The new Marvel series premieres on Disney+ on March 30.
Moon Knight, a new Marvel mini-series starring Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke is coming to Disney+ and it’s going to be gritty.
Here are some things you should know about the show and the history of Moon Knight before you stream it on March 30.
1.
The main character, Marc Spector aka Moon Knight, has dissociative identity disorder.
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Disney+ youtube.com / Via Youtube
This leads to him having multiple identities, or alter egos, all of which he uses to his advantage.
2.
Oscar Isaac called on his brother to stand in and act opposite him to make it easier to play the alter egos of Moon Knight.
Disney+ / Via youtube.com
In certain scenes, Moon Knight is talking to other versions of himself. Rather than have Oscar Isaac talk to a green screen, his brother Michael Benjamin Hernandez was hired to play opposite him.
3.
Moon Knight’s alter ego Steven Grant appears in both the comic books and the series, but his other identity, Jake Lockley, won’t appear in the show.
Disney+ / Via youtube.com
Also, in the comic, Steven is a billionaire businessman, and in the show, he’s a gift shop employee. Quite a difference.
4.
Oscar Isaac recently spoke out in support of Disney employees protesting the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
I asked #MoonKnight star Oscar Isaac if he had a comment about the Disney employee protest over the “Don’t Say Gay” bill today. Boy howdy, did he. https://t.co/pqyWy21r4n
Twitter: @adambvary / Via Twitter
Safe to say he didn’t bite his tongue.
5.
Ethan Hawke, who stars as Arthur Harrow, says Oscar Isaac got him his role in the show.
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Late Night With Seth Meyers / Via youtube.com
In an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers, the actor said, “I heard about it from Oscar Isaac, who lives three blocks down the street from me in Brooklyn. I was at a coffee shop and he came up to me and was like, ‘Hey, I really liked ‘The Good Lord Bird.’ I was like oh cool, yeah, I really like your work, you’re amazing! He’s like, ‘Wanna be in the Moon Knight with me?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.'”
6.
The character of Arthur Harrow is mainly created for the show, and believed to be an amalgamation of other characters from the comic books, like Sun King and Morning Star.
Axelle / FilmMagic / Via Getty
Arthur is the main villain in the series.
7.
Ethan Hawke is no stranger to comics – he recently released a graphic novel, Meadowlark, which is actually his fifth published novel and second graphic novel.
Grand Central Publishing / Via amazon.com
The book, with illustrations from Greg Ruth, is described as a coming of age crime story following a father and son as they navigate an increasingly catastrophic day.
8.
Ethan Hawke said he drew inspiration for his character from infamous cult leaders and Steve Jobs.
Disney+ / Via youtube.com
In an interview citing his inspirations for the Arthur Harrow character, he said: “For me, it was like putting Jimmy Swaggart, Leo Tolstoy, (Fidel) Castro, the Dalai Lama and Josef Mengele into a blender…That was the fun of it: What if Steve Jobs was a bad guy?”
9.
Moon Knight makes appearances in a bunch of Marvel video games.
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He might be a lesser known Marvel hero, but he’s a fan favorite.
10.
The show was largely filmed in Budapest.
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Main filming locations included the Museum of Fine Arts and Madách Square in Budapest. Definitely a different backdrop from the NYC streets of Hawkeye or the Westview suburbs of WandaVision.
11.
Egyptian representation was important to Moon Knight’s director, Mohamed Diab, who criticized the way Egypt was depicted in Wonder Woman 1984.
Leon Bennett / Via Getty Images
12.
The show was written and produced by Jeremy Slater, whose work you may have seen before.
Tommaso Boddi / WireImage / Via Getty
Slater also wrote for and produced The Umbrella Academy, and worked on the scripts for Death Note and Fantastic Four.
13.
Moon Knight is often compared to DC’s Batman.
Marvel, DC
This is mostly because of the alter-ego thing. IGN Magazine even referenced this comparison in their recent Top 100 Comic Book Heroes list, saying: “What if Batman suffered from multiple personality disorder? That’s more or less the concept behind this dark vigilante.“
14.
Moon Knight is expected to be darker in material than other Marvel shows on Disney+.
Marvel Entertainment / Via youtube.com
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has said that the new show will be “brutal” and push the limits of what Disney+ allows from its Marvel content. Expect gory fight scenes.
15.
The series is a long time coming – Moon Knight was expected to be introduced on-screen back in 2006.
Disney+ / Via youtube.com
The character of Moon Knight was expected to be introduced in a second season of Blade: The Series in 2006, but the show was cancelled before it could happen. A new show starring Moon Knight was expected to start in 2008, but that fell through. Then, James Gunn pitched a Moon Knight movie back in 2017 but didn’t have time to work on it. Finally, the Moon Knight series is releasing in 2022.
Are you excited for this new miniseries? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!