Next up on Marvel Studios' schedule isn't Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness––though, there is a madness of sorts involved. Instead of a sorcerer, audiences will get Oscar Isaac's Steven Grant. Or Marc Spector. It's really a roll of the dice. Of course, this is in reference to the upcoming Disney+ series Moon Knight.
The show will bring to life the story of Marc Spector, a former mercenary who believes he's been gifted powers by the Egyptian Moon God Khonshu in order to do his bidding.
Isaac will be the one bringing this unique character to life, although he's no stranger to superhero and bigger franchise films. The actor was formerly in the recent sequel Star Wars trilogy as well as X-Men: Age of Apocalypse.
The man behind Moon Knight has made it fairly clear that his experiences on both weren't particularly favorable. So how did Marvel Studios convince him to give it all another shot?
Why Oscar Isaac Joined Moon Knight
In an interview with Empire Magazine, both Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and Moon Knight star Oscar Isaac discussed bringing the show onto the screen.
So how does such an unknown character get to carry their own Disney+ show? Feige made it clear how "[they've] always loved Moon Knight," and that the opportunities the streaming service provided them was the perfect vehicle to bring his story to life:
“We’ve always loved Moon Knight... he always fascinated us as something we hadn’t seen before, [so] when the Disney+ idea came up, it quickly became one of the first things we wanted to do, because we loved the story.”
He continued saying how Isaac himself "had a couple of outside-the-box ideas" that got their attention:
“We’d always liked [Isaac]... and he clearly likes this world — Star Wars, X-Men — but we hadn’t found the right thing, necessarily. We started talking [about Moon Knight], and he had a couple of outside-the-box ideas that we were like, ’Maybe this could work..: And spoiler alert: they do.”
The actor under the Egyptian-inspired costume noted how "in a way it was a test...do they want.. my creativity...[or] a company man:"
“In a way it was a test. 'Do they want me to bring my creativity to this, or do they want a company man who’ll do whatever they say?’” Feige was very much after the former, and so began the hard task — for Isaac — of figuring out how to play one character with two (or possibly more) distinct personalities.
Kevin Feige's Convincing Words
It's no surprise that Feige was able to convince an actor, who has now had two notable bad experiences with big studios on fan-favorite projects, to come back and give it another shot. After all, the man works miracles.
The creative environment at Marvel Studios has been something touted by many before. Still, there are many cynics out there who may believe these people's words don't hold much weight.
Sure, there may be some big creative differences here and there, but clearly, something has to be working for such a massive machine to keep functioning. Just take a look over at Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, or even the former Fox Studios and see how messy things got over there at times. Something about those who run the MCU is different––whether outsiders want to believe it or not.
Moon Knight starts streaming on March 30 exclusively on Disney+.
