We were invited to a global press conference for Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney+ series Moon Knight where we got the chance to listen to Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, May Calawamy, directors Mohamed Diab, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorehead, and producer Grant Curtis talk about bringing the latest superhero to the MCU. The cast and crew talked about a lot of elements that made the series what it is and here are the five standout reveals we learned.
Director Mohamed Diab implored Ethan Hawke not to read any scripts before taking the role which afforded the actor a unique chance to build his villainous character of Arthur Harrow. Hawke spoke at length about how villains through history have been characterized by mental illness and this series has a mentally ill hero. He made Harrow as normal as possible which informed his charismatic and sinister delivery.
Oscar Isaac talked at length about the challenges in performing as multiple personalities in this series. In many scenes, Isaac had to act opposite himself. Not only did he have to choose which character to start with in each sequence, but he also had to figure out how to act versus a second Oscar Isaac. Luckily, he found the next best thing: Michael Hernandez. Hernandez served as the stand-in for all of the dual performance scenes and even mimicked Isaac’s accent when necessary. He also happens to be Oscar Isaac’s brother which makes him the closest thing you could get to acting with a clone.
While the Egypt-set scenes were a given for this story, the panel were asked why the series is set in London. Oscar Isaac took that one and said it was because there were already too many characters in New York City. While Marc Spector hails from Chicago, putting the story on Steven Grant and shifting the locale to London gave the series a distinct look and feel from anything else in the MCU and provided a new backdrop that was leveraged with location shooting in England.
A lot has been made of Oscar Isaac’s over-the-top British accent, but the actor did a lot of research to find Steven Grant’s distinct vocal delivery. Isaac approached the role with an ear for British comedy and wondered how Peter Sellers would act if he were in the show. He also was influenced by comedian Karl Pilkington as well as the accents heard in the London Jewish community.
Director Mohamed Diab was excited to showcase a legitimate look at Egyptian culture and filmmaking and was lauded by the entire cast and crew for bringing a unique style to Moon Knight. Diab was also responsible for this series holding the honor of the least amount of reshoots of any MCU project to date. Diab attributed this to their detailed prep time and rehearsals.
Unlike many series filmed using green screen technology due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Moon Knight benefited from location shoots around the globe including London, Budapest, and the Jordanian desert. Ethan Hawke was moved emotionally to film in the desert where classic film Lawrence of Arabia also shot iconic scenes.
The entire cast and crew were excited about this project and having seen the first four episodes, you are all in for quite a treat. Stay tuned for more as Moon Knight premieres on March 30th on Disney+.