Oscar Isaac Responds to Complaints About His Marvel Moon Knight Voice

By Jennifer McDonough Updated:
Oscar Isaac, Moon Knight Voice

Marvel Studios' next Disney+ series is the upcoming Moon Knight starring Oscar Isaac, and it looks to be a mind-bender. Focusing on the eponymous Moon-themed vigilante and his various other personalities, the show is poised to show viewers a more brutal and violent side to the MCU, and judging by the trailer, it's going to be a wild ride.

In the first trailer for the Marvel Disney+ series, as well as in the Super Bowl TV spot, snippets of dialogue from Isaac are heard, such as "I can't tell the difference between my waking life and my dreams." 

These lines are spoken by the actor in a perhaps-exaggerated Cockney-sounding accent. This was met with a mixed response, with some calling the accent out as being "cheesy" and "fake." But Oscar Isaac himself has now set the record straight.

Oscar Isaac Makes His Voice Heard

Moon Knight, Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke
Marvel

In an interview with Empire, Moon Knight star Oscar Isaac responded to those who took issue with the accent used in the series' trailer, remarking that "there are reasons" behind the way it sounds.

“I stand by the sound of Steven 100 per cent. It’s cool [the accent] got people excited, and some were like, 'That sucks!’ and others were like, ‘That’s great!’ But there are reasons… That voice is about where Steven’s from, where he’s living now, and some of his believed heritage. It’s not an idea of what Brits actually sound like.”

Additionally, series scribe Jeremy Slater weighed in on the accent, noting that it was a concept put forth by Isaac to differentiate the character's differing personas:

“In the initial script, the difference between Steven and Marc was in attitude. It was Oscar who said, ‘What about an accent?’”

Marking the Divide Between Marc & Steven

Incorporating different dialects, accents, and ways of speaking is certainly an intriguing way of explaining to the audience that this man is suffering from dissociative identity disorder.

Marc Spector has an American accent, Steven Grant has a fake-sounding British accent Moon Knight and Mr. Knight will likely serve as separate personalities in and of themselves and would be marked as such with different tones of voice.

It's also essentially stated that the reason behind the phony accent is because that's exactly what it is; being that Steven Grant is an alternate personality to Marc Spector, an American, it makes perfect sense that a non-native speaker would have a vocal style that's a little bit off-kilter.

Marvel Studios' Moon Knight is indeed fast approaching with the first of six episodes slated to drop on Disney+ on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. In the interim, Marvel and Disney are bound to release a plethora of TV spots advertising the hotly anticipated series.

- About The Author: Jennifer McDonough
Jennifer McDonough has been a writer at The Direct since its 2020 launch. She is responsible for the creation of news articles and features. She also has a particular affinity for action figures and merchandise, which she revels in discussing in the articles she writes, when the situation calls for it.