Andor, a prequel to 2016’s Rogue One, is set to stream later this year on Disney Plus, but in keeping with the trend of Star Wars’ streaming series, little has been revealed about the show. It’s place on the timeline allows for it feature an interesting mix of characters as it can, like Rogue One, serve as a bridge from the Reign of the Empire to the Age of Rebellion, meaning characters from the prequels, animated series like The Bad Batch and Rebels and the original trilogy are equally likely to appear.
According to a pair of new rumors from Star Wars Meg and Bespin Bulletin, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda and the crimson-clad Imperial Guard are among those characters expected to return. As BB points out, at the time Andor is expected to take place, Palpatine would have already secluded himself more and more, allowing Amedda to serve as his mouthpiece. So while fans may think Guards=Emperor, that may not be the case. The first season of Andor will also feature a young Mon Mothma, played by Genevieve O’Reilly, the former Republic Senator who plays a major role in developing the Rebel Alliance, so it’s possible that Amedda could be featured in scenes centering around diplomatic dialogue with Mothma.
Andor’s first season is expected to consist of 12 episodes and a second season is already in development. The series stars Diego Luna as Rebel spy Cassian Andor, Adria Ajorna and was created by Tony Gilroy.
UPDATED: It looks like Moon Knight’s head writer has taken to Twitter to clarify that “Marlene was never part of our show.” While Layla’s character so far seems to have virtually the same background as the classic love interest from the comics, Jeremy Slater emphasized that the character (though not originally named Layla El-Faouly) was created in the first week of writing and it seems as though he is implying that the written character was never Marlene due to the team wanting a more diverse character. Previous reports (and May Calamwy’s interview) have said that the character was intially written as white, but perhaps there was some confusion as to whether they were referring to the comcis character being white.
Either way, the way Layla has been written clearly conjures up Marlene given both their fathers being archaelogists and killed in the process. At the same time, both are Marc Spector’s (and his alter’s) primary love interests from all we have seen so far. Slater seems to want readers to understand that the long-running comics character in her exactness was not intended for Moon Knight. You can read Slater’s statement in its entirity below:
It’s a great profile about the amazing May Calamawy, but I do want to clear up one inaccuracy. Marlene was never a part of our show. Diversity was incredibly important to our writers room, and Layla was created our very first week. (Although she was originally named Zayna Faoul.) https://t.co/fEJNjsW9F7
Now, the actress confirmed in an interview with ELLE that the original script was in fact written to include Marlene prior to Calamawy being cast opposite Isaac. In particular, she described how the series creators and Marvel Studios president KevinFeige worked to transform the original character into an Egyptian heroine:
It started even on the page as a white woman and when we came on board, me and [Moon Knightwriter Sarah Gohar], she was then changed into half Egyptian and we pushed it. Let’s make it into an Egyptian character and they welcomed that.
May Calamawy
Calamawy praised Moon Knight writers, director Mohamed Diab, and Feige for working to rewrite the character in order to avoid stereotypes and create an authentic take on the Eyptian actress’s Layla:
Anytime I felt uncomfortable, I would go talk to [Diab] and his wife and I love how Kevin Feige gave us the freedom to share that, let people know, ‘This is not what it’s like, if we do that it’s gonna be a stereotype.’ I realized quite early on this is a space where my voice was going to be heard and that’s the best feeling.
May Calamawy
Also important to the actress was for Layla to stand apart from other similar and well-known female characters of the past. Calamawy noted how important the “soft strength” of Middle Eastern women is to the character:
I was careful not to draw inspiration from someone in the West because they want me to bring my side. In the Middle East, I find women have such a soft strength to them. And I was like, ‘How can I bring this to her? Why should I sit and copy what I think Angelina Jolie would do?’ Every woman I know is a bunch of dichotomies, and I wanted to bring that.
May Calamawy
The series’ decision to cast Calamawy and rewrite Marlene’s character into Layla is surely one of Moon Knight’s strongest decisions. While it is unknown just how Marc Spector’s love interest was originally written, it is undeniable that Layla’s presence is a far cry from the fairly bland and often outdated damsel in distress in the comics. The fact that the series originally intended to feature another classic character from the comics, though, begs the question as to whether it has bigger plans for the iconic Moon Knight characters we have seen in cameos going forward in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The first four episodes of Moon Knight are now streaming exclusively on Disney+.
Disneynature’s newest wildlife documentary, Polar Bear, is an astounding achievement. It is directed by Alastair Fothergill and Jeff Wilson, the team behind Disneynature’s Penguins, and narrated by two-time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener. While it accomplishes what it set out to be—a beautiful and engaging family-friendly film—it also manages to go a bit deeper due to the inescapable reality of climate change on the film’s subjects.
Polar Bear is almost as true to its title as any film could get. The documentary follows one specific female bear for over 15 years in the Arctic. While it is somewhat framed from the perspective of this bear when she is a mother herself later in the film, most of the runtime seems to explore her coming of age. Indeed, perhaps the most memorable moments of Polar Bear come from her youth when she is living and learning from her mother alongside her twin brother. The true artistry of the story comes from the meticulous process of selecting a bear and committing to her for well over a decade. While she ultimately has a cub of her own, her journey is permanently set against the backdrop of her adventures with her own mother and the documentary emphasizes how significant ice bear heritage is to the continued survival of the species, both in the short- and long-term.
Polar Bear is undoubtedly a family-friendly movie that does not “talk down” to a younger audience. The pure joy of watching furry, cuddly-looking cubs play and learn new behaviors is a basic treat in and of itself. The majesty and power of watching adult bears in their native environment is captured brilliantly by the filmmakers. The visuals and cinematography are absolutely stunning. From the close-ups to the aerial shots, Polar Bear does not leave anything wanting in that space. Much of what makes the documentary special is that it captures polar bear behavior never before seen on camera. And while that might not be obvious while watching it, some moments are undeniably special, and the visuals, score, narration, and more work together in unison to paint those moments in an unforgettable light.
While the documentary is clearly an engaging and fun family-friendly movie, as a wildlife documentary Polar Bear does inevitably include somber moments. One of the most powerful aspects of the film ae the occasional flash-forwards to our bear with her cub, navigating an Arctic environment drastically changed by climate change since her youth. Despite the unavoidable presence of climate change, Polar Bear does not spend much time detailing or unpacking it. The documentary is the story of our bear—but the story of our bear cannot be told without showing the environment she is raising a cub into. The film ends on a noticeably much more optimistic and resilient note than it feels in the most recent footage. While the bear (through narration) struggles through harsh new terrain, she proclaims that her daughter will learn to be a great ice bear and will survive.
Polar Bear is a strong installment in the Disneynature collection. The documentary’s ability to capture scenes in such an extreme environment over such an extreme period of time undoubtedly paid off in the final product. The result is a memorable look at the lives, behaviors, and environments of one of the most charismatic species on the planet.
Disneynature’s latest documentary, Polar Bear, tells the story of a new mother whose memories of her own youth prepare her to navigate motherhood in the increasingly challenging world that polar bears face today. While the film has many uplifting and joyous moments, it takes place against the background of climate change in the Arctic that is threatening the survival of polar bears.
Still, Polar Bear ends on a noticeably optimistic note, with the mother bear (in the form of the voice of two-time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener) expresses that she and her cub will persevere and survive the changing and dangerous environment. In an exclusive interview with Murphy’s Multiverse, directors Jeff Wilson and Alastair Fothergill were asked why they chose to end Polar Bear in that way. Wilson stated:
I think it’s important for our audiences to have a sense of empowerment and hope at the end of the film, because we believe that that’s the greatest emotion that will drive people to take action. And that really helps us get our message across.
Jeff Wilson
Wilson went on to describe one particular moment in the film that embodies that spirit of hope and resilience:
[The] extraordinary images of the mother bear climbing the iceberg…it’s so impossibly beautiful that you’d never imagine that would happen. But when you film something like that—and you realize at that moment in time when you’re filming it—the power of those images, and the power of the metaphor of what is happening there, you do suddenly the chemistry of script and narration and music and and just the serendipity of capturing that unique moment. [It] gives you the power to take hope, and plant it firmly in the audience’s lap and say, hey, look, this, there is hope here. But you know, there’s also uncertainty.Jeff Wilson
Viewers can enjoy the documentary’s story and powerful moments when it releases on Earth Day. Disneynature’s Polar Bear launches exclusively on Disney+ on April 22, 2022.
Moon Knight has certainly put the spotlight on Steven Grant and Marc Spector as two different personalities. While Episode 1 opened the series from the perspective of Steven Grant, Marc Spector is the one originally connected to Khonshu and the titular Moon Knight. While Marc is the original personality in the comics, the Disney+ series has been purposefully ambiguous when it comes to suggesting which personality is the original.
While it would be a bold departure from the comics to have anyone other than Marc be the original identity, the series has not been shy to depart from the comics. Below we’ve compiled some of the strongest evidence that Moon Knight has presented that either Steven or Marc is the original.
Steven Grant
Marvel Studios’ ‘Moon Knight’
One of the biggest flags for Steven’s character is that he is supposedly in frequent contact with his mother. While there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about the postcards he received from her and the fact that we’ve never heard her speak back to him on the phone, if he does have a relationship with his mother that would suggest she knew him as a child and that he was very often in control of the body.
Moon Knight as a show officially adopts Steven as its protagonist. Not only is he who we follow for nearly the entirety of Episode 1, but the actual synopsis for the series only mentions Steven.
Speaking of control, from what we know, Steven has been in primary control for at least several months. Spector seems to be able to take control when Steven falls asleep, but clearly he has had a difficult time manifesting his personality.
When Marc did take control at the end of Episode 2, Steven was extremely uncomfortable being “in the mirror”. Marc had clearly gotten used to it, but Steven acted like he had never been there before and was totally unfamiliar with the feeling.
Steven seems to have a life with a foundation. It is nothing overly intricate, but he does have his own flat and job, and it seems as though the people he works with have known him for some time.
He also has quite a wealth of knowledge on all things Ancient Egypt. That would take some time to acquire, which suggests a significant amount of time in control. Marc does not have any of this knowledge, and the depth of his intelligence suggests it is definitely something Steven must have studied for years.
Marc Spector
Marvel Studios’ ‘Moon Knight’
The easiest and strongest evidence that Marc is the original is that, in the comics, he is. There is nothing stopping Moon Knight from twisting that, but it is a strong bet that the original character would remain the same.
Marc is also the personality that had the connection to Khonshu and Moon Knight. His alter obviously meets Khonshu in the series, but even in suit form he is Mr. Knight, not Moon Knight. It would only make sense that Moon Knight is the original personality in Moon Knight.
There’s also plenty of evidence that Marc had periods of time where he was in consistent control. He is married, and although it might be ending and we don’t know how long it lasted, presumably that relationship took some time. And, as we learned in Episode 3, Layla had no idea that Steven existed.
Marc also told Layla in that same conversation that he “had it under control until recently”. That suggests that Steven’s time in control could be recent and unprecedented.
One thing that raises more questions than answers is that Marc was aware of Steven while Steven was not aware of Marc. This could suggest that Marc knew because Marc was the original, but there are no obvious reasons why Steven would have absolutely no clue about Marc’s existence.
Moon Knight might very well not never resolve the question of who is the original, just to keep the ambiguity and mystery alive. Or, in the next couple of episodes, we learned more about our characters and their pasts. This could be a confirmation of Marc as the original, or a dramatic reveal that it is Steven instead. Or, who knows, another personality altogether could be revealed and take on that role.
With the big twist at the end of Moon Knight Episode 4, the series is telling us to question everything we thought we knew. While Steven and Marc’s mental health certainly will come into play, it’s worth noting that the door is open for certain elements of the show to be drastically different from what we thought up until now. My guess is that the villain Moon Knight has set up so far, Arthur Harrow, is actually a red herring for the Big Bad of the series—Khonshu.
It would be pretty bold to throw a villain twist in after the “what is reality?” twist we just got, but it could be fantastic. For one, it could easily work with what looks like a Lemire-Smallwood comics-run-inspired psych ward twist. But Khonshu as the series’ ultimate villain has a strong foundation in the comics, and it would improve upon the still vague and generic-feeling Arthur Harrow.
Marvel Studios’ ‘Moon Knight’
So first, why would Khonshu be the villain? As you know from Moon Knight, the lunar god isn’t exactly warm and fuzzy. He was banished and is now imprisoned by the other Egyptian gods of the Ennead. While his imprisonment was framed as a situation where Khonshu tried to do the right things while the others just ignored what needed to be done, perhaps there is much more going on. Weirdly, Harrow told the Ennead that Khonshu was actually the one who had him start looking for Ammit. Accusing Khonshu of now working due to jealousy and paranoia towards stopping him.
While Harrow is obviously not looking like a good guy, he is a big advocate of honesty. Either way, the fact that we still know little to nothing about the Khonshu-Harrow relationship is suspicious. There is a very good chance whatever that Ammit-related history between the two is, it could fundamentally change how we look at Harrow’s mission and Khonshu’s interest in stopping him.
So, yes, there are some shady open questions. But Khonshu has been helping Marc and Steven this whole time, right? From what we’ve seen, the god has not acted against either personality, but we know that Khonshu is actively interested in Layla as his next avatar. In that way, he does not seem overly enthused or pleased with Marc. I think that Moon Knight can and will reveal that Khonshu’s motives are similar to the god’s in the Lemire-Smallwood comics run—the same run that clearly inspired the end of Episode 4.
Long story short, Khonshu puts Marc through psychological warfare because he wants to break Marc’s mind completely in order to take complete control of his body so that he would essentially have a direct presence on Earth. Moon Knight actually already teased this idea if we look back at what the series has told us so far.
After Khonshu was banished, Harrow gives a dramatic speech to Khonshu’s stone statue. He specifically says to Khonshu, “if you hadn’t broken me completely, I never would have learned the value of healing.” So, the concept of Khonshu breaking his avatar “completely” has already been introduced. During the “trial” in the Pyramid of Giza, Harrow also suggested that Khonshu is taking advantage of Marc, who is clearly suffering from a dissociative identity disorder. That tracks with the theory that Khonshu, like in the comics, chose Marc because he knew his mind was “weak”, so he knew he had a better chance of breaking or controlling him.
‘Moon Knight’ (2016)
Basically, Khonshu could be revealed as the ultimate or final villain in the next two episodes. It would be another dramatic twist, and it would make a more interesting story than Arthur Harrow. Don’t get me wrong, Ethan Hawke puts in a phenomenal performance, but Harrow and his motivation are unfortunately a bit generic. While that could just be something the rest of the series has to develop, it also would make Harrow a perfect red herring. Considering he has been killing people because a cane told him to, it’s less likely that he will be a surprisingly good guy.
His goals and actions might just take a backseat to whatever Khonshu is up to—as noted above, there is something missing regarding the Ammit plot. We have not seen any version, memory, or depiction of Ammit. Harrow is a devout follower despite not being her avatar and never communicating with her considering she has been imprisoned for thousands of years. Khonshu is apparently the one who set Harrow on his Ammit-obsessed path in the first place. Whatever Khonshu’s interest in Ammit is, he might want control over Marc’s human body to carry out his own plans.
The biggest issue with this theory, in my mind, is that Khonshu is currently imprisoned. It is not exactly clear who would set him free—my guess is Layla—but presumably, the god might be needed to resurrect Marc from the water he died in before the Episode 4 twist. The water resurrection is a whole theory of its own, but it assumes that everything that happened before the psych ward was not simply imagined and that Marc will come back to that “reality” eventually. If Khonshu does resurrect Marc, though, doesn’t that seem like he is friendly? Not necessarily if he still wants to use Marc as a seemingly “weak” mind to break—especially after Marc might go through the psych ward twist.
‘Moon Knight’ (2016)
This theory also matches up with a common theme in Moon Knight comics. Often, Marc is at odds with Khonshu and his influence. He alongside Moon Knight (to the extent they can) leave Khonshu behind. The human and god are so connected that Khonshu always comes back again, but Marc frequently recognizes how toxic his guardian can be and tries to better his life by leaving him behind. In doing so, he continues to be Moon Knight. At a certain point, the hero/fighter/vigilante is in his personality, and he always wants to continue it. He just wants to do it on his own terms. That could be a perfect jumping-off point for MCU Moon Knight—Marc/Moon Knight saying goodbye to Khonshu to become the hero they actually want to be.
‘Moon Knight’ (2016)
The first four episodes of Moon Knight are now streaming on Disney+.
It’s still weird to think that Marvel Studios has already started work on their Werewolf by Night Halloween special but still hasn’t officially announced the project in any capacity. The Disney+ special will see composer Michael Giacchino take on directing duties for the project. It has gone silent since, as Marvel Studios tries to keep as much a secret as possible. Yet, a new rumor seems to hint that actress Laura Donnelly, famous for her work on The Nevers, has joined the project in a role that comic fans will be happy to hear about.
It was in January when we learned that she joined Gael Garcia Bernal in the series, who will play Jack Russell or the famous Werewolf by Night. At the time, she was believed to be Russel’s niece Nina Price who was a vampire and werewolf hybrid. Now, Cosmic Circus is reporting that she may be playing a different character altogether. According to them, she’ll play the famous monster huntress Elsa Bloodstone, a popular character fans have been hoping to see join the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point.
It does beg the question of which one of the two rumored characters she might end up playing. We have to keep in mind that the Halloween special currently has no official title and Werewolf by Night was simply attributed due to the lack of one and it focuses on Russel. So, we might get a better picture once they do officially announce as the project is currently still eyeing a release this Halloween. Bloodstone does make a good choice as we start to explore the darker, Universal Monster-inspired side of the universe and it’ll be interesting to see if the special is also there to set up the seeds for the Midnight Sons moving foward.
We just ran the news that Alaqua Cox has shared that Echo’s production is seemingly going to start tomorrow. She announced it via an Instagram story featuring flowers. What stands out though is that she got the flowers from fellow actress Devery Jacobs, who many might remember for her role in FX’s Reservation Dogs. Well, if we take a closer look at the letter that she sent, it would hint that the actress may also have joined Echo in an unknown role. So, let’s connect the dots here.
In her letter, she states that “I wish I could be there to kick it off.” That alone wouldn’t really give it away, as she simply could be sharing that she wished she could join her on the series to support her, but also hints that she would join just not that early in production. But, what does definitely hint at her potentially having a role in the series is the addition of “see you soon” which highlights that she may join production at a later date.
Jacobs would also match a casting of a character known as Julie. Echo was looking to cast a Native American actress between the age of 27 to 33 in the role, who is the responsible type with a strong will of her own. A casting that would match the actress perfectly, as it’s not too dissimilar to her character Elora Danan Postoak from Reservation Dogs.
What also helps is that director Sydney Freeland is involved with the series, something she confirmed back in March. It’s not uncommon that directors would bring along talent that they are interested in working with again. There’s no official confirmation so far, but Devery Jacobs‘ letter would certainly hint at her potentially having some kind of role in the series. Perhaps we’ll get an official casting announcement soon, as production starts tomorrow or before she joins the project at a later date.
Echo actress Alaqua Cox took to her Instagram account to share a story. In it, she reveals that she received some flowers as a celebration ahead of their production start. It’s uncertain if we’ll get any photos from the set as a way to celebrate the start, but while she doesn’t mention what project exactly, it’s safe to assume that it’s Marvel Studios’ next Disney+ series.
It’s great to see the project pick up steam finally, and it seems we can expect it to release in 2023 if it starts production now. To this day, it’s still really impressive to think that Hawkeye, which introduced viewers to the character and her connection to Vincent D’Onofrio‘s Kingpin, was her first role ever. Now, she’s left such an impressive performance that she’s getting her own spinoff moving forward. So, we’ll see what direction they’ll take, especially with the freedom they have with a character like Echo.
As the latest episode of Moon Knight saw two versions of Oscar Isaac interact with each other, they naturally needed a double to take on the role that he wasn’t playing at the time. To ensure they find someone that would match the actor, the double role ended up going to his younger brother, Michael Benjamin Hernandez. The hilarious part is that he had the code name Mork Sphincter during production. In an interview with Marvel, he shared his experience working opposite his brother.
If Oscar was playing Marc at the time, I would play Steven opposite of him. Then we would switch around, and he would play the Steven role and I would do the Marc role. It would involve me being on set with him doing the scenes, or an earpiece, where I would give him the lines. So depending on how they were shooting it, I would either be actually there in the scene or off camera.
Michael Benjamin Hernandez
He also highlighted that they’d coordinate their scenes throughout the production, where Isaac was an active coach for him and ensure they are approaching their scenes “on the same page.” Yet, they were also open to improvising throughout, but always made sure they were prepared before a scene.
Before a scene, I’d be in [Oscar’s] trailer and we’d talk about what’s happening here and what’s the intention, what’s going on. That would help me perform in a way that makes sense to him, and we were both on the same page. For me, it was all about making it as real and authentic as possible for Oscar to play off against, as opposed to him recording lines and just going off the line.
Michael Benjamin Hernandez
It wasn’t an easy job, as he also had make-up and prosthetics added to make his transformation into Steven and Marc easier, which was a strange experience for Hernandez. Yet, he highlights it helped him immerse into the experience of being Isaac as well.
It was just this weird, mutated abomination of Marc with a fake prosthetic nose. I had never done the whole casting thing where they pour the green goo over your face…and I was totally game for all of that. I was totally game for like, yeah, you want to give me a wig or fake nose? We even thought of fake chin parts and cheeks. But then we established that if we were going to film from behind my shoulder, the nose was the prominent piece to get. And so that made it feel like it was actually Oscar there, because he has a beautiful schnoz, and we wanted to recreate that
Michael Benjamin Hernandez
It certainly sounds like he had quite the experience on the show, and if we see more of Moon Knight in the future, he’ll probably have more chances to bring the character back to life again. Long live Mork Sphincter!
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