One of the more intriguing titles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s litany of upcoming projects is “Moon Knight.” Even diehard comic book fans may scratch their heads at the mention of the little-known character, a former Marine with dissociative identity disorder who is granted the powers of an Egyptian divinity. Oscar Isaac, who plays Moon Knight in the upcoming Disney+ limited series, said he had not heard of the character before he was approached about the role. And if the cast and crew of the six-episode show are to be believed, the hero’s relative obscurity allowed them to branch out and make something truly unique.
Isaac has expressed relief over the fact that the show’s performance is not measured in box office returns, allowing the creative team to be more experimental. “There was a lot of room to try stuff because there wasn’t the pressure that we got to make sure we make however many hundreds of millions of dollars on the opening weekend,” Isaac said. “We could make very weird decisions.” Isaac’s excitement about the show’s creative direction is palpable, and it looks like he is not the only one feeling that way.
In a new interview with Empire, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige continued to stress that “Moon Knight” is a very different kind of Marvel series. He praised Disney+ for giving them more freedom to make a darker, more violent show. He also believes the new tone is authentic to the Marvel character, who he simply described as “brutal.”
“It’s been fun to work with Disney+ and see the boundaries shifting on what we’re able to do,” Feige said. “There are moments when Moon Knight is wailing on another character, and it is loud and brutal, and the knee-jerk reaction is, ‘We’re gonna pull back on this, right?’ No. We’re not pulling back. There’s a tonal shift. This is a different thing. This is ‘Moon Knight.’”
Up to this point, Disney has primarily produced family-friendly content for Disney+ and relegated more adult fare to Hulu. If “Moon Knight” is as brutal as Feige claims, it may end up signaling something of a shift in the company’s streaming strategy.
For better or worse, it sounds like “Moon Knight” will be a very unique experience for Marvel fans. The series, which also stars Ethan Hawke, makes its Disney+ debut on March 30.
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