Despite several reasons why this would most likely never happen, there is a part of me that has always wanted to see my all-time favorite superhero, Batman, join my all-time favorite franchise of superhero movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, I am perfectly happy to see Oscar Isaac portray the next best thing on the latest Disney+ exclusive Marvel series, Moon Knight.
Of course, while many have considered this fan favorite comic book hero be the Marvel equivalent of the Dark Knight, there is a little more to the character than a vengeful driving force, a fancy suit, and some cool gadgets at his disposal. There is much to learn about this unique, supernatural badass, just like there is plenty to know about the Moon Knight cast and some of their most notable efforts before starring on the highly anticipated series. We will begin our breakdown of who is playing who with our supremely talented lead hero.
Oscar Isaac (Marc Spector/Moon Knight)
Mercenary Marc Spector - the alter ego of Moon Knight - is just one of a few different identities portrayed on the series by Oscar Isaac, whose previous Marvel characters include the titular villain of 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse and Miguel “Spider-Man 2099” O’Hara, whom he voiced in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Before then, the actor played Joseph in 2005’s The Nativity Story, a supposedly reformed criminal on the Drive cast in 2011, briefly appeared alongside fellow MCU actor Jeremy Renner in The Bourne Legacy in 2012, and landed his first lead role in the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis in 2013.
In 2015, Isaac debuted as Poe Dameron in the first of three Star Wars movies, which led to further notable sci-fi roles - such as in 2018’s Annihilation (his second collaboration with Ex Machina writer and director Alex Garland) and playing Duke Leto Atreides in Dune in 2021. That same year, he reunited with his A Most Violent Year co-star, Jessica Chastain, for HBO’s miniseries, Scenes from a Marriage and reprised Gomez Addams in the animated The Addams Family 2.
Ethan Hawke (Arthur Harrow)
Making his comic adaptation debut as the villain of Moon Knight, Arthur Harrow, is Ethan Hawke, who made his acting debut at 15 in 1985’s sci-fi adventure Explorers, which he followed with the Oscar-winning drama Dead Poet’s Society in 1989. A year after 1994’s Reality Bites, he starred in Before Sunrise - the first of a romantic trilogy that was also the first of his many collaborations with Richard Linklater, including 2001’s Waking Life, Fast Food Nation in 2006, and Boyhood, for which he received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination in 2015.
Hawke’s first taste of that category, however came with his role in 2001’s Training Day, and his first taste of becoming a modern day horror movie icon was as the lead of 2012’s Sinister, followed by the first of the Purge movies the next year. After reuniting with Denzel Washington and Training Day director Antoine Fuqua for a 2016’s The Magnificent Seven remake, the actor gave what many consider one of his finest performances in Paul Schrader’s brutal psychological thriller First Reformed 2017.
May Calamawy (Layla El-Faouly)
As Layla El-Faouly, an archeologist and friend of Marc Spector, we have May Calamawy, who made her acting debut with the 2006 crime thriller Thursday, opposite future Orange is the New Black cast member Matt McGorry. Most of the roles she would follow that up with were short films, except for the Tobe Hooper-directed horror flick Djinn in 2013.
In 2017, after making guest appearances on CBS’ Madam Secretary and the short-lived NBC drama The Brave, the Egyptian-Palestinian actress starred in seven episodes of National Geographic’s 8-part miniseries The Long Road Home and, in 2021, appeared alongside Ed Helms and Patti Harrison in the dramedy Together Together. Her role on Moon Knight is Calamawy’s second experience as a TV series regular after playing the title character’s sister, Dema Hassan, on the Emmy-nominated Hulu original comedy Ramy.
F. Murray Abraham (Khonshu)
Providing the voice of Khonshu, the Egyptian God of the Moon who turns Marc Spector into the latest incarnation of the Moon Knight, is veteran actor F. Murray Abraham, who previously worked with Oscar Isaac for one memorable scene from Inside Llewyn Davis. He made his acting debut in 1971’s They Might Be Giants, which he followed with classic dramas like Serpico, All the President’s Men, and Scarface before earning a Best Actor Oscar for Amadeus in 1985.
Abraham has also tried his hand at comedy (with movies like 1993’s Last Action Hero or the Apple TV+ series Mythic Quest), sci-fi (such as 1998’s Star Trek: Insurrection), horror (with Guillermo del Toro’s Mimic, to name one), and has memorably worked with Wes Anderson twice in the last decade (namely in The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014 and in 2018’s Isle of Dogs). He also joined the Homeland cast in Season 2, played a human in Disney+’s live-action Lady and the Tramp remake, and is joining HBO’s The White Lotus cast for Season 2.
Fernanda Andrade (Wendy Spector)
As Marc Spector’s mother, Wendy, on Moon Knight, we have Fernanda Andrade, who previously starred in the unaired pilot for a purpose spin-off to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. called Marvel’s Most Wanted. Much earlier in her career, starred in a TV movie about a reluctant, supernatural hero called Fallen and its subsequent mini series on Freeform (when it was still called ABC Family).
After a recurring spot on Sons of Anarchy in 2011, the actress scored the lead role of the found footage horror flick The Devil Inside in 2012 and, six years later, had recurring roles on two short-lived series: HBO’s Here and Now, and The First on Hulu. In 2020, she appeared in two episodes of the Netflix original spin-off Narcos: Mexico and joined the main cast of Fox’s technophobic thriller Next.
Gaspard Ulliel (Anton Mogart/Midnight Man)
Playing a master thief named Anton Mogart, otherwise known as Midnight Man, is Gaspard Ulliel. The French-born actor was best known to American audiences for the Oscar-nominated romantic drama A Very Long Engagement from 2004 and his chilling performance as the title role of Hannibal Rising, which provides an origin story for the cannibalistic criminal psychologist, in 2007. After Moon Knight, the upcoming French film More Than Ever will see the final performance of Ulliel, who passed away in January 2022 after a skiing accident.
Watch the entire Moon Knight cast in action by streaming the series on Disney+ as of Wednesday, March 30.
