Murphy’s Team-Up, Volume 15: The ‘Moon Knight’ Trailer

The team shares their thoughts on the first look at Marvel Studios Moon Knight

Dalbin Osorio

Loved every second of it. From the shot of Egypt that made me immediately think of the Eternals to the use of one of Marc’s alter-egos to the shot of the criminally underrated Ethan Hawke (he’s who everyone pretends Jared Leto is), it set the tone far more than a teaser should. It gave us our first shot at many intriguing things (was that a Lycan? An Animus?), While also setting the stage for what seems to be a more visceral show than we’ve gotten from the MCU on Disney+. FWS had it’s moments, but this seems to up the violence ante. There’s some concern that Marvel didn’t cast a Jewish actor in the title role and that this means they’re going to retcon that for Isaac’s character, and this trailer did nothing to confirm/deny that. It left me wanting more, especially considering I believe Moon Knight will tie into Blade and some of the other properties coming down the pipe. All in all, mission accomplished.

Filip Manka

That trailer put me at ease. Despite my huge hype for this show, I still had some concerns in the back of my mind about adapting this character into a live-action feature. However, the trailer is absolutely fantastic for me and I can’t remember the last time I looked forward to a Marvel project this much. The trailer gave me the emotions I was expecting: disorientation, surreal atmosphere, and confusion.

The focus on DID and the character’s psychological problems is gratifying. The beginning of the trailer in terms of execution is very much in the style of directors Moorehead and Benson, enclosing the character in tight frames with a close-up camera. Somewhere in the back, there is the symbolism of the surroundings being reflected in puddles and mirrors, which I also think will at times serve as an interesting means of expression in portraying Marc’s problems.

Another huge plus is that the story will begin from the perspective of Steve Grant, Marc’s alter ego. I like how the subconscious has repressed Marc’s death, which by the way is very consistent with how DID works. The subconscious has separated the trauma and grief to protect the person from themselves. Such a theme gives room for many interesting narrative treatments, and I hope that the further into the woods the story becomes less linear.

I was also very positively surprised by the fact that the series will be mostly based on the series from 1985. Ethan Hawke’s character himself is named Arthur Harrow, who debuted in the comics in 1985, and the hero himself was studying the theory of pain. Here I think that they will combine Harrow with Sun King and I know that Moon Knight’s fans may turn their noses up a bit because the plot with Sun King was poor, but such a synthesis of these two characters may come out on a good note.

 I do love this outfit. I’m glad that they didn’t go for any armor, but something mystical and out of the ordinary for the MCU. Once again, I associate it with the 1985 run where the theme of Egypt and mysticism was present, and according to the description, this element will also be important in the series.

Mary Maerz

I loved it. Take out the last 10 seconds or so, and you wouldn’t even know it was a Marvel or superhero-type series. It definitely came across as more of a psychological thriller with a smattering of horror and a smidge of action. I really like that combination, but it will be interesting to see what that balance actually is in the series, since it’s a solid bet the action (and actual Moon Knight part) will be more prominent. I’m extremely curious how they will handle and explore Marc Spector’s D.I.D., and I hope it doesn’t take 5 episodes to explain it or to reveal Jake Lockely. I definitely felt some elements of the Lemire run with Marc (or Steven) going in and out of perceived realities in really abrupt and harsh ways, and I would love if they played into that consistently throughout the whole series. If Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow is actually who I think he could be, I’m very interested to see how they develop the dynamic between the two in this context. We only really saw Moon Knight going to town punching something in a bathroom for a few seconds, so honestly in my mind the jury is still very much out on the Moon Knight himself. But it’s looking good.

Nathan Miller

I enjoyed the trailer. I think Marvel Studios got almost exactly the right mix of attraction for a casual audience and for more dedicated fans. The trailer makes it clear we are going to have Steven Grant as a gateway to the character of Moon Knight with some subtleties of the wider Moonie mythos. There is a mystery to unravel for Steven as there is for the audience. All of my friends who watch Marvel Studios TV and films in a late-casual way thought ‘it was unlike any other Marvel thing’ they had seen, and were really excited about it. So in that sense, it’s job done. The only thing I think could maybe have been improved on is the music for this particular trailer, as it didn’t get me as hyped up as other Marvel Studios trailer music has done, but it’s not a deal-breaker by any means in my enjoyment of the trailer. I’m excited for the next trailer and for the show itself!

Charles Murphy

My thoughts are simple: the most non-Marvel trailer I’ve seen in a while and I love it. The only real piece of info I had on this show was that it would be partially inspired by Christopher Nolan’s Memento: the trailer showed us that is probably the case and that makes for a very interesting dynamic for the audience, especially anyone who doesn’t have a good handle on who Moon Knight is. I love the quasi-Earth X inspired costume. I think this has the makings of an incredibly fun series that will probably have weekly conversation on the level of WandaVision as fans try to piece together the mystery.

Anthony Canton III

The trailer is interesting in so many ways. First, for the MCU at large this feels like something entirely different than anything we’ve ever seen. For the uninitiated to the character it has to feel trippy as it not only is mysterious, but incredibly psychological. The tone of the trailer is a dark one, bringing us inside the mind of someone who’s clearly lost theirs. Oscar Isaac has a chance to do something special here in playing multiple personalities. Ethan Hawke’s character seems very influential without us knowing exactly who he is. There’s intrigue in all of this, and the Moon Knight suit itself looking so good on screen. Lastly, the brief physicality of seeing Moon Knight hammering a creature of some sort (Anubis perhaps) is exciting as we haven’t seen a fighting style like this one in the MCU. The fans are in for quite the ride with Moon Knight.

Joseph Aberl

The Moon Knight trailer probably goes down as one of my favorites alongside WandaVision and Loki. There’s something about the atmosphere that makes it stand out, especially with the psychological thriller aspect. Khonshu’s arrival as this horror monster makes me wonder just how they might approach the story, and even the strange accent by Oscar Isaac adds that something is off throughout. I really hope the series completely leans into that aspect and sticks to it throughout its runtime, as us questioning if Moon Knight is real or not could make for a great storyline before he enters the wider MCU.

Joao Pinto

For me what stood out the most in the Moon Knight trailer was the project’s apparent cinematic-quality. All other Disney+ MCU series have been great in terms of bringing a lot of the Marvel Studios big screen expertise to streaming, but Moon Knight’s footage seems to be on a different level. The series will be the first MCU show not to count on previously established characters within the franchise to help sell the property and therefore it might be going the extra mile in terms of presenting itself as a must-see television event based on looks alone.


The trailer itself hasn’t given out much in terms of plot, but if the feeling of its footage is anything to go by in terms of the overall quality of the series, one of the most enigmatic characters Marvel has decided to bring into the MCU might very well end up with the best-looking show, on par with the movies. Something that Marvel has been promising ever since its streaming strategy was announced, but that seldomly has been delivered.

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