownups.
Not everything is about Star Wars, Jesus.
Yes it was… it sadly was…
You can’t fool me with Minwu!
Thank you!
Remember when he was on the shortlist for Dr. Strange?He should have been Dr. Strange.
There’s definitely room to improve at least upon Cumberbatch’s labored American accent that makes it sound like he’s still recovering from a novocaine shot.
Still better than Martin Freeman’s American accent. (goddamn that was some bad casting)
I bought his accent in Fargo, but I don’t live in the Midwest.
It improved between Civil War and Black Panther, but it was still… not great.
You know what I love? Mooncakes! We used to be able to get them even when it wasn’t around Chinese New Year. Red bean is kind of an acquired taste, but it’s a staple from my childhood and has an effect on me like a Proustian madeleine, especially now that I live in the U.S. where it’s available but not too common. Two big thumbs up for mooncakes!
You should move to Hawaii. We’ll put red beans in whatever you want.
He was in Star Wars!Yeah, don’t remind him
What’s got to really eat at him is he was the one who convinced Abrams to make sure Poe survived the first movie in order for him to take the role. If he’d just gone with the original idea he’d have shown up, stole all his scenes, and died off as a fan favorite that wouldn’t be attached to any of the baggage of the sequels.
It depresses me that the potentially awesome adventures hinted at in TFA using an ex-Stormtrooper and a hotshot Resistance X-Wing leader got wasted so bad. Or that there also weren’t any meaningful scenes between Poe and Rey.
Yeah, I like the sequel trilogy more than most people (which is still not that much) but its so hard to look at it without seeing so many missed opportunities.
There’s probably a secret rehab program for acclaimed actors who got their careers dinged by being in Star Wars.
This is perfect casting. Hope they don’t shy away from all the weird supernatural / mental illness ambiguity from the recent runs.
A part of me is a bit worried on how they’ll handle Moon Knight’s Jewish heritage considering how badly they bungled Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch’s Roma heritage.
They were Jewish too and Disney didn’t bother.
They were never really Jewish. Even if you want to ignore the retcon of the retcon of the retcon that they were Magneto’s kids, this was something they never knew about until they were adults, never factored into how the characters were written ever, and besides, Magneto himself wasn’t officially, definitively Jewish in the comics until Magneto: Testament in 2008. They went back and forth a lot as to whether he was Jewish or Roma.
Are you suggesting that Hollywood has a problem accurately representing American Jews…?
Pretty sure they figured that one out a long time ago.
God I have such fucking hopes for this. I hope they’ll take as much as they can from the Lemire run and later from the Ellis (tfu) run.
Hawke is reportedly playing the villainPerhaps it will be Moon Knight’s villainous opposite: Sun Day!
Sun DayAhhh-ahh-ahhhhhhFighter of the Moon Night
he was Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse for some reason!
I can’t think of a bigger waste of an actor or a story line in a superhero movie. They should just call it X-Men: Cakalypse!
Remember when Apocalypse took a bunch of robot nerds to the remains of Auschwitz and destroyed it with evil magnets?
Other than Magneto being a Dexter-style lumberjack for a minute I couldn’t tell you a single thing about the plot of that movie.
At least it gave us this incredible scene.
Ethan Hawke!I’m guessing he’ll be Black Spectre…but I’d love it if he were just playing John Brown.
What do you think the odds are that they will keep in the fact that he’s Jewish-American? (and his father was even a rabbi)
My guess is the Disney execs will probably not want to get into that mess.
They made Wanda a white blonde girl, so I’m not holding my breath.
What mess exactly? You mean the mess of having American Jews portrayed on screen?Psst, hey, come here: I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but lots of actors and producers are actually Jewish! You’ve probably actually seen them before! Lots of them! I know, crazy.
You think that the main character from a big budget super-hero showmovie being shown as coming from a religious Jewish family is not going cause some noise online?!
Showing Daredevil is catholic is one thing, but you are really naive if you think that something like this will go unnoticed by the more “fun” side of the internet.
I don’t think it’s particularly surprising that anti-semites might not like seeing Jews on the screen, but that’s not exactly a new development.
Also wouldn’t be surprising? Disney bowing to the anti-semites.
Nor would making a big deal out of the fact that he was a Seventh Day Adventist. Overtly religious anything is a massive turn off for everyone that doesn’t follow that religion.
It’ll be as much a problem as it was when X-Men literally opened at Auschwitz: not at all, except for people that don’t matter.
I’m ok with Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada playing a Jewish character. It certainly isn’t cultural appropriation or any of those other things people always get called on when they are Scarlett Johansson
Yeah, but are any of them going to make Moon Knight, one of many Jewish Marvel heroes, into a Jewish character on this Disney show? That is the question.
Into that mess? Don’t recall any mess during X-Men, with Magneto’s background.
Magneto is a villain, and the Holocaust has its own anti-semite armor. It’s nit the same thing as casting a hero as a mainstream modern Jew.
Yeah but isn’t Magneto a bad guy?
I’d say more anti-hero.
With the exception of the first X-Men film and Last Stand, Magneto has tended to side with Charles and his team of mutants against the bigger threat.
This is the first Guatemalan to headline a Marvel franchise.
This is a huge step for my people, and I will take it, come what may, because it is that damn important to have more than one representation on the screen.
I think they’ll make him Jewish but that might be it.
Actual question, not trolling I swear; wouldn’t it be more appropriate for this role to go to someone with manageable but diagnosed Dissociative Identity Disorder?
If you could convince Disney to hire a non-unionized and uninsure-able performer, sure.
There are no actors with DID that are high functioning enough that could meet those qualifications? Perhaps not, I’m certainly not an expert, but was there even an attempt by the producers to find someone?
Are you really asking why someone with a diagnosis that includes massive memory gaps and distinctly different personas (with their own memories that can’t be accessed by the other personas) perhaps can’t be insured as an actor on a tv show?
No. I’m asking why someone who has a diagnosis of DID and has the symptoms under control with medication or other treatments wouldn’t be considered the ideal person for this role? Similar to the pushback that Sia got for casting someone neurotypical in the role of an autistic character. Should there be the same consideration for actors with DID who didn’t get considered for a role? Again, not an expert, and maybe there’s no such thing as a mild case of DID or high functioning person with DID?
as folks were alluding to above, this is where the friction between good natured asks for expanded access to roles for somewhat non-traditional folks and the nuts and bolts of how film and tv is actually produced comes into play.
sure it would be great to provide access to film or tv roles to someone with DID (or hiring american actors to play american historical figures, etc) and that is all well and good. However, movies and tv shows are miniature corporations, with hundreds of employees and HR, accounting, and even dedicated scheduling departments. when this amount of money and energy and such is on the line, from a capitalist standpoint, you have to make smart business decisions. This is the next major release from a multi-billion dollar media conglomerate, they cant make their casting decisions based upon anything other than return on investment (and Oscar Issac is bankable).
Nuts? How dare you!
Yeah, DID isn’t consistently manageable and can sometimes be dangerous for other people, considering that one persona can do something and the others won’t remember. Plus all the time you’d losing waiting on the one persona who had memorized the dialogue, and the different personas possibly not having the same acting ability. The personas don’t even always go by the same names.
Ahh…makes sense then. I assumed there was a spectrum, similar to autism. Thanks for the info.
Why would you assume? Would it not be better to verify, to find out for yourself?
In addition to what others have said, it seems to me that Autism Spectrum Disorder and DID aren’t really comparable in the way you’re talking about – ASD is a developmental disorder with an unknown cause, whereas DID is a mental disorder that arises as a result of severe trauma and childhood abuse.
So, it seems to me that these are two very different things to want representation for, and demanding that only actors with DID should play characters with DID opens up a whole new can of worms – like, should only people with PTSD play characters with PTSD? It seems like, in both cases, that kind of casting wouldn’t just be impractical, it also might not be in the patient’s best interest either. You can probably imagine how stressful it would be if there was scene where a PTSD patient has to portray reliving their trauma, or recreate the moment where their trauma was formed. Likewise, it might be kind of a mindfuck for the alter of someone with DID to then portray a character who themselves has DID.Also, people with DID might not even necessarily agree with these kinds of portrayals. Based on what I’ve read DID is far, far less ‘showy’ than how it’s portrayed in fiction (which will undoubtedly include Moon Knight) and people with it might not be on board to fuel misconceptions that way.
Are you just concern trolling? Unless there’s an actual community that has a history of being passed over, or that it’s a community that has a history of bad representation, there’s nothing wrong here. You don’t need to look for wrongdoing unless there’s precedence, and it’s exceptionally ludicrous to call up something like this if you don’t even have an idea who is victimized.
I think I sussed out that you’re not an expert when you asked the question. I think it’d be better if they just dropped the DID angle entirely. I’m sure it’s fun to write and fun for an actor to play ten roles in one but the real world disorder isn’t like that, people don’t flit about society with multiple fully-realized identities that are all fun and wacky fully-realized characters. It almost always stems from trauma (particularly abuse) and comes with many more disorders (severe depression is almost a given.)
Moon Knight. What a time to be alive.
Yeah but… which Oscar Isaac is it?The one who went in?Or the one who came back out?
“(or maybe it’s now stylized as MoonKnight, like WandaVision?)”
What does the way the title is stylized have to do with the character’s name?
that he either imagines being or that he imagines appearing to him to offer him advice.
Oh this is going to be fun. I wonder if he’ll call up Maslany for tips now that she’s on retainer for She-Hulk.
I got tears in my eyes reading this.
And in case you would wonder why I’m so happy…
Para mi gente, Chapin represent!
I like Marvel products, I do, but I’m tired of Oscar Isaac doing these kinds of roles. He is an amazing actor. He could be a great. I actually thought that he was going to be this generation’s Al Pacino but he keeps taking these (I assume, high paying) roles in franchises that use none of his talents.
I don’t know if he has a coke habit or creditors or a bunch of illegitimate kids but, at some point, it feels like he needed money more than he needed acclaim. Maybe he is getting his actor kicks on the stage because it feels like he is wasting his film career.
I sense that he had expected to balance the high profile stuff with indie roles but the indie stuff never materialized.
Hes so Pacino-esque in A Most Violent Year.
I’m tired of Oscar Isaac doing these kinds of roles. He is an amazing actor. He could be a great. I actually thought that he was going to be this generation’s Al Pacino but he keeps taking these (I assume, high paying) roles in franchises that use none of his talents.I don’t know if he has a coke habit or creditors or a bunch of illegitimate kids but, at some point, it feels like he needed money more than he needed acclaim. Maybe he is getting his actor kicks on the stage because it feels like he is wasting his film career.You mean he’s this generation’s De Niro?
What would he be in to show those talents? They aren’t making Dog Day Afternoons any more. The Godfather would be a prestige TV series.
So true… so sad…
I mean if they really dive into how batshit crazy the MK comics get this will be a very good showcase for his acting talents and range
Of all of the Marvel superheroes put to screen so far, the potentially delusional guy with multiple personality disorder seems like he might be a bit meatier for an actor than the rest.
It’s also probably really fun to be in a big, popular franchise that people really enjoy, and also get an action figure and all that stuff.
I mean, sure? But also money. And maybe he enjoys this stuff. Not every actor cares about awards.
“I’ve come a long way to find you, Roger East…my name is José Ramos Horta…”
I think he already put in his time with the indie roles at the start of his career and is cashing in his pay day. He’ll go back to them, I’m sure.
I’m sure he’s crying himself to sleep on his Scrooge McDuck-sized mountain of money over his lack of iNdIe CrEd.
he does plenty of indie roles. I am sure he’s happy.
Disney + Moon = Knight?
Moon Knight’s first appearance was in Werewolf by Night way back in the 70’s. He was bitten by the werewolf, and found that he had enhanced strength when the moon was out. I DEMAND THAT MOON KNIGHT!
What I want to know is if they’ll emulate the early series of the comics, where the reader really couldn’t be certain if Moon Knight actually had superpowers or was literally insane enough to just not notice whatever damage his body took. Later on, the comics took a stronger editorial position on that.
When are people going to just come out and say that these Disney+ “shows” are just one-off films cut up into episodic television half-hours, sometimes unabashedly.
When more than one of the shows actually has 30 minute episodes instead of 60 minute episodes?
🙄
Solid riposte!
🙄
The MCU finally gets its Legion
If only Legion had been 2/3 the series length. It had great style but I gave up and never finished it.
Ugh. One of my favorite things about Isaak (other than Ex Machina) was how he made no effort to hide how much he thought Star Wars sucked and that he regretted ever being part of it. But now he is signing on for another bloated kids series? For shame.
Uh Moon Knight is 100% not a kids’ show. You might want to look at the source material before spouting off.
“But now he is signing on for another bloated kids series?” No, he’s signing up to play Moon Knight, which isn’t a “kids series”, and at probably 6-hours of total runtime is unlikely to be particularly “bloated”.
Bill Sienkwçhùthzz rules.