Image via Disney+
There are spoilers for episodes one through four of Moon Knight; you’ve been warned.
Moon Knight, the latest Marvel series to hit Disney+, is finding its stride. The Oscar Isaac-led streaming show initially focused on the seemingly ordinary Steven Grant (Isaac) who suffered from sleepwalking and fits of confusion. As Moon Knightunfurled four of its six episodes, not all was as it seemed: Steven has dissociative identity disorder (DID) and shares his body with violent mercenary Marc Spector (Isaac still), who is imbued with special powers courtesy of the Egyptian moon god, Khonshu. Oh, and Marc is married to Layla El-Faouly, a daring adventurer in her own right.
As Steven’s world is turned upside down by these revelations, he’s reluctantly dragged along to Egypt in search of answers to stop zealot Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) from summoning the Egyptian goddess Ammit. Right as it seems as if Lyla and Steven/Marc will succeed, Steven/Marc are shot inside a pyramid...only to wake up inside of a psychiatric hospital. Marc, separated from Steven, encounters Harrow as a therapist who tells him that his time spent as Khonshu’s avatar is a figment of his imagination. Marc manages to escape and find Steven trapped inside a sarcophagus. As the two proceed throughout the hospital, they run into a giant hippo-head figure, which is where we are now.
Ahead of the series’ penultimate episode, Complex briefly chatted with Oscar Isaac and May Calamawy during a recent Moon Knight press junket to discuss subverting the traditional gender tropes of adventure tales, Episode 4’s big ending, and more.
In episode four, we see this typical adventuring script flipped where May, you get to step into more of the Indiana Jones-type adventurer, while Oscar, you’re the comedic relief. What was it like for you two to switch up these typical archetypes?
May Calamawy: It felt really empowering! At the time, it just felt like we were doing what needed to be done. So there isn’t that thought, but when you watch it—I guess I haven’t thought of it that way. That’s really interesting.
Oscar Isaac: The intention wasn’t necessarily to do that. The intention was, what does Steven know, what does Layla know and how do those two things complement each other. Steven takes over because of the puzzle nature of solving the puzzles—that’s why we kind of added this Rubik’s cube thing at the beginning [of the series]. His interest there—his nerdier pursuits—seem to fit in with what was really needed there. Layla is much more used to combat than Steven is. But I think ultimately you’re right, those things get a bit subverted. That was something that was fun to play with.
May, how did you change your interactions between Steven and Marc? I know it’s still Oscar, but I would imagine your approach to engaging with each respective character has to change slightly.
MC: Oscar did such a good job of embodying each person that I didn’t have to sort of go through any steps or intellectualize how I would act with each one. It was just a response. I could tell that with Steven, Layla would need to have a more gentle approach there. That’s what came out naturally and what allowed him to open up in ways. Whereas with Marc, there’s just so much history there. The communication needs to be a bit more direct if she wants to get what she wants.
Oscar, how are you working through that process on your end?
OI: It was just about being very clear about the two characters and how they’re different apart from the accent, how they hold themselves, how they approach other people—particularly Layla. It was just a process of getting really specific with those two things. I kept shooting, when we first got there, I really only wanted to do one character a day. I didn’t wanna switch too much between the two. I wasn’t really secure enough to do that. As time went on, I got more comfortable between the two and felt like I found an honest way to do that.
What was it like to read episode four’s big twist on the page?
OI: That was actually a collaborative process of creating that. It originally wasn’t the idea at that point in the series; it didn’t happen till later. It just felt like four needed it at that point. It felt like it was right for the story, that we needed the major shift to happen a little earlier—especially because five, there are so many revelations that are coming. We didn’t want that to just all be crammed, we wanted there to be time for some of that land a little more.
So it was a really exciting moment when we brought that into four and made the cliffhanger, not Marc getting shot, but the hippo Taweret showing up. Which, I’m just so happy about because the response has been, so like, “What the fuck.” [laughs] That’s really fun to see. You never know how this stuff’s gonna land. It makes sense to us cause we’re steeped in it, talking about it constantly for months and months and months and months. It’s been lovely to see the investment and the investment in now what’s going to happen.
MC: When I came on that was there and I was so confused. Like, I didn’t understand what was happening and I didn’t know if there was like a weird cut or something [that] was missing. When I discovered where they were going with this, I knew that was gonna just like, make everyone’s mind just go [mimes head exploding].
Oscar, you just mentioned revelations to come. Is it safe to assume that we’ll be learning a little bit more about Marc’s past in these next two episodes?
OI: Yes. I think it’s about the discovery—and that’s what’s been coming. There’s this refrain that keeps happening throughout the show, which is one about being broken and two about hiding pain and the past. Ultimately, those things have to get confronted.
I know Oscar that you only signed on for six episodes but given the reaction to the series, are you at a point now where you’d consider coming back? And what about you, May?
OI: I love the character. It would have to be something that made a lot of sense and was the right stage for the character to continue. The story would have to really be something that was compelling, but I love playing them.
MC: Same. I love it, it’s been an honor to play Layla in this world. To see where that could go would be really cool.