Marvel's Moon Knight: Trailer drops for new series based in Ancient Egypt
Marvel has released the first full-length trailer for its upcoming series Moon Knight, which draws inspiration from Ancient Egyptian mythology.
The show stars Oscar Isaac (Star Wars) and is directed by Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Diab, and will stream on Disney+ from 30 March.
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Moon Knight tells the story of Marc Spector (Isaac), an English mercenary struggling with dissociative identity disorder, who receives super powers from the Egyptian moon god, Khonshu.
It is set in both modern times and Ancient Egypt, with Spector initially thinking he's going through a mental breakdown before he is taught to harness his gifts by cult leader Arthur Harrow, played by Ethan Hawke.
Spector is then lured into a confrontation with members of the Egyptian pantheon, with the gods Ra, Osiris and Anubis all making an appearance.
The original Marvel comic was heavily influenced by Egyptian mythology and Moon Knight’s costume design is also inspired by the ancient Egyptian tradition of mummification.
Mohamed Diab's English debut
The head writer for the series is The Umbrella Academy writer Jeremy Slater, while Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Diab is directing four of the six episodes. The remaining two are directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead.
The series will be the first major English-language project involving Diab, who previously directed the critically acclaimed Clash (Eshtebak). Produced in 2016, Eshtebak is set in the confines of an Egyptian police van and focuses on the Egyptian revolution's failure, through characters who are aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, the army, or other factions.
Diab, who is from Ismailia, expressed his excitement about working on the series in an interview last year.
“All my films are very serious, but even when I’m making the Marvel show I’m bringing in some of who I am, so while there is drama, comedy, action and scary moments, hopefully when you see it, you’ll see some of it is me,” he said.
Diab's other significant works include Cairo 678 (2010), an award-winning film that follows three women trying to tackle sexual harassment.
For the Marvel series, he has collaborated with Egyptian editor Ahmed Hafez. The pair have worked together on films including Clash.
The series also features actor May Calamawy, who was born in Bahrain to Egyptian and Palestinian parents and has previously appeared in the award-winning US comedy series Ramy.
This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.
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