By Josh Bate
Moon Knight’s first episode released yesterday as fans were introduced to Steven Grant, aka Marc Spector, the timid gift shop worker by day who, due to his multiple personalities caused by disassociate identity disorder, also have another life where he’s a crime fighting vigilante of sorts.
The first episode is unique to the MCU in that it features virtually no references to the larger world at hand. The blip, an event that has been brought up in most projects post Avengers: Endgame, isn’t mentioned, and neither are the Earth’s mightiest heroes. Compare that with other Disney+ outings like Hawkeye or the upcoming Ms. Marvel, where the lead character’s have a great affection for a particular hero that inspires them to become more, and the uniqueness of Moon Knight’s isolation is apparent.
Oscar Isaac stars in Moon Knight as he makes the shift from Star Wars, where he played Poe Dameron in all three sequel trilogy films, to Marvel. Isaac spoke about his desire to appear in smaller budget titles for the foreseeable future, but that his intrigue of Marvel’s Moon Knight was too tough to pass on, especially as he was given a degree of creative freedom with the character. Isaac used to this to make Steven Grant an Englishman, for example, and his accent in the first episode caused much fan discussion in the hours after its debut.
Oscar Isaac automatically has become one of the biggest performers in the MCU, with his prominent role in Star Wars propelling him to stardom. In the past, Marvel Studios have sought to have actors sign multiple film/tv contracts, with Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr both agreeing to an extra 6+ movies at some point during their career in the franchise. However, in a recent interview with Variety, Isaac revealed that his contract is very different from those.
“I had heard of the golden handcuffs. … That was something that I was reticent about.”
Isaac has gone on the record to say he still has a desire to make smaller films, so not committing to a Marvel future makes sense at this time. However, it seems highly unlikely that Moon Knight will be the only time that the Guatemalan-born actor will play the character, especially as Isaac is so passionate about Marc Spector and did a great amount of research to prepare for the role. That being said, frequent cameo appearances and popping up in various films and shows, like Samuel L Jackson has done in Marvel for years, doesn’t seem to be on the cards for Isaac right now.
Check out The HoloFiles’ review of the first episode of Moon Knight:
Images courtesy of Disney and Marvel Studios