MOON KNIGHT Actor Ethan Hawke Says He Based His Mysterious Villain On David Koresh

MOON KNIGHT Actor Ethan Hawke Says He Based His Mysterious Villain On David Koresh

We still know very little about the character Ethan Hawke will play in Marvel's Moon Knight, but the actor has now revealed that he based his performance on notorious cult leader David Koresh.

By MarkCassidy - Aug 13, 2021 10:08 AM EST
Filed Under: Moon Knight

Back in February, the news broke that Ethan Hawke had signed on to play the villain in Marvel's Moon Knight, and the actor has now shared some intriguing new details about his mysterious character while appearing on Late Night with Seth Myers.

The Academy Award-nominated The Good Lord Bird star didn't give us a name, but he did reveal that he based his character on David Koresh after Myers pointed out how much he looked like the notorious cult leader. We're not sure if any established Moon Knight baddies really fit that description, but William Cross, aka Crossfire, did develop ultrasonic brainwashing technology in the comics.

Interestingly, Hawke also mentions that "we're conjuring ancient gods and fighting for good and evil" on the show, which would seem to confirm that Marvel won't be shying away from the more fantastical/supernatural elements of the comics.

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."

What do you guys make of Hawke's comments? Any guesses as to which character he might be playing? We actually got a first look at Oscar Isaac in-costume earlier today, which you can check out here.

MOON KNIGHT Star May Calamawy's Scenes Were Cut From GLADIATOR II - Who Did She Play & Why Didn't She Appear?
Related:

MOON KNIGHT Star May Calamawy's Scenes Were Cut From GLADIATOR II - Who Did She Play & Why Didn't She Appear?

MOON KNIGHT Director Mohamed Diab Reveals Whether He's Heard From Marvel Studios About The Hero's Future
Recommended For You:

MOON KNIGHT Director Mohamed Diab Reveals Whether He's Heard From Marvel Studios About The Hero's Future

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

WakandaTech
WakandaTech - 8/13/2021, 10:41 AM
Could be this badass

Nightmare
Nightmare - 8/13/2021, 10:42 AM
FishyZombie
FishyZombie - 8/13/2021, 1:27 PM
@Nightmare - what went down with that cult was before my time, so for me the ending was very shocking.
suitekid
suitekid - 8/13/2021, 10:45 AM
Big fan of Ethan Hawke so I’m pumped to see what he does with the villain role!:)
chewie
chewie - 8/13/2021, 3:19 PM
@suitekid - glad you said that! He’s very underrated but I think it comes from him taking smaller/ less big budget roles. He was amazing in training day which is a classic.
suitekid
suitekid - 8/15/2021, 7:36 AM
@chewie - Big agree for sure. He’s got his rare appearance in bigger films but he’s usually doing something small. Either way he’s always enjoyable to watch:)
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 8/13/2021, 10:45 AM
[frick] it, make him Mephisto
Reeds2Much
Reeds2Much - 8/13/2021, 10:46 AM
Ethan Hawke Says He Based His Mysterious Villain On David Koresh
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 8/13/2021, 10:48 AM
@Reeds2Much - That's Hollywood for you.
soberchimera
soberchimera - 8/13/2021, 11:00 AM
@Reeds2Much - I think he also got a 70-year old woman pregnant.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 8/13/2021, 10:52 AM
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 8/13/2021, 11:15 AM
Lil Steve was chunky huh
Prork
Prork - 8/13/2021, 11:30 AM
Could he be Khonshu?
IronDean2099
IronDean2099 - 8/13/2021, 11:30 AM
Must have been real easy to get into character because he already hates superheroes.
PhoenixBlade
PhoenixBlade - 8/13/2021, 12:19 PM
People saying Hawke took this for the money clearly didn’t understand his statements about superhero films. He likes them, he just doesn’t like how they’ve taken over Hollywood. The film industry is consumed with adaptations, sequels, prequels, reboots and remakes. His sentiments are right. Strangely enough though Marvel could be the very vehicle that can bring back original cinema. Most fans of the MCU are casual fans. Zero knowledge on the comic books. They have faith in the brand and in turn, the studio. It’s not the characters name that sells tickets, it’s Marvel Studios. Marvel could release an entirely independent and original film and it’d make a ton of money at the box office because people trust that Marvel Studios will produce at the very worst an okay film and at the very best an emotional journey that gets you pumped. Marvel’s a little different to other studios. A big money corporation that works more like A24 than say Warner Bros. (not a DC dig btw). There’s passion to the filmmaking while other studio made films end up a mess and blatant cash grabs. Returning to Hawke’s involvement in the series, he’s not a man to accept a role for money and even if he were, he gives 100% and never phones it in. He would’ve had faith in the project.
Desrow
Desrow - 8/13/2021, 1:03 PM
My main reason to watch this, I love Ethan Hawke
chewie
chewie - 8/13/2021, 3:20 PM
@Desrow - same.
View Recorder