Moon Knight 

(TV series)
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Moon Knight

 Action-adventure
Genre
 Fantasy

 Psychological horror

 Superhero

Created by Jeremy Slater

Based on Marvel Comics

Starring  Oscar Isaac

 May Calamawy

 Karim El Hakim

 F. Murray Abraham

 Ethan Hawke

 Ann Akinjirin

 David Ganly

 Khalid Abdalla

 Gaspard Ulliel

 Antonia Salib

 Fernanda Andrade

 Rey Lucas

 Sofia Danu

 Saba Mubarak

Composer Hesham Nazih

Country of origin United States

Original language English

No. of episodes 6

Production

Executive producers  Kevin Feige

 Louis D'Esposito

 Victoria Alonso

 Brad Winderbaum
  Grant Curtis

 Oscar Isaac

 Mohamed Diab

 Jeremy Slater

Producer Peter Cameron

Production locations  Hungary

 Jordan

 Slovenia

 Atlanta, Georgia

Cinematography  Gregory Middleton

 Andrew Droz Palermo

Editors  Cedric Nairn-Smith

 Joan Sobel

 Ahmed Hafez

Running time 44–53 minutes

Production company Marvel Studios

Distributor Disney Platform Distribution

Release

Original network Disney+

Original release March 30 –

May 4, 2022

Chronology

Related shows Marvel Cinematic Universe television series

Moon Knight is an American television miniseries created by Jeremy Slater for the

streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics featuring the character of the
same name. It is the sixth television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to
be produced by Marvel Studios, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. Slater
serves as head writer with Mohamed Diab leading the directing team.
Oscar Isaac stars as Marc Spector / Moon Knight and Steven Grant / Mr. Knight, two
alters of a man with dissociative identity disorder (DID), with May Calamawy, Karim El
Hakim, F. Murray Abraham, Ethan Hawke, Ann Akinjirin, David Ganly, Khalid
Abdalla, Gaspard Ulliel, Antonia Salib, Fernanda Andrade, Rey Lucas, Sofia Danu,
and Saba Mubarak also starring. The series was announced in August 2019, with Slater
hired in November. Diab was hired to direct four episodes in October 2020, with
directing duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead joining in January 2021 to direct the
other two. Isaac was confirmed to star at that time, and used different accents to
differentiate Spector's various identities. Filming took place from April to October 2021,
primarily in Budapest as well as in Jordan, Slovenia, and Atlanta, Georgia.
Moon Knight premiered on March 30, 2022, and ran for six episodes, concluding on
May 4. It is part of Phase Four of the MCU. The series received positive reviews, with
particular praise for Isaac's and Hawke's performances and the darker tone compared
to previous MCU series.
 Contents

 1Premise
 2Cast and characters
 3Episodes
 4Production
o 4.1Development
o 4.2Writing
o 4.3Casting
o 4.4Design
o 4.5Filming
o 4.6Post-production
o 4.7Music
 5Marketing
 6Release
 7Reception
o 7.1Critical response
o 7.2Accolades
 8Documentary special
 9Future
 10References
 11External links

Premise[edit]
Marc Spector, a mercenary who has dissociative identity disorder (DID), is drawn into a
deadly mystery involving Egyptian gods with his multiple alters, such as Steven Grant.[1]

Cast and characters[edit]

 Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector / Moon Knight, Steven Grant / Mr. Knight,
and Jake Lockley:
A man with dissociative identity disorder (DID),[1] whose identities are distinct
characters,[2] and were differentiated in the script by their attitudes. Isaac
chose to take this further by giving them different accents. [3] He enjoyed being
able to do "something really fucking nutty" with his portrayal, including
exploring Spector's complex mind. Embodying each of the personas was a
technical challenge for Isaac that required a lot of energy. [4] His brother
Michael Benjamin Hernandez served as his body double, allowing Isaac to
act against someone for scenes where multiple identities meet. [5] To prepare
for the role, Isaac read Robert B. Oxnam's book A Fractured Mind, which he
called his "bible".[6]
o Marc Spector is a Jewish-American mercenary who becomes the
avatar for the Egyptian moon god Khonshu.[1][7] Isaac used his own
American accent for Spector,[3] and "leaned into this Chicago guy
who's pushing people away" for his portrayal of Spector, calling
him a jerk.[7] Executive producer Kevin Feige described Spector as
a "brutal" action hero,[8][9] and said the series would not pull back
from portraying the violence of the character. [9] Carlos Sanchez and
David Jake Rodriguez portray Spector as a child and teenager,
respectively.[10]
o Steven Grant is a mild-mannered British gift-shop employee who
becomes Mr. Knight, Grant's persona when he is Khonshu's
avatar.[1][11]: 6–7  Isaac put on a London English accent for Grant that he
suggested was intentionally "bizarre" and unconvincing. [3] He was
inspired by the accents of the Jewish community living in Enfield,
London, as well as English comedic performers such as
 presenter/actor Karl Pilkington from the British travel comedy
series An Idiot Abroad,[12] and Peter Sellers.[13] Isaac added that
Grant does not have great social skills and is "longing for
connection". Grant has tension with Spector when the two
personalities first become aware of each other. [7] Mr. Knight uses
Grant's knowledge of ancient Egypt to help get out of conflicts with
wits and puzzle solving, which is a contrast to Spector's Moon
Knight persona.[11]: 7 
o Jake Lockley is a third, more ruthless alter. [14] Lockley speaks in
Spanish, with Isaac enjoying being able to bring that element of his
own life to the role instead of just "trying to pay service to some
idea that was in the comics". Isaac noted Lockley has something
"ominous about him" and more control than Spector or Grant. [15]
 May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly / Scarlet Scarab:
An archeologist and adventurer,[16] who is Spector's wife and is aware he is
Moon Knight.[17] El-Faouly was originally not Egyptian, a change that lead
director Mohamed Diab pushed for,[6] but rather a Caucasian woman
which Elle reported was the character Marlene Alraune, Spector's wife in the
comics.[18] Creator Jeremy Slater later clarified that Marlene was never part of
the series, citing the importance of diversity within the writers room, and that
the character was originally named Zayna Faoul. [19] Diab and his wife Sarah
Goher were "huge champions" of the character since she was how the series
was representing Egypt.[20] Calamawy described her character as someone
with "a lot of healing to do", who "step[s] into herself more" and "develops
more confidence and trust in herself" through supporting Spector. She drew
inspiration from Middle Eastern women, who "have a very unassuming, soft
strength to them",[21] and avoided Western actresses, such as Angelina
Jolie who had portrayed the tomb-raiding Lara Croft.[18] Calamawy called El-
Faouly a street fighter, and wanted her stunts to reflect that by having them
be reactionary and not choreographed or clean. [18] El-Faouly becomes
the Scarlet Scarab, the temporary avatar of the Egyptian goddess Taweret;
[22]
 this name was revealed by Marvel.com following the series' finale,[23][14] with
Diab noting he had not connected her to that character from the comics,
explaining, "Sometimes Marvel picks a name and then gives it to the
character that is developed." He pointed out that at the moment, she did not
receive her powers from the scarab, but ultimately felt what the character
represented was more important than her name. [14]
 Karim El Hakim and F. Murray Abraham as Khonshu:
The Egyptian moon god, an outcast amongst the gods for waging a "one-god
war on perceived injustices", thus necessitating him to find and use his
avatar, Marc Spector.[11]: 7  Slater called him an "imperious and sort of snotty
and vengeful" deity, who is prone to temper tantrums and is dealing with his
own insecurities,[7] adding he was more interested in a version of the
character that had "his own moral failings and weaknesses" rather than one
who was "always right and impervious to mistakes". Abraham called Khonshu
"outrageous" and "capable of doing anything and charming his way out of it".
As well, Abraham believed Khonshu was unselfish and willing to sacrifice
himself the same way he demands sacrifice from others. [24] El Hakim provided
the on-set performance of the character[11]: 7  while Abraham voices the
character.[25]
 Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow:
A religious zealot and cult leader associated with the Egyptian
goddess Ammit looking to exact justice and judgement based on future
crimes.[26] Harrow was Khonshu's previous avatar before Spector. [17] Hawke
worked in tandem with Isaac to conceive Harrow as an opposite to Spector,
wanting to perform inverse actions or emotions to him, [27]: 1:48–2:28  and saw Harrow
as a mix between a monk and a doctor.[28] He was inspired for his
 performance by cult leader David Koresh,[29] Cuban president Fidel Castro,
the Dalai Lama, Pentecostal televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, writer Leo
Tolstoy, fictional character Nurse Ratched,[27]: 3:03  and Nazi officer and
doctor Josef Mengele,[9] as well as questioning what if Apple Inc. co-
founder Steve Jobs was a "bad guy".[9] Psychiatrist Carl Jung was also an
inspiration,[30] particularly when Hawke portrays the psychiatric doctor version
of Harrow.[31]
 Ann Akinjirin as Bobbi Kennedy: A British police officer and follower of
Harrow's cult.[32]
 David Ganly as Billy Fitzgerald: A British police officer and follower of
Harrow's cult.[32]
 Khalid Abdalla as Selim: The avatar of Osiris and leader of
the Ennead council.[33]
 Gaspard Ulliel as Anton Mogart: A wealthy antiquities collector living in Egypt
and an old acquaintance of Layla's.[34][35]
 Antonia Salib as Taweret: The hippopotamus-headed Egyptian goddess of
childbirth and fertility, who guides souls through the Duat. Salib provides the
voice and motion capture performance for the character.[36]
 Fernanda Andrade as Wendy Spector: Marc's mother, and Elias' wife.[37]
 Rey Lucas as Elias Spector: Marc's father, and Wendy's husband.[38]
 Sofia Danu and Saba Mubarak as Ammit:
The imprisoned Egyptian goddess whom Harrow plans to release to cast her
preemptive judgement on all of humanity. Danu provides the on-set
performance, while Mubarak voices the character.[39][40]
Shaun Scott recurs in the series as the living statue Crawley.[41] Also guest starring are
Lucy Thackeray and Alexander Cobb as Grant's co-workers Donna and J.B.,
respectively,[42][10] Díana Bermudez as Yatzil, the avatar of the Egyptian goddess of
love Hathor, Declan Hannigan as the avatar of the Egyptian god of kinship Horus,
Hayley Konadu as the avatar of the Egyptian goddess of moisture Tefnut, Nagisa
Morimoto as the avatar of the Egyptian goddess of the moon Isis,[33] Loic Mabanza as
Mogart's bodyguard Bek,[43] Joseph Millson as Dr. Steven Grant from the fictional
film Tomb Buster, while Bill Bekele portrays his young assistant Rosser, Claudio Fabian
Contreras as Spector's younger brother Randall, and Usama Soliman as Layla's father
Abdallah El-Faouly.[10]

Episodes[edit]
Original
No. Title Directed by Written by
release date

"The
Jeremy
1 Goldfish Mohamed Diab March 30, 2022
Slater
Problem"

Steven Grant works at the British Museum in London where he hopes to become

a tour guide using his knowledge of Ancient Egypt. After going to sleep one
night, he wakes up in the Austrian Alps and witnesses a cult meeting led
by Arthur Harrow, who demands a scarab Grant unknowingly has in his
possession. As he attempts to escape, he has several blackouts and hears a
mysterious voice in his head before waking up in his home. Grant realizes that
two days have passed since he went to sleep. He finds a hidden phone and
keycard in his apartment and receives a call from the most frequent number in the
phone's call log, a woman named Layla who addresses him as Marc. The next
day at work, Grant is confronted by Harrow who reveals that he is a servant of
the Egyptian goddess Ammit. Grant escapes from Harrow but is forced to remain
at work that night on his own to make up for being late. Harrow summons a
jackal-like creature to attack Grant, but his "reflection" asks to take control of
their body. Grant agrees, transforming into a cloaked warrior who kills the jackal.

Aaron
"Summon Michael
2 Moorhead & Justin April 6, 2022
the Suit" Kastelein
Benson

Grant is blamed for the damage caused by the jackal creature, due to it not
appearing on the museum's security cameras, and is fired. He uses the keycard to
access a storage locker where he finds the scarab. He speaks with his "reflection",
another identity in Grant's body that introduces himself as American mercenary
Marc Spector, the current avatar of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Grant is
confronted by Layla, Spector's wife, who is unaware of Grant's existence, before
being arrested by police officers working for Harrow. Harrow reveals that he was
Khonshu's previous avatar until he chose instead to follow Ammit. He explains
that he wants to use the scarab to find Ammit's tomb and resurrect her so she can
purge humanity of evil by wiping out everyone who has or will commit evil
deeds. Layla rescues Grant, but Harrow summons another jackal creature. Grant
manages to summon a suit of his own to fight the jackal, but is overpowered and
allows Spector to take control. Spector kills the jackal but loses the scarab to
Harrow. Khonshu threatens to claim Layla as his next avatar if Spector fails to
stop Harrow.

Beau
DeMayo
"The
and Peter
3 Friendly Mohamed Diab April 13, 2022
Cameron &
Type"
Sabir
Pirzada

Harrow and his followers discover the location of Ammit's tomb in the Egyptian
desert. In Cairo, Spector and Grant both experience blackouts while tracking a
lead to Harrow's location. After failing to gain information, Khonshu calls a
council between his fellow Egyptian gods and their avatars to warn them of
Harrow's plans, but Harrow successfully denies the accusation. Hathor's avatar,
Yatzil, tells Spector to find the sarcophagus of a medjay who knew of the
location of Ammit's tomb. Layla finds Spector and takes him to meet with Anton
Mogart, an acquaintance who owns the sarcophagus. Harrow arrives and destroys
it, forcing Spector, Grant, and Layla to fight off Mogart's men and escape into the
desert. Grant assembles some of the sarcophagus fragments into a star map, but it
is two thousand years out of date. Khonshu uses his powers to briefly turn back
the night sky to the correct night, allowing Grant and Layla to find Ammit's
tomb. The other gods imprison Khonshu in an ushabti for this, leaving Grant and
Spector's body without Khonshu's powers.

Alex
Meenehan
"The Justin Benson & and Peter
4 April 20, 2022
Tomb" Aaron Moorhead Cameron &
Sabir
Pirzada
Grant and Layla find a deserted campsite at the location of Ammit's tomb, which
is a maze in the shape of the Eye of Horus. They discover that some of Harrow's
men have been killed by undead Egyptian priests, who then attack Grant and
Layla. Layla defeats the priests but encounters Harrow, who claims that Spector
was one of the mercenaries who murdered her archaeologist father, Abdallah El-
Faouly. Grant finds the tomb and discovers that Ammit's last avatar
was Alexander the Great; he retrieves Ammit's ushabti from inside Alexander's
body. Layla angrily confronts Spector, who reveals that his partner killed Layla's
father and Spector himself before Khonshu revived Spector as his avatar. Harrow
arrives and shoots Spector, who wakes up in a psychiatric hospital populated by
people from his life. After escaping from Harrow, who appears as a therapist at
the hospital, Spector finds Grant in a separate body trapped in a sarcophagus.
They also see a second sarcophagus with someone else trapped inside before
being greeted by a female hippopotamus-headed figure.

Rebecca
Kirsch and
5 "Asylum" Mohamed Diab April 27, 2022
Matthew
Orton

The hippopotamus-headed woman is the Egyptian goddess Taweret, who

explains that Spector and Grant are dead and the "psychiatric hospital" is a boat
sailing through the Duat, the Egyptian afterlife. She weighs their hearts on
the Scales of Justice to determine whether they can enter the Field of Reeds, but
the hearts are imbalanced by hidden memories that she suggests they explore
together. Grant sees a memory of Spector's younger brother Randall drowning
and Spector's mother blaming him for it, while Spector shows Grant how he
became Khonshu's avatar while on a mission with his partner Bushman, who
murdered Layla's father. Spector and Grant convince Taweret to help them return
to the living world so they can stop Harrow, and she steers the boat towards the
Gates of Osiris. Spector reluctantly explains that he unknowingly created Grant
as a result of their mother's abuse. Grant and Spector reconcile with each other,
but their scales fail to balance and hostile spirits attack them, dragging Grant into
the Duat where he turns to sand. The scales balance and Spector finds himself in
the Field of Reeds.

Teleplay by :
Jeremy
Slater and
Peter
Cameron &
"Gods and Sabir
6 Mohamed Diab May 4, 2022
Monsters" Pirzada
Story by :
Danielle
Iman &
Jeremy
Slater

Harrow frees Ammit and kills the avatars of the other Egyptian gods. Layla finds
Khonshu's ushabti and releases him. Spector refuses to stay in the Field of Reeds
and returns to the Duat to rescue Grant. With Taweret's help, they escape through
the Gates of Osiris and awaken in their body. Khonshu re-bonds with them,
restoring their powers. Layla discovers that Ammit can be re-bound by multiple
avatars and agrees to become the temporary avatar of Taweret. They join
Spector, Grant, and Khonshu in fighting Harrow and Ammit. Harrow overpowers
Spector and Grant, but they experience a blackout during which time they
 somehow defeat Harrow. Spector and Layla seal Ammit in Harrow's body,
imprisoning her, and Khonshu urges Spector to execute Harrow and Ammit.
Spector refuses and orders Khonshu to release him and Grant from their service.
The pair find themselves in the "hospital", where they reject the vision and
choose to continue their new life together as heroes. In a mid-credits scene,
Harrow is killed by Jake Lockley, Spector's third alter, who is still working with
Khonshu.

Production[edit]
Development[edit]
The character Marc Spector / Moon Knight was to be introduced in the planned second
season of Blade: The Series before its cancelation in September 2006. A potential spin-
off series for the character had also been in development. [44] In October, Marvel
Studios partnered with No Equal Entertainment to produce a separate television series
featuring Moon Knight.[45] Writer Jon Cooksey was hired to develop the series by 2008,
but it did not move forward.[46] James Gunn, the writer and director of Marvel's Guardians
of the Galaxy films, said in January 2017 that he had discussed a Moon Knight film with
Marvel Studios but did not have time to work on it; [47] he later said that he had mentioned
the idea in passing to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and several others, but did
not have a full pitch for such a film as had been reports on his initial comments had
stated.[48] Feige confirmed in April 2018 that Moon Knight would be introduced to
the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but questioned, "Does that mean five years from
now, 10 years from now, 15 years from now?" [49]
In August 2019, Marvel Studios announced at the D23 conference that a series based
on Moon Knight was being developed for the streaming service Disney+.[50] That
November, Jeremy Slater was hired to serve as the head writer and executive producer
of the series,[1][51] which consists of six 40–50 minute episodes.[52] Egyptian
director Mohamed Diab was set to direct four episodes in October 2020,[53][54] as well as
executive produce the series. Marvel had approached him "out of the blue" to present a
pitch for Moon Knight,[53] which includes Egyptian mythology and characters that the
superhero is associated with in the comics. Diab and his writer-producer wife Sarah
Goher put together a 200-page document outlining their vision for the series, which
included their intention to depict Egypt and Egyptian people in a more positive way than
they felt had been done in previous Hollywood productions. Diab elaborated that
American films and series often used Orientalist stereotypes such as portraying
Egyptian people as exotic "guides and desert wanderers" or ignoring the fact that
the Giza pyramids are beside Cairo, a modern city. He wanted to portray Egyptians as
"normal human beings" and Egypt as a "normal place" like modern America, while also
hiring other Egyptian crewmembers to work on the series. [55] He added that the series
would be "hard, serious and about big topics" like many of his previous feature films.
[53]
 By November 2020, director duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead were asked to
create a pitch for the series, after previously having had discussions with Marvel Studios
about finding a project to work on together.[56] They joined the series to direct the other
two episodes in January 2021,[53][57] working alongside Diab to ensure a consistent
approach to the series.[58] Marvel Studios' Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad
Winderbaum, and Grant Curtis also serve as executive producers along with star Oscar
Isaac,[59] with Goher as a consulting producer,[20] and Nick Pepin as the production and
development manager for the series.[60]
In February 2021, Feige said some of Marvel's series, including Moon Knight and She-
Hulk, were being developed with the potential to have additional seasons made, in
contrast to series like WandaVision (2021), which were developed as limited events that
lead into feature films instead.[61] A year later, Isaac referred to Moon Knight as a limited
series,[9][62] while Diab was unsure whether the series would continue. [63]
Writing[edit]
Michael Kastelein, Beau DeMayo, Peter Cameron, Sabir Pirzada, Alex Meenehan,
Rebecca Kirsch, Matthew Orton, and Danielle Iman serve as writers on the series,
[64]
 with an archeologist specializing in Egyptian tombs consulting with the writers. [65] Feige
likened the series to the Indiana Jones franchise while exploring Egyptology,[2] two
aspects that were a large part of Slater's pitch given that he wanted to tell a "dark,
complex story" mixed with "big, fun, supernatural, Amblin-style magic".[65] Slater said he
wanted the series to have a similar tone to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
and Ghostbusters (1984), and bring some horror aspects and monsters to the MCU. He
wanted to push the limits with how dark a Marvel series could be, which Feige and
Marvel Studios were supportive of.[66] Feige said there was a clear difference in tone
between Moon Knight and the other Marvel Studios Disney+ series released at that
point, adding that the studio worked with Disney+ to push the boundaries on how much
of Moon Knight's brutality they could present in the series. [9]
Feige said title character's mental illness was a unique aspect of the series, [8] which
primarily focuses on his psychological trauma.[67]: 54  Dr. Paul Puri, a board-certified
psychiatrist and an assistant clinical professor at UCLA, served as a consultant for the
series regarding its depictions of mental illness.[11]: 5  Diab did caution that though the
creatives were respectful of dissociative identity disorder (DID), the series still exists in a
fictional, supernatural world and some elements were "over-dramatize[d]". [6] He
suggested using reflections to portray the conversation scenes between Grant and
Spector, which became a recurring theme of Moon Knight.[68] The series draws on the
character's more modern interpretations in the comics regarding DID, such as each
identity losing a sense of time when not in control. [69][70] Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood's
run in the comics served as inspiration.[65][39] Executive producer Grant Curtis said the
series explored identity and "finding one's true self", adding that Grant and Spector
would look to "reconcile portions of [their] past, present and potential future that [they
don't] necessarily agree with". Isaac believed the series would be "experiential" for
viewers to connect with "the psychological horror of not knowing what's happening and
the slow revelations of the truth" that came with portraying the character's DID. Slater
added that the creatives took the series' depiction of mental health seriously,
researching the disorder and aiming for Moon Knight to have a positive portrayal and
message regarding mental health.[7]
Slater said the series would not heavily feature the aspects of Moon Knight in the
comics where he was a playboy philanthropist, since that version of the character had
been likened to the DC Comics character Batman which was not a comparison that
Slater wanted to make.[71] Slater added that exploring Moon Knight's mental health
allowed them to be more than "a palette-swapped Batman clone", adding that he was
"his own greatest enemy in a lot of ways".[7] Isaac believed Moon Knight was "the first
legitimate Marvel character-study" since Iron Man (2008),[4] with Curtis adding that the
character was like Stark for Marvel Studios in that he could be "built from the ground
up".[11]: 2  Early in development, Steven Grant was the identity who became Moon Knight
while Spector would have become Mr. Knight, but these were eventually reversed.
[72]
 Each episode's end credits conclude with a message encouraging viewers to visit the
website of the National Alliance on Mental Illness to learn more about DID.[73] The
existence of the third alter, Jake Lockley, is hinted at throughout the series before
appearing in the final episode's mid-credits scene. Slater noted that all of the creatives
worked to find the proper balance of how many overt hints to leave regarding Lockley,
deciding to focus on viewers unfamiliar with the character from the comics and creating
a satisfying mystery for them. Each of the directors worked with their cinematographers
to find moments in the earlier episodes that could be "confusion" where Lockley could
enter and exit. For example, when Grant returns in the first episode from the cupcake
truck chase, a shot of a mirror features barely a third reflection. [15]
The supernatural elements inspired from the comics include various Egyptian gods, one
of whom, Khonshu, manipulates Spector in a way that draws on their "toxic" relationship
from the comics.[11]: 2, 7  The series is set in the MCU in early 2025,[11]: 3 [74][75] but has no explicit
connections to other parts of the MCU,[11]: 2  with some planned references to the actions
of Gorr the God Butcher from Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) removed during the
writing process. Slater said this was done because they did not naturally fit the series,
and because it was unclear during development when the series would be released in
relation to that film. This is also why its place in the MCU timeline was left vague. [76]
[77]
 Diab added that they found the story to be "so psychologically complicated" and
intriguing that they did not need the "crutches" of MCU references. Isaac said Moon
Knight's "most important thing was an emotional truth to the journey that was
happening" rather than its MCU plot ties. It is partially set in London, rather than New
York City like the comics, to differentiate the series from the other MCU projects set in
that city.[6]
Casting[edit]
In October 2020, Oscar Isaac entered negotiations for the lead role, [78] and was said to
have been cast in January 2021;[57][79] Marvel Studios officially confirmed the casting that
May.[80] Isaac was initially hesitant to join the series, as he was wary of being in another
franchise after experiencing how much time and effort was required to film the Star
Wars sequel trilogy. He accepted the role after researching DID further and becoming
fascinated with Grant's characterization for the series, [13] as well as being given creative
freedom from Feige.[68] Richard Newby of The Hollywood Reporter felt Isaac's recent
major acting roles could draw audiences unfamiliar with the character to the series, and
that his Latino ethnicity could allow an examination of Judaism from different
perspectives, rather than having the character be depicted as an Ashkenazi Jewish man
like in the comics.[81] Isaac later confirmed that the character would be portrayed
as Jewish-American in the series.[7]
In January 2021, May Calamawy was cast in the "key role" of Layla El-Faouly,[65]
[82]
 and Ethan Hawke was cast as Arthur Harrow, the series' main villain.[83][84] Goher had
approached Calamawy on social media to convince her to audition, [18] and had included
Calamaway in her and Diab's pitch presentation for the series. [23] Isaac had initially
approached Hawke about joining the series, and Diab asked Hawke not to read the
scripts before signing on because he wanted to develop the character with the actor.
Diab was thankful that Hawke trusted him and Isaac enough to join them without seeing
the scripts, which Hawke said he had not done in 35 years. [63] He explained that he
joined the series because of Isaac, Diab, and where he felt he was in his acting career,
and he enjoyed the creative freedom that came with the series telling a lesser-known
story.[85] Though there is a minor character named Arthur Harrow in the comics, Hawke
said the series' version was mostly an original creation, [67]: 54  believed to include elements
of other Moon Knight characters such as the Sun King[69][86][87] and Morning Star.[67]: 54  Slater
chose not to adapt Moon Knight's most prominent antagonist, Bushman, since he felt he
was too similar to Black Panther (2018) villain Killmonger.[88] Gaspard Ulliel joined the
cast by July 2021 as Anton Mogart,[89][90] in one of his last roles before his death in
January 2022.[89] F. Murray Abraham was revealed to be voicing Khonshu in February
2022,[25] having been approached for the role; [24] Karim El Hakim provided the on-set
performance of the character.[11]: 7  Ann Akinjirin and David Ganly also star as police
officers and Harrow's followers Bobbi Kennedy and Billy Fitzgerald, respectively,
[32]
 while Khalid Abdalla stars as Osiris' avatar Selim,[33] and Antonia Salib stars as the
Egyptian goddess Taweret.[36] Sofia Danu and Saba Mubarak were the on-set performer
and voice of the Egyptian goddess Ammit, respectively.[39][40]
Lucy Thackeray was revealed to be portraying Donna in the series' trailer, released in
January 2022.[42] Additional castings were revealed ahead of the series' premiere in
March, including Rey Lucas as Marc's and Steven's father Elias Spector, [38] Fernanda
Andrade as Wendy Spector, Marc's mother,[37] Saffron Hocking as Dylan,[91] Shaun
Scott as Crawley,[41] and Díana Bermudez as Yatzil.[33] Other guest stars included
Alexander Cobb as J.B.,[10] Declan Hannigan as the avatar of Horus, Hayley Konadu as
the avatar of Tefnut, Nagisa Morimoto as the avatar of Isis,[33] Loic Mabanza as Bek,
  Joseph Millson as Dr. Steven Grant, Bill Bekele as Rosser, Claudio Fabian Contreras
[43]

as Spector's younger brother Randall, and Usama Soliman as Layla's father Abdallah

El-Faouly.[10] The majority of smaller Egyptian roles went to Egyptian actors, including
those living in Budapest,[26] such as Ahmed Dash, Hazem Ehab, Amr Elkady, and Zizi
Dagher.[92]
Design[edit]
Sets[edit]
Stefania Cella serves as the production designer, [11]: 8  working with Egyptologists and an
Egyptian supervising art director to ensure historical accuracy in her sets. She
meticulously worked on the smaller details to bring a realism to the sets. Her Chamber
of the Gods set was three-stories tall and decorated with yellow hieroglyphs related to
divinity, with the Burial Chamber set also featuring hieroglyphs and water and reflective
surfaces to represent the series's themes of duality and identity. [11]: 9–10  Grant's attic
apartment was constructed to resemble the pyramids, while Harrow's residence was
made to be commune-style in the Spitalfields/dockyard part of London. The Mogart’s
Mansion set included two Louvre-inspired glass pyramids that were built for filming. [11]: 9–
10 
 Two Egyptian housing block sets were also built. [26]
Costumes[edit]
Meghan Kasperlik serves as the costume designer.[93] Diab wanted the costumes to have
a lot of Egyptian symbols and iconography, with Kasperlik finding ways to include "those
subtleties but still representing Egyptian culture today and also Ancient Egyptians
symbols from the past".[94] She also worked with Cella to ensure the same symbols on
the sets were incorporated into the costumes.[95]
Grant's costumes were meant to evoke the "coolness" of Brixton but with some
elements "off",[11]: 11  with Kasperlik finding vintage shirts in New York for the character,
and later incorporating a "clunkier shoe to weigh this character down" and a Chore coat.
[95]
 Spector has a "desert look with a tactical, utilitarian and lighter costume". He also has
a hoodie and vest with multiple functions which was foreshadowing for Moon Knight's
cape effect.[11]: 11  Arthur Harrow's costumes are "monk-like" inspired by real-life cult
leaders, while El-Faouly has a more athletic look with Cairo and London influences. [11]: 
12 
 Harrow has Ammit's death prayer inscribed on his bracelet, while El-Faouly's Egyptian
touches are subtlety featured in her jewelry. El-Faouly also has teases throughout the
series hinting at her becoming the Scarlet Scarab, such as her pants being the same
print as when she is in the Scarlet Scarab suit. [94] Most of El-Faouly's costumes were
custom-made, despite their contemporary appearance. [95]
Moon Knight's costume consists of armor and Ancient Egyptian bandages, with
hieroglyphic-like symbols on his cape,[9][7][11]: 12  which feature Khonshu's oath and are in a
repeating pattern on the underlining in a foil-like fabric. [96] The moon crest on his chest,
from which he spawns his crescent darts, also contains the oath of Khonshu, while
additional hieroglyphs on his pants that state "Rise and live again as my fist of
vengeance. My Moon Knight."[97] His mummy bandage design is based on the Universe
X version of the character from the comics, and was designed to conjure around
Spector, giving it a supernatural quality and helping to differentiate it from similarly
forming hero suits in the MCU that use nanotech. Feige suggested taking the bandage
design and combining it with the character's more modern design in the comics. [98] She
ultimately chose to separate the costume into many layers and not turn it into a molded
piece with the piece and texture on top, as she wanted to incorporate symbolism of
Khonshu into her design.[95] The Moon Knight suit was created by FBFX in London, and
consisted of over 803 different pieces. [94]
For Mr. Knight, Kasperlik created a three-piece suit based on his design in the comics,
with various homages to Khonshu in the design. She added designed sneakers to
modernize the look.[11]: 12  The buttons on his waistcoat feature Khonshu's symbols. [97] She
also wanted to pick a fabric that would not be flat white, would have a texture, and
would not get "blown out" during nighttime filming and look like "a white marshmallow
running across the screen", choosing a white-on-white textured fabric with a silver lame
in it.[94] The logic behind the designs of the Moon Knight and Mr. Knight suits was
inspired by who each identity was, what they love, and their imagination. With Grant
"completely away from the superhero world", he summons a costume that resembles a
suit as Mr. Knight.[72][21] Both the Moon Knight and Mr. Knight suits contained Khonshu's
symbol.[96]
Khonshu, Taweret, and Ammit's costumes were made for each character, despite each
being CGI characters.[99][94] To create Khonshu's costume, Kasperlik read previous comics
and researched various types of fabrics and how she could make it tattered. She used
six different types of fabrics that were all hand-sewn and stretched so the actor could
wear it comfortably. A custom leather collar and leather strips were added over the
chest area to emphasize his symbol, while a belt, which was sculpted and molded, also
goes around his waist.[96] The practical costume pieces for Taweret consisted of a
scarab, breastplate, gold bracelets, "several layers of feathers that plumed out", and
hieroglyphs carved into various elements, with Salib calling Taweret "a very fashionable
goddess". Salib also wore platform shoes to mimic hippo feet as well as a motion
capture pole to aid in the extra height of the character. [36] Given Taweret is the goddess
of childbirth and fertility, her headpiece features the birthing dance and prayer of ancient
Egypt,[99] which was a replica of a piece of Egyptian artwork. Much of her costume was
constructed by in-house leather works and metalsmiths. Both Khonshu and Taweret
had their prayers and oaths incorporated into the various symbolisms on their
costumes.[96]
Titles[edit]
The series' main-on-end title sequence was designed by Perception.[100] Each episode's
end credits feature a new phase of the moon, starting with a crescent moon in the first
episode.[101]
Filming[edit]
Filming was expected to begin in March 2021,[102][103] and was confirmed to be underway
by the end of April in Hungary.[104] The series was filmed under the working title Good
Faith,[105][106] with Diab directing the first, third, and final two episodes and Benson and
Moorhead directing the second and fourth.[6] Moorhead explained that he and Benson
were "handed" the second and fourth episodes to direct, in part because of logistical
reasons, but also because each of the episodes were designed to have "its own voice",
though the first two episodes connect a little more closer to each other because the
creatives were still "figuring out the production" then. He continued that the location of
the fourth episode was "very much its own thing", allowing the duo to "cordon off a little
bit", while the final two episodes are "their own voice from each other and from the rest
of the episodes".[56] Gregory Middleton was the cinematographer for Diab and Andrew
Droz Palermo served the role for Benson and Moorhead. [79][11]: 24–25  Soundstage work
occurred at Origo Studios in Budapest. [11]: 8  The series was previously expected to begin
filming on November 16, 2020, to last for 26 weeks, but this was postponed due to
the COVID-19 pandemic.[103][106] Filming occurred at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest
in April,[104] which served as exteriors for London's National Gallery,[11]: 10  and
in Szentendre at the beginning of May.[107] In early June, outdoor night scenes were
filmed at Madách Square in Budapest. [108] Various exterior locations in Budapest were
found to stand-in for London, particularly the Brixton and Soho areas.[11]: 10–11 
Filming also occurred in Slovenia,[109] for one week in Wadi Rum, Jordan, and concluded
in Budapest and Jordan by the beginning of October, [53][110] at which point production
moved to Atlanta, Georgia.[53] It had wrapped by October 14.[111] Isaac said filming felt
"handmade",[4] with Diab bringing local authenticity and attention to the smallest details
such as including the correct text of a prayer over a shop. [67]: 54  Hawke was appreciative of
the Egyptian Diab for leading the series, since he did not approach the series "with the
eyes of an American", but as someone who had grown up in the country. [11]: 8  The
production had hoped to film the series in Egypt but were unable to in part because of
the country's political climate and censorship issues; Hollywood production had not
been able to shoot in the country for some time.[26]
Additional photography was completed by mid-November, [112] and Diab said there was
much less reshooting required for the series than on other Marvel Studios projects,
occurring over four days.[72] He, Isaac, and Hawke attributed this to the large amount of
rehearsing and discussing that they did before filming each episode, including regular
Sunday brunches with the main cast and crew. Hawke said these meetings helped form
a "collective imagination" for the series that made it easier to switch between Diab's
episodes and those directed by Benson and Moorhead, since the "imaginative force
behind it was the same".[58]
Post-production[edit]
Abraham joined the series later in the process and had multiple recording sessions
where he was encouraged to provide different takes and ideas for the material. He
came up with various vocal options, ultimately settling on the one he enjoyed and was
the best fit for the character.[24] Cedric Nairn-Smith serves as an editor on the series for
the first and sixth episodes, Joan Sobel for the second and fifth episodes, and Ahmed
Hafez for the third and fourth episodes, while Sean Andrew Faden serves as the visual
effects supervisor.[11]: 26–28  Visual effects for the series were created by Framestore, Image
Engine, Mammal Studios, WetaFX, and Zoic Studios.[113]
Music[edit]
External audio

 Hesham Nazih – Moon Knight (From "Moon Knight"/Audio

Only) presents composer Hesham Nazih's main theme for the series as

heard on the first episode's soundtrack, YouTube audio-only video

from MarvelMusicVevo's channel

Egyptian composer Hesham Nazih had composed the score for the series by early
March 2022 in his first major English language project. [92][114] Diab was drawn to Nazih to
score the series because his work "encompasses authentic Egyptian elements in a very
contemporary way",[26] with the music helping to break Egyptian stereotypes by revealing
some of the country's lesser-known contemporary art to international audiences; Diab
described it as a "beautiful score that is Egyptian, but it's international at its core, it's
universal".[55] The series' soundtrack used a mixture of older and newer songs as a way
to showcase Cairo's music scene, which has similar sensibilities to the West, without
resorting to songs that would feel like they were from the Middle Ages. [26] Marvel
Music and Hollywood Records released the first episode's end-credit track from Nazih,
"Moon Knight", as a digital single on March 30, 2022, [115] followed by the series'
soundtrack album on April 27.[116]
Moon Knight (Original Soundtrack)[116]
No. Title Length
1. "Moon Knight" 2:10
2. "The Village" 1:36
3. "Village Scales" 2:13
4. "Phone and Elevator Blues" 2:09
5. "Chaos Within" 3:37
6. "Full Moon Fight" 2:13
7. "Storage Locker" 2:36
8. "What Suit?" 2:48
9. "Moonlight Fight" 3:19
10. "Fake P