The finale of Marvel's Moon Knight has arrived and the show was undoubtedly been one of the MCU's most intriguing and creative yet. It has been a huge hit with MCU fans and comics fans alike, charming audiences around the world with its Egyptian mythology, riveting plot, and talented ensemble.
Given how unique this series is, those who appreciate it are certainly interested in knowing more about it. Marvel shows always tell interesting stories and have even more interesting behind-the-scenes facts, and Moon Knight is no exception.
Mohamed Diab Fought For Episode 1's Steak Scene
One of the saddest scenes of Moon Knight so far comes in Episode 1, when Steven misses out on a date with one of his museum coworkers. When he realizes that he is two days late, he heartbrokenly orders a steak, which he clearly does not know how to do since he is vegan.
Director Mohamed Diab told The Hollywood Reporter that he had to fight to keep that steak scene in the episode.“I knew that I was never going to know Steven unless we had that steak scene,” Diab said, “That is the moment when the audience is going to say, ‘It’s the first episode, but I’m in love with this character. It’s done.’" Diab also went on to say that this scene was very important because it showed how Steven's disassociated identity disorder is negatively affecting and destroying every aspect of his life.
Oscar Isaac's Brother Helped Him Develop Steven and Marc
After being cast as Moon Knight, Oscar Isaac had a daunting task ahead of him. He had to play and develop not one main character, but two, two completely different and unique characters: Steven Grant and Marc Spector. Even though Isaac is an impressively talented actor with several phenomenal projects and acting credits to his name, this task was certainly a big one.
Fortunately, he knew exactly what to do. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Isaac recruited his brother, Michael Hernandez, to help him develop the dual personality role. “[Michael] would play whichever character I wasn’t playing in the moment,” he said, “So, sometimes, I’d have to arrive on set and decide which character I wanted to play first. And I’d rehearse it as that character, and then I’d play the other character and give notes to my brother.”
Ethan Hawke Joined Without Reading The Script
Even though Marvel is one of the biggest franchises in the world, signing onto a show without reading the script first really is quite a huge risk, yet that's exactly what Ethan Hawke did. When Hawke was cast, he was already a huge fan of Moon Knight director Mohamed Diab's work, as well as good friends with lead Oscar Isaac.
“Usually when there’s a huge budget, there’s a tremendous amount of fear. And the people in charge are incredibly controlling, and creativity is reduced,” Hawke said during the Moon Knight press conference. “In my entire experience with Marvel, it’s the opposite of that. You guys have translated your success into confidence.” Hawke hadn't signed onto any project without reading the script in 35 years, and he doesn't regret it. He said, "But I’m really glad I did it because I think it’s better because of the way it evolved."
Antonia Salib, Who Plays Taweret, Got A Full Costume
Episode 4 of Moon Knight introduced a huge twist, showing Marc and Steven both trapped in a psychiatric hospital. At the very end of the episode, the two come across the Egyptian hippopotamus goddess Taweret, who plays a huge role in the fifth episode. Even though Taweret is entirely a CGI character, actress Antonia Salib actually got to wear a full costume during her time on the Moon Knight set.
Antonia Salib posted a photo on her Instagram of her on set, donned in a full costume, complete with a ceremonial breastplate and full skirt. In the caption, she praised the entire cast and crew, saying that it was "so much fun working on Moon Knight and getting to play the one and only Taweret...I’m very proud of the show, and the whole team has done such an incredible job!"
Oscar Isaac Really Wanted To Say The MCU's First F-Bomb
When it comes to language, Marvel films are pretty tame, for action movies at least. Moon Knight might be one of the more mature Marvel projects, but they still draw a line at foul language. Oscar Isaac tried really hard to say the MCU's very first f-bomb, but eventually got shut down.
Oscar Isaac told ScreenRant, "I did a lot of takes where I actually say, "Oh, f--k" and I thought, in Disney, because it's TV or whatever, that you get one F-bomb. But ultimately, not even one. We don't even get the one, so we had to change it." Unfortunately, Disney didn't let Isaac's f-bomb into Moon Knight, but he certainly tried.
Keeping Marc's Jewish Heritage Was Very Important To Jeremy Slater
Interestingly, Moon Knight is one of the few superheroes who has a Jewish heritage. The first four episodes of the show failed to discuss or even acknowledge Marc's ethnic background, but the fifth episode finally showed it. Marc is seen wearing a kippah/yarmulke, a traditional skullcap worn by Jewish men, and he fails to attend his mother's shiva, her funeral.
Jeremy Slater, the head writer of Moon Knight, said that respecting and representing Marc's Jewish heritage was vital. “Preserving the character’s Jewish faith was important to our entire writing team,” he said on Twitter, “It’s something that definitely gets explored in later episodes.”
The Cast Played A Huge Role In Coming Up With Ideas, Especially May Calamawy
Marvel is famous for fostering a creative, collaborative environment, and for encouraging their actors to make suggestions and come up with ideas, and Moon Knight is no exception. Calamawy told Marvel.com that the cast would "spend six hours or more on each episode, and I saw how freely Oscar and Ethan would be sharing ideas, throwing ideas.”
Calamawy constantly fought for her character Layla's development, from day one. Justin Benson, who directed Episodes 2 and 4, talked about her dedication to Layla. “It was really beautiful to see how encouraged May was to bring anything she felt necessary to this character, the amount of support she had to do that, even from her castmates," he said, "The way that her and Ethan and Oscar would collaborate on these characters and each give each other ideas not just on their own characters, but each other's, was a really beautiful thing to see, and it ultimately makes the show so much better.”
May Calamawy and Ethan Hawke Came Up With Layla and Harrow's Cave Scene
May Calamawy was, to put it gently, slightly nervous for her MCU debut. When she noticed how comfortable Isaac and Hawke were throwing around ideas, she wanted to join in, but the ideas just were "not coming to me.’ It's not like I have them and I'm too shy to share them, but it's like a manifestation of the anxiety that I was feeling and the pressure I was putting myself under.”
Calamawy eventually texted Hawke outright saying that she thought they should have a scene together, and the next morning, Hawke surprised her. “He came to our rehearsal and had a whole idea mapped out!” Calamawy said, “I was just like, whoa, and he just looked at me and winked. We were developing the scene even more with [directors] Aaron [Moorhead] and Justin [Benson]. It's incredible.” The scene turned out to be a pivotal one where Harrow challenges Layla's beliefs about her father's death across a rocky chasm, eliciting beautiful acting from both Hawke and Calamawy.
Ammit's Tomb Was Decorated By Hungarian Artists
The set design of Moon Knight has been absolutely breathtaking. From Steven's London apartment to the underground tombs of Egypt, there are a lot of cool sets and places that this show has taken its audiences so far. The most important scene of the show takes place in the most important setting: Ammit's tomb. Stefania Cella, the production designer of the show, said that the scene was shot in Hungary, and some Hungarian artists helped them with the set design.
"There is a fantastic tradition in Hungary in art and crafts. They are fantastic artists. We called the arts university because we wanted to do stages of painting," she said, "They actually came — four or five of their students — and they helped us decorate the chambers, the Alexander [Sarcophagus] and the yellow leaves in the chamber."