Marvel Studios delivered its sixth Disney + series to kick off 2022 in Moon Knight, which brought the first new superhero to headline a streaming series within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Oscar Isaac's hero became a force of nature in his first solo story as fans saw the MCU's take on ancient Egyptian mythology, all behind another incredible round of costumes for the leading man.
On top of all the incredible action and the dive into ancient MCU history, Moon Knight allowed Isaac to don one of the coolest new costumes in the MCU - an impressive feat considering everything that's come in Phase 4 already. Not only did Moon Knight himself have a near-comic-accurate look with his off-white wrappings and hood, but Mr. Knight even got into the fun as well with his fancy all-white suit and cane.
Considering that this was Moon Knight's official introduction into the MCU, his costume in particular was something that went through heavy changes and adjustments throughout the development process before coming to the small screen. Now, a few sources from that development room have shared how exactly the costume adapted and evolved throughout that process ahead of the show's debut.
Alternate Moon Knight Costumes Revealed
Crew members from Marvel Studios shared new concept art images showing the progression of Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight costume through its development process.
Marvel Studios Head of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding and Visual Development Supervisor Rodney Fuentebella shared their early work in a video interview with the Marvel Entertainment YouTube channel. One design included a nod to the Moon God Khonshu on the hood along with some ornamental decorations on the arms, bringing more of an Egyptian vibe with something that looks like it could have been in a tomb.
Concept Artist Alan Villanueva shared a version of the suit whose cape was quite frayed and that didn't have as much linen wrapped around Marc Spector's entire body. This included an open slit around the eyes on the mask, even though the eyes are still glowing white in the image.
Meinerding and Fuentebella also looked at more tactical ideas for the suit, one of which featured more plating and armor around the chest and the arms along with another no to Khonshu on the hood. However, the designers admitted that this looked too much like other MCU costumes, which made them move away from that tactical design.
Although the plating would have provided more protection in theory during Moon Knight's battles with ancient Egyptian entities, the look ended up being too close to that of Captain America or Black Panther, some of the MCU's more Earth-based heroes.
Vis Def artist Jeff Simpson provided a look at his designs on Twitter, showing a suit that had another version of the frayed cape seen in other takes on the outfit. This one also included less linen wrapping around the body and boasted a crescent moon in the middle that would glow blue, highlighting the chest area even further.
Along with the bits of gold plating on the chest, arms, belt, and hood, these images mostly highlight how the cape would have flowed as Moon Knight charged into battle throughout all six episodes.
Mr. Knight's look went through just as many variations to make sure it looked like a suit that Steven Grant would have come up with on the fly. This included numerous variations on the eyes, mask, and suit, such as a different style of a crescent moon on the forehead.
Although the final version of the mask ended up with a crooked crease down the middle of the face, the team also debated using a crease that went straight down from the bottom to the top.
Concept artist Michael Uwandi also shared two alternate versions of the Mr. Knight mask with blue eyes instead of white. One mask looked like one piece of fabric with a moon imprint on the forehead while the other looked more like mummy wrappings along with the moon imprint.
Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight Costume Evolution Revealed
Even for a Marvel slate that's delivered epic new costumes for everyone from Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch to Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop, Moon Knight brought its own set of unique challenges. Taking the look from the comics and making it look both real and supernatural could have been a tall order for anybody tasked with making it happen, and Marvel Studios certainly made it happen for Disney.
How Oscar Isaac brought it to life on camera is still a mystery, even with an idea of how it came to fruition through the suit seen at Avengers Campus in Southern California. More will likely be revealed when the new Assembled episode for Moon Knight debuts within the next few weeks, but for now, these alternate looks provide a look into just how extensive the work was that had to be done on this show.
Moon Knight is now streaming on Disney+.
