Moon Knight: Oscar Isaac on Why He's Returning to Marvel After Negative X-Men Experience

Oscar Isaac comments on returning to the superhero genre after his negative X-Men experience as Apocalypse in the X-Men franchise.

By Russ Milheim Posted:
Marvel, MCU, Moon Knight

The Marvel Studios slate is quite insane these days. Of course, this includes a quartet of theatrical films, which boasts the upcoming Shang-Chi and November's Eternals, which are continuing to expand its total output far greater than ever before. 

Then, there's the new element: the Disney+ streaming service. Right out of the gate, fans got the crazy faux sitcom world which explored Wanda Maximoff's trauma in WandaVision; directly following this was The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki––a show which explored some of the craziest things in the MCU.

The future looks bright for the MCU on the Disney+ - a place that allows the exploration of things that might not get the chance elsewhere. A prime example of this is the upcoming introduction of Moon Knight.

To make things even better, Marvel cast Oscar Isaac as the lead character Marc Spector, a man who grapples with his own reality and an associative identity disorder; in fact, he believes that he is the physical incarnation of an ancient Egyptian Moon God. 

The fact that Isaac signed on is surprising, to say the least. His last experience in a superhero project in Fox's X-Men films didn't end very well. So what brought the actor back into the fold?

OSCAR ISAAC EXPLAINS HIS RETURN

Oscar Isaac Moon Knight
Marvel

In an interview with Total Film, Oscar Isaac got the chance to talk about his upcoming Marvel Studios Moon Knight

According to Isaac, "every morning... [he] can't wait to get to work:"

"Wonderful. Every morning, the alarm goes off, and I can’t wait to get to work. We’re having such a great time on this thing."

This being his second experience with Marvel, fans remember that his time on X-Men: Apocalypse was "excruciating" for Isaac––something that the actor made pretty clear after the fact. So why did he choose to jump back into the game?

The actor clarifies that "it's not so much about the genre of things," but rather, "[it's] the people."

"It’s not so much about the genre of things. It’s the people. And is there room to do something interesting in it? And sometimes there is, and you think there will be. And sometimes it turns out there isn’t. So with this – I love the people involved." 

Of course, there was more to it than that; Isaac went on to say "there was an incredibly unusual story to tell," and that in doing Moon Knight"[he] found an opportunity to do something that [he's] not done...."

"I thought there was an incredibly unusual story to tell within the world of, you know, the superhero language. But we’re making something that's quite different, and that doesn’t follow the same... not necessarily even logic of what a lot of superhero films do. I think because of that, I just found an opportunity to do something that I’ve not done at all yet, and to have a lot of creative collaboration with the rest of the people making it."

ISAAC'S SECOND CHANCE FOR MARVEL

Oscar Isaac is an incredible actor, and it's amazing he was able to give the genre another chance––really, three chances if his rocky experience with the new Star Wars films is included. The fact that Isaac will come back into the fold truly speaks to the story and experience that Marvel Studios is aiming to bring to the world.

The actor has been vocal in the past about the show, teasing how wild the ride is going to be for viewers. It genuinely seems like this show is one in which everyone involved is really looking forward to showing the results to the world, making the wait for its debut in 2022 feel that much longer.

Isaac won't be alone. In fact, Ethan Hawke is cast as the rumored villain for the show. Even more so, the show is already set to introduce another Disney+ spinoff into the world in the form of the character Werewolf by Night.

It seems pretty clear that Marvel Studios is betting on this show's success, and when they're confident, it usually means really great things for the fans. 

- About The Author: Russ Milheim
Russ Milheim is the Industry Relations Coordinator at The Direct. On top of utilizing his expertise on the many corners of today’s entertainment to cover the latest news and theories, he establishes and maintains communication and relations between the outlet and the many studio and talent representatives.