Fans were surprised when it was revealed that Marc Spector's alter-ego, Mr. Knight, would be making his debut in the Moon Knight series so soon. But, it was quickly shown in the series that this specific suit would belong to Spector's alter-ego, Steven Grant. This was a chance change that helped audiences identify who was in control and further characterize both identities.
Marc Spector donned the more elaborate outfit of Khonshu, being more knowledgeable about his situation with the moon god, while Steven Grant was given a nicely tailored suit from the modern era. It not only presented Grant as a gentleman but also totally distanced him from Spector's deal with Khonshu.
However, new artwork from early pre-production for the series shows that Mr. Knight could have gone in a more extravagant direction.
An Even Fancier Looking Mr. Knight
Character sculptor & costume illustrator Raphael Imhotep has posted his work for Moon Knight on Instagram, specifically conceptualizing Mr. Knight's costume.
The first series of images showcases Mr. Knight with proper dress shoes, unlike the ones in the series, which were essentially mummified footwear. But, the most significant difference between this concept and the series is that Grant could have had a hood.
The concept artist commented that these were done in 2020 for costume designer Julian Day, who contacted him to "illustrate some of his ideas on the Moon Knight show." Additionally, the tie knot was inspired by Michael Uwandi, who ultimately "bodied" Mr. Knight's design:
"Back in 2020, Julian Day graciously contacted me to illustrate some of his ideas on the Moon Knight show. We didn’t start with Mr. Knight (our first iteration here), but I dig this illustration, we were def having fun! The tie knot here was inspired by the homie Michael Uwandi who ultimately, thoroughly bodied killed Mr. Knight’s design."
The next set of concepts shows Grant's Mr. Knight with a different dress suit adorned with gold lining and a tie embroidered with hieroglyphs.
Imhotep explicitly noted that Julian had asked him to give Grant's Mr. Knight some Nike Air Max 97’s and Air Force 1 shoes. As for the hieroglyphs on the tie, Imhotep felt that it represented "Khonshu physically binding him to the suit," but, with Julian Day ultimately not being the costume designer for Moon Knight, "none of this work got seen by anyone and that we weren’t credited:"
"Here, Julian wanted me to try some Air Max 97’s and Air Force One's on some variations with some better-tailored suits with different vests. Ngl, we got into our bag here.
I was watching a lot of Naruto at the time and thought to have the hieroglyphs for Khonshu physically binding him to the suit. I tried first with the tie, then later tried turning it into a pinstripe pattern like McGregor’s ‘fuck you’ suit.
We had a lot of cool ideas man, it’s too bad none of this work got seen by anyone and that we weren’t credited. Alas, I still got my mf money tho."
Unfortunately, Imhotep wasn't credited in the series for his work. Still, since he was seemingly replaced early on in pre-production, it makes a bit more sense why he wasn't credited, but at least Imhotep got paid in the end.
A Change in Costume (And Designer)
The first impression these concepts give is that Steven Grant's Mr. Knight persona could have potentially come off as far more wealthy, especially the one showing him with the gold lining. The idea of his unique footwear coming later was another revelation, and it was proposed that he wore Nike sneakers just as expensive as regular dress shoes.
It would undoubtedly have made more sense to see Grant running around in those more than proper shoes for a three-piece suit. But, what the design deviates most from the comics is giving Mr. Knight a hood, which certainly looks cool but might have detracted from the uniqueness of Spector's Moon Knight costume, which also has a prominent hood.
However, the most interesting news from this is that Julian Day was going to be the original costume designer for Moon Knight, who previously worked on Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody. So, sometime during pre-production, he was replaced by Meghan Kasperlik who is most known for her work on the limited-series Watchmen.
Fans can watch all of Moon Knight now on Disney+.
