Casting has been ramping up for Moon Knight with Oscar Issac nabbing the starring role of Marc Spector, albeit it was not finalized in time to be officially announced at Disney’s Investor Day presentation. Before Issac was cast, other roles were known to be sought out by Marvel Studios, such as four Egyptian characters .
It was a possibility that these may have been for the various Egyptian gods, such as Khonshu, that Spector has interacted with in the comics. However, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige described Moon Knight as being an Indiana Jones-like adventure , so those may likely be original characters for the show.
Even before these four mysterious characters were discovered, two other, far more familiar characters to Moon Knight fans were spotted in a casting call for the show: Marlene and Frenchie . Although both characters' descriptions differ a bit from the comics, they still seemed to be a match. Not to mention that these were the first roles, besides Moon Knight, to be on Marvel Studios' radar.
Now, Oscar Issac finally isn't alone as he's joined by a new cast member likely playing one of these key roles.
NEWS
The Hollywood Reporter reported that May Calamawy, best known for her role in Hulu's Ramy , will be joining Oscar Isaac in Marvel Studios' Moon Knight series.
The report doesn't specify who Calamawy will be playing in the Marvel show, though THR describes her role as a “key” one.
WHAT THIS MEANS
It seems entirely likely that May Calamawy has been cast as Marc Spector's love interest, Marlene Alraune. Not only is Marlene by far the most important supporting character for Marc Spector, but Calamawy very much matches the casting for Marlene, especially since it noted that the role was open to all ethnicities. Calamawy is actually Egyptian on her Father's side and Palestinian on her mother's side, meaning that Marlene's backstory may be altered slightly.
In the comics, Marlene encounters Marc Spector when he's a mercenary and indirectly caused the death of her father, an archaeologist, who uncovered a tomb holding a statue to Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon and vengeance. As the series will take inspiration from Indiana Jones, this context will likely be changed or given even more focus than in the comic.
Another possibility is that Calamawy is playing one of the Egyptian roles, specifically the female lead, which was described as “strong, intelligent and self-sufficient, she's always two steps ahead.” However, Calamawy is five years older than the specified age for the Egyptian role. Calamwy, 34 years old, is within the specified age range of Marlene on the casting call, further supporting that she'll be playing the love interest to Oscar Isaac (41 years old).
