The bombs have been dropping at D23 all day! Among all the titles in Star Wars and Marvel, one of the more exciting names dropped along with Obi-wan Kenobi, She-Hulk and The Mandalorian is Moon Knight!
There was once a plan to drop Marc Spector’s werewolf-hunting character into one of the Marvel series on Netflix, similar to how Punisher was introduced through the Daredevil series. Since the Marvel/Netflix marriage is ending, Disney+ has moved in. They will be bringing Moon Knight to the small screen on their new streaming service. It would have been cool to see this guy and The Punisher go at it, but alas, we probably won’t see that.
Who is the Moon Knight?
Marc Spector’s original iteration was as a villain-for-hire brought on by a shadowy group called “The Committee” to hunt Jack Russell, a werewolf. Once he discovered he was being used, he helped the werewolf escape. He was later revealed to be a hero playing the villain role to infiltrate “The Committee” and expose them. He had several team-ups with Daredevil, Hulk, Spiderman and Punsher, and was part of The Defenders for a time. There is plenty of source material to work from, so Disney+ can go in several different directions with this one.
Moon Knight had several comic versions of himself, even with the character adopting other names and personas. Honestly, his comic origin story is messy. Several attempts to explain and clean it up were made through different volumes and appearances. His newest version in the Ultimate Marvel comic line as an ex-Navy SEAL in a super-soldier experiment gone wrong seems the cleanest.
What this could mean for the Marvel Universe on the small screen
Moon Knight’s origin introduction in Werewolf by Night could see Disney+ get a little into the horror genre (which is totally fine with me). His recurring comic enemies were Shadow Knight, Black Spectre, and Bushman. We probably wouldn’t see them until later since the first season will likely be an origin story, where he battled the werewolf multiple times. Disney has free license to do what they want with Spector’s background, but if they say true to source material, Disney+ werewolves could be in our future.
It also brings about a vengeful hero similar to another cowled and caped crusader from another universe. Where Batman has no superpowers, Moon Knight does. At some point, he becomes imbued with Khonshu, the Egyptian moon god of justice, wielding powers based on moon phases. He also struggles with dissociative identity disorder, taking on alter-egos to cope with his vigilante activities. According to Spidey, Moon Knight may not be playing with a full deck:
“Mooney. Rhymes with loony.”
Spiderman, Moon Knight #7, 2007
Is Moon Knight the MCU’s Batman?
Fans for years have compared the similarities of Marc Spector/Moon Knight to Bruce Wayne/Batman. They are both wealthy, highly trained, beyond-Olympic-level athletes. Both can take a beating and keep dishing it out to the baddies. They also use tech and gadgets to aid their crusades. There are times where the two are very similar, indeed. The only major difference it seems is Bruce Wayne fights crime for actual vengeance. Moon Knight fights crime because of the concept of vengeance. Plus, it makes him feel better for all the people he killed in his mercenary years.
Casting rumors have already started
This title, among all the others, has Marvel fans excited and the rumors have already started. An unconfirmed rumor almost immediately after the announcement was that Marc Spector would be played by Kit Harrington from Game of Thrones.
Originally, Harrington was thought to be headed for The Eternals. Today’s announcement may have changed that. Another rumor that’s been floating long before the announcement of the series is that Keanu Reeves would be coming to the MCU. Is it possible we’ll see him as Marc Spector? The current Moon Knight comic artist, Bill Sienkiewicz, laid out his two cents on Twitter:
“Keanu would nail every one of MK’s alternate personalities; chill enough to be Lockley the cabby-or Lyft driver, suave enough to pull off billionaire Grant, cold & cruel enough to nail the merc Spector, inscrutably badass enough to bring Moon Knight home.”
Bill Sienkiewicz
Are you excited to see Moon Knight brought into the MCU? Kevin Feige says the project is in development, so nothing is set in stone yet. What is your favorite thing from D23’s bombshell announcements today? Comment below and let us know!
Source: D23
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