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As soon as the opening fanfare of any Marvel Studios project gives way to the main event, fans know what to do: hunt for references and callbacks and shoutouts to other Marvel characters. Okay, they also take in the story and the performances and the spectacle, but we always keep an ear out and eye open for those larger connections to the MCU. We’ve been trained to do that! Even brand new characters like Shang-Chi and the Eternals name drop Thanos (among so many other Easter eggs). That’s why fans may be surprised that, after watching Moon Knight’s premiere on March 30, their Easter baskets might just be empty.
Moon Knight may be the fifth live-action Marvel Studios television series to premiere on Disney+, but it actually marks a bold new era for the franchise. Unlike WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and Hawkeye, Moon Knight doesn’t star a character who has appeared in multiple blockbuster films. Moon Knight is the first Marvel hero to debut as a headliner of their own Marvel Studios series. It helps that the face under Moon Knight’s cowl is Oscar Isaac’s, an acclaimed, fan-favorite actor and no stranger to big budget franchises. But still, Moon Knight doesn’t even have a connection to any pre-existing MCU property, unlike the upcoming Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk.
“A lot of people tell us that if there’s no Marvel logo, you wouldn’t even know that this is a Marvel show,” said Mohamed Diab, lead director on Moon Knight, in an interview with Decider. “Feeling unique was something very important [to us].”
Diab fully admits that Moon Knight stands on its own, more so than previous Marvel outings — but that wasn’t necessarily the intention. “We didn’t decide that from the get go,” said Diab. “But as we developed the show, and then shot it, we felt, ‘You know what? [The show] doesn’t need any [references].”
Executive producer Grant Curtis echoed Diab’s sentiment, revealing that this approach was partly inspired by the comics themselves. “It wasn’t a conscious decision,” said Curtis of Moon Knight’s unique approach to the MCU. “Looking at those 50 years, give or take, of [comic book] storytelling and the tones and the themes that we wanted to infuse the series with, we realized [we wanted] to really focus on the intense character study that Moon Knight truly is. At its core, it’s a character study of Marc Spector and Steven Grant and Moon Knight and Mr. Knight. We realized this is such an amazing story to tell, it doesn’t need any connections to the broader MCU.”
This is, admittedly, a bold move for the Moon Knight team to make considering how the MCU is known for it’s dense-yet-playful interconnectivity. Diab assures fans, though, that there’s a lot more to these stories than just the references. “And every time, the fans always wonder, ‘Okay, what’s the crossover? What’s going on?’ And actually, the surprise today is… we don’t [crossover]. That’s the new and inventive thing.”
A few tweaks were made to Marvel Comics’ Marc Spector for his live-action debut, and one of those tweaks definitely helped facilitate his independence. Instead of making New York City Spector’s home base like in the comics — thus putting him in close proximity to the MCU’s Doctor Strange, Kate Bishop, Spider-Man, Spider-Man’s blind lawyer, etc. — the series finds Spector based out of London where he works at a museum gift shop.
“We did realize with this character — Moon Knight is a global character,” said Curtis. “He goes on adventures all across the globe and he’s not tied down to one particular city.” Plus, dropping him in London puts him way closer to Cairo and the Alps, two key locations in the series. Of course it’s not like London is exactly free of superheroes, what with Spider-Man’s huge showdown with Mysterio taking place in London as well as Eternals stars Sersi and Dane Whitman calling London home. You can’t go anywhere on Marvel’s Earth without running into someone Avengers-adjacent.
While Moon Knight may lack a cameo from Mysterio and even though the series tweaked some of the character’s comic book lore, diehard Moon Knight fans will definitely see specific references to some of the comics directly onscreen. One is, of course, the Mr. Knight suit that was designed by artist Declan Shalvey for the comic’s relaunch in 2014. The other visual cues come from the 2016 Moon Knight series, written by Jeff Lemire with art by Greg Smallwood and colors by Jordie Bellaire.
“When we got together with our cinematographer Andrew Palermo and we cracked open that [Moon Knight] run in particular, that was when the visuals of the show really crystallized for us,” said Aaron Moorhead who, along with his directing partner Justin Benson, helmed two Moon Knight episodes. As Moorhead explained, the tone of that comic was foundational to what they wanted to achieve onscreen. “The highly formal composition, the bright colors — there’s actually a sense of match cutting, so it even informed our editing a little bit. The blending of realities and all of that, that was a big, big part of it. That’s why we just obsessed over that run.”
“There’s obviously a pretty big focus on human emotion in that run in ways that are not kinetic on the page,” added director Justin Benson. “That’s why we respected it even more. It’s so hard to just have two people in a panel just having an emotional moment, but that was obviously a big inspiration for the show.”
All this being said, continuity-conscious MCU fans (so… most of us?) will still find plenty in Moon Knight to ponder, analyze, and freak out about. “Moon Knight is part of the MCU,” said Curtis. “And astute viewers will pick up on some Easter eggs and some references to the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe. But if you’re simply a fan of great storytelling, you’re going to be a fan of Moon Knight because you don’t have to have the whole Marvel canon in your brain to watch this show.”
And just because Moon Knight is flying solo this time around doesn’t mean that’s the character’s fate. Far from it! Everyone involved in Moon Knight cannot wait to see where the character goes next and, more importantly, which Marvel heroes he’ll confuse and which ones he’ll scare.
“It would be a waste if Moon Knight is not here to stay,” said Diab. “He is one of the most interesting characters that I’ve ever seen of any superhero. I know Oscar said he wants to see [Moon Knight] with the Hulk, which would be a genius idea. But I want [Moon Knight] to drive everyone crazy. I want to see him in a world where he interacts with all the other superheroes… Imagine him talking and switching characters; it would be so much fun. I can’t wait for that to happen.”
Moon Knight premieres on Disney+ on Wednesday, March 30 at 3 a.m. ET.
