Marvel Finally Confirms Oscar Isaac as ‘Moon Knight’ Star
Marvel Studio took its time confirming what many already knew. The studio had always followed its own timeline for announcements regardless of what was already public knowledge. Unlike the secrecy demanded of the cast and crew during the first few phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the Disney+ shows of the current Marvel phase did not seem to have such restriction placed on them.
Early Thursday morning Marvel tweeted the news we have all been waiting for. The tweet confirmed a story Variety broke nearly seven months earlier. At the time, Isaac appeared to be in talks with Marvel Studios for an upcoming project. Many speculated that it was for Moon Knight as he was the fan favorite for the role.
The 'We' in the announcement reflected the multiple personalities contained within the character Moon Knight's alter ego, Marc Spector. The soldier turned mercenary had developed these personalities after becoming the embodiment of the Egyptian god of the Moon, Khonshu.
The studio officially announced the Moon Knight series in August 2019. The first rumors of Isaac in the iconic role began churning a little over a year later in October 2020. Director Aaron Moorhead all but confirmed the buzz earlier this year in January 2021. He tweeted, "We're directing Oscar Isaac on a Marvel show."
Further acknowledgement came from other Marvel stars earlier this year. The Falcon and Winter Soldier actor Sebastian Stan disclosed Isaac's casting in March of this year during a virtual press conference. However, Marvel leadership, including Kevin Feige, did not confirm, deny, nor chastise the information leak.
Isaac himself posted pictures of his combat training via his production company Mad Gene Media. He leveraged a quote from Moon Knight as the hashtag #TheOneYouSeeComing, revealing that this particular training session was for the Marvel series rather than the Metal Gear Solid movie, where he would portray the main protagonist Solid Snake.
Oscar Isaac is now officially in the MCU as Moon Knight. However, he is no stranger to the Marvel Universe. Before the reunification of the Marvel Universe at large under the Disney umbrella, Isaac had portrayed another Marvel character onscreen. He played the titular Apocalypse in the 2016 film X-Men: Apocalypse while 20th Century Fox still controlled Marvel's X-Men properties.
Marvel Studios had not confirm other cast members for Moon Knight as of yet. Thus far, Ethan Hawke had been attached to the project in an unknown role. Many had speculated that he will portray one of the main villains. Actress May Calamawy of Ramy fame will also have a role in the series.
Mohamed Diab (Clash) would direct the show alongside Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson. The latter two directed the 2019 movie Synchronic which starred fellow MCU alum, Anthony Mackie. Jeremy Slater of the highly acclaimed The Umbrella Academy had also signed on as the head writer. Production for Moon Knight had begun in March 2021 in Hungary. It would be a while still before we see Isaac as Moon Knight. The series is currently scheduled for release on Disney's streaming platform Disney+ in 2022.
Isaac rocketed into pop culture fame with his portrayal of rebel pilot Poe Dameron in the recent sequel trilogy of the Star Wars franchise. Even though some Star Wars fans did not necessarily like the sequel trilogy, they loved Isaac's dashing Poe Dameron, who was reminiscent of Han Solo of the original trilogy.
We fans will not have to wait very long for the 42-year-old actor's next onscreen appearance. He would portray Leto Atreides in the Warner Bros' remake of the sci-fi saga Dune, which will simultaneously hit theaters and HBO Max on October 1, 2021.
Image Credit: Marvel Studios, Power Gaming Network
Source: Variety