Last month, we learned that Ethan Hawke had signed on to play the villain in Marvel's Moon Knight, and the actor has now explained what appealed to him about the upcoming Disney+ series.
Hawke has tended to avoid high-profile blockbuster-type projects over the course of his career, and has actually torn down superhero movies to some extent in the past, so fans were a little surprised when his casting was announced.
During an interview with The Ringer, Hawke revealed that the opportunity to work with Oscar Isaac was one of the main reasons he agreed to the role.
"A lot of it… is Oscar to me, to be honest with you," said the actor when asked why he decided on Moon Knight after passing on several comic book roles in the past. "I find him to be a very exciting player in my field. I like what he’s doing with his life. He reminds me of the actors, when I first arrived at New York, that I looked up to. Oscar’s younger than me, and I like the way he carries himself, and I like the way he thinks. And in general, good things happen when you’re in the room with people that you like the way they think, right?!"
Hawke also praised director Mohamed Diab, who he describes as "a serious artist."
We still don't know which character Hawke will be playing, but as Marc Spector's arch nemesis, Bushman seems to be the most likely candidate. There are several other possibilities, however, including Crossfire, Black Spectre, and Jack Russell. If Marvel wanted to go down more supernatural route, there's Werewolf By Night, or maybe even Dracula.
Isaac is set to play the titular vigilante, and May Calamawy is also on board in an undisclosed role.
Marvel's Moon Knight has Cairo 678 director Mohamed Diab behind the camera, and we recently found out that the Disney+ series has also enlisted Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead (The Endless, Synchronic) to helm additional episodes. Jeremy Slater (The Umbrella Academy; The Exorcist) will serve as showrunner, and is leading the show's writing team.
Plot details are still under wraps, but the small-screen adaptation is expected to stick pretty close to the basic premise of the comic, with Marc Spector, a highly skilled mercenary who has numerous alter-egos, channelling the power of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu to fight crime in LA.
A recent synopsis stated that "the action-adventure features a complex vigilante who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. The multiple identities who live inside him are distinct characters who appear against a backdrop of Egyptian iconography."
Moon Knight is expected to begin shooting in Budapest this March.