Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel TV

  • EXCLUSIVE: Mohamed Diab Breaks Down Oscar Isaac’s Emotional Scene in ‘Moon Knight’ Finale

    EXCLUSIVE: Mohamed Diab Breaks Down Oscar Isaac’s Emotional Scene in ‘Moon Knight’ Finale

    The Moon Knight finale managed to land all its emotional and character beats in spite of the massive spectacle it displayed. Through the 6 episodes, the story reckoned heavily with Marc and Steven’s relationship which ultimately led to the finale’s touching moment. It’s a moment that had Marc accepting Steven’s presence in his life as a positive. Series director Mohamed Diab spoke to us and broke down the genesis of that scene during the writing process

    It’s the moment where the two of them really heal. This journey at the core of it is about someone who has to learn with themselves. With all sides of themselves. You and me have more than one side. We have the persona and the shadow self. You try all your life to learn to live with those sides of you. That’s what inspired that scene between the two of them. That journey had to come to a moment where Marc realizes that Steven is not just a stress ball. He’s more. He’s half of him.

    Despite its shortcomings, the series, in many ways, encapsulates the Marvel Studios DNA perfectly; it delivers on spectacle while imbuing it with human vulnerability while confronting the weirdness of the source material. Oscar Isaac has had many moments of incredible acting throughout the show and his moment in the finale is easily one of them.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Mohamed Diab Reveals His Favorite Moment in ‘Moon Knight’ Series

    EXCLUSIVE: Mohamed Diab Reveals His Favorite Moment in ‘Moon Knight’ Series

    Mohamed Diab has brought his cultural background to elevate Moon Knight’s exploration of Egypt and Egyptian mythology. Not only that, but he was also able to introduce the MCU’s first Egyptian superhero. In an exclusive interview with our very own Charles Villanueva, he reveals that May Calamawy‘s Layla El-Faouly’s big moment was one of his highlights, especially what it means for his daughter.

    That moment was the highlight of the show for me. My daughter when she was three told me that she wanted to straighten her curly hair. Because she never looked like any of the stuff she watched on TV. So to have this curly-haired girl [Calamawy] – strong and completely defies Arab stereotypes – be there and inspire other girls is such a great moment. Emphasizing it with that girl, she’s like, “What?!” If this was shown in a movie theater, people would cheer.

    Mohamed Diab

    It definitely was a moment that would’ve gotten some cheers in a theater, but that doesn’t downplay the importance and experience for many watching the series. The director highlights the importance of what Marvel Studios is trying to accomplish with its more diverse cast of characters moving forward.

    People look at Marvel shows with a lot of lightness but those shows are shaping the future and it’s very important. People get chills and cry when they see themselves represented and heard.

    Mohamed Diab

    We’ve seen time and time again that Marvel Studios has been embracing their heroes and their diverse culture for some time. Just recently, they announced that Ms. Marvel will release in Pakistani theaters as the country doesn’t yet have Disney+ and they wanted to ensure that the first Pakistani-American superhero is also represented. The only question on everyone’s mind now is if the newly introduced Scarlet Scarab will return in the future.

  • ‘Moon Knight’ Almost Featured the Eternals

    ‘Moon Knight’ Almost Featured the Eternals

    We just covered a story that there were some connections to the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe planned before Moon Knight stuck to its more self-contained mythology. While we get to spend a lot of time with the Egyptian pantheon, it seems that they originally were going to expand upon that concept. As revealed in an interview with The Direct, head writer Jeremy Slater originally envisioned the Eternals as part of the series.

    I tried very hard to get the Eternals into the show, just because I’m buddies with Kumail Nanjiani… I want[ed] some Kingo. At one point, there was a flashback on the page that sort of showed one of Khonshu’s Avatars back in ancient Egypt, sort of dealing with Ammit being locked away, and Alexander the Great, and all of that stuff. You sort of saw this Avatar team-up with the Eternals. It was a really fun scene, but again, it was so massively expensive to recreate Ancient Egypt, to sort of bring in 3 or 4 of the Eternals to have this big action sequence.

    Jeremy Slater

    Given that they would eventually be remembered through folk tales and mythology, it would’ve been a fitting choice to include them as a reference to the bigger MCU. Yet, as Slater points out, it probably would’ve turned into quite an expensive addition to the series if they had not just one but multiple members show up in the series.

    It was one of those things where it was a very fun scene, and it would have been a great cold open to one of the episodes, but it also would have had to come out of our budget somewhere else, and probably would have hurt our finale along the way. So, that was the cameo I had to cut. It hurt, but it was also the right thing to do for the show, and I think everyone sort of collectively agreed. There’s plenty of time in the future to team this guy up with other characters in the MCU and start building these connections; let’s not force something just because the other shows have all had it

    Jeremy Slater

    While it’s a shame it didn’t happen, especially as it would further continue developing the mythology of this world filled with superheroes, it is for the better. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten a pretty great Kaiju fight between Khonshu and Ammit in the finale. We’ll have to wait a little longer until we see their return and what the future has in store for them.

    Source: The Direct

  • ‘Moon Knight’ Originally Would’ve Included MCU Cameos

    ‘Moon Knight’ Originally Would’ve Included MCU Cameos

    Here’s an interesting surprise, but it looks like Moon Knight wasn’t always the standalone project that it is. There were plans at some point to also include some ties to the wider MCU, outside of the brief Easter egg that connects it to Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but they even potentially had cameos planned at the beginning and the end of the series. It turns out, they ended up scrapping the idea while writing the series according to director Mohamed Diab.

    We had the freedom to place it whenever. I want to tell you the very first scene, there was a crossover, and the very end scene, there was a crossover. But as the story developed and we kept changing the scripts, we felt like, “We don’t need that.” All of us. It was a collective decision. And then I kept thinking: It’s a rule. There has to be a scene at the end that connects us to the MCU.

    Mohamed Diab

    He goes on to say that the bigger surprise, in their eyes, was the lack of any cameo or connections to the wider MCU, but rather keep the project a bit more grounded in its own world.

    But I think they decided, “You know what, the surprise is that there isn’t, and what’s going to make this show unique is it doesn’t need anything else.” The best compliment we get on the show is when people tell us, “This doesn’t feel like a Marvel show. It feels like a standalone show that feels more dramatic, more dark, grounded.” I feel like we succeeded in bringing Marvel more to our corner.

    Mohamed Diab

    It definitely would’ve been interesting to know who exactly was going to appear, or how it may have connected. Blade seems like a logical connection point, but there’s also the Werewolf by Night Disney+ special that’s on the horizon, which also has quite the history with the character. For now, it’s hard to say exactly what they were going to be, but

    Source: Variety via ScreenRant

  • Oscar Isaac Improvised Jake Lockley’s Spanish in ‘Moon Knight’s Post-Credit Sequence

    Oscar Isaac Improvised Jake Lockley’s Spanish in ‘Moon Knight’s Post-Credit Sequence

    Here’s an interesting surprise, it seems that Jake Lockley speaking Spanish wasn’t something that was included in the script. According to producer Grant Curtis, it turns out that this was something that Oscar Isaac improvised during production. While it’s unclear if the character also speaks English with a different accent, it certainly highlights just how involved Oscar Isaac has been in the project.

    It was all Oscar. That was not on the page. Oscar brought so many narrative elements to this show, both in front of the camera and behind. He’s a storyteller first and foremost, and that was just one of the many contributions he made to this series.

    Grant Curtis

    There have been many theories that we’ve actually gotten a few glimpses of Lockley throughout the series’ run. In one moment while he is confronted by Dr. Crowley, we can see a bruised-up version of Marc that ends up getting quite violent as he grabs a pyramid. Yet, there were hints that this might not be the case either.

    For now, we can only speculate as we await any sign of whatever the future has in store for Moon Knight moving forward. Isaac has said he’s open to tackling the character again if the right story presents itself. So, we’ll see what the future has in store for the character and fans once Marvel makes an official statement.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Moon Knight’ Almost Had All the Avatars Turn Into Superheroes

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Moon Knight’ Almost Had All the Avatars Turn Into Superheroes

    One of the most exciting possibilities Moon Knight posited early in its season was the idea of gods having their own avatars or superheroes to represent them with Moon Knight being the most predominant one. Episode 3 unveiled the Ennead, the pantheon of Egyptian gods, and their mortal avatars. This came somewhat into fruition during the show’s finale when Layla became the avatar of Taweret and turned into the superhero Scarlet Scarab.

    Murphy’s Multiverse got to speak with executive producer Grant Curtis, who revealed their early ideas of possibly turning the avatars into costumed heroes just like Moon Knight and the Scarlet Scarab.

    When we were in the writer’s room looking at the whiteboard and trying to figure out who would suit up and who wouldn’t, that was brought up. It was definitely a possibility at a point. But as we looked at the overall journey and narrative, it became something that we didn’t need to best tell Marc and Steven’s story.

    Grant Curtis

    As solid as the Marc-Steven narrative was, it would’ve been exciting to see any of the other avatars get costumes. Ethan Hawke wearing Ammit-inspired armor sounds too good to ignore. What would Osiris’ avatar even look like, to begin with? The mere idea of having that many mystical superheroes in that part of the world is already so exciting. Maybe future stories set in this corner can follow through on this scrapped plan.

  • ‘Moon Knight’: First Look at Scarlet Scarab’s Funko Pop

    ‘Moon Knight’: First Look at Scarlet Scarab’s Funko Pop

    The Moon Knight finale surprised many with the first look at Layla LaFaouly becoming the Avatar of the Egyptian god Tawaret. As a result, she received her own unique costume and would later be revealed to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Scarlet Scarab. a minor character introduced in the comics, it was a surprise to see her become the hero in the series, especially given its importance for representation. May Calamawy was a highlight throughout and it was great that she got her moment to shine, and luckily we’re also getting a Funko Pop highlighting her new superhero alter-ego.

    While just recently sharing a first look at Ammit, it seems that Scarlet Scarab was going to follow shortly after. Sadly, she didn’t get joined by her new Egyptian god, which would’ve made for a nice double-pack given their connections. Yet, Khonshu also released on his own, as they mainly focus on the introduction of the various characters as a jumping-off point for when they also release correlating Funkos.

    It’ll be interesting to see if she also gets her own spinoff series, which definitely sounds like a project that Mohamed Diab would want to push forward. Of course, he has said he’s interested in tackling a Moon Knight team-up movie next, but there are a lot of opportunities on how they can explore the character. Perhaps she also gets her own Disney+ spinoff or a special that focuses on her. We’ll see what the potential has in store for us.

    Source: Twitter

  • Mohamed Diab Wants to Tackle a ‘Moon Knight’ Team-Up Movie Next

    Mohamed Diab Wants to Tackle a ‘Moon Knight’ Team-Up Movie Next

    Mohamed Diab had brought his flair to create one of Marvel Studios’ most unique series, which explores the complicated divided personalities within Moon Knight. While the Disney+ series explored his story across six episodes, it seems that Diab is down to further explore the character in a movie rather than a second season. Not just any kind of movie, but in the form of a team-up with another member of the MCU.

    If you ask me, I would love to have the chance to make Moon Knight into a film,. Maybe join someone from the Marvel Universe so it’s like partnering up with someone else or being a part of another journey.

    Mohamed Diab

    It does sound like an interesting approach but does open up the question of who he might interact with. As he does have a strong standing in New York City in the past, it would be fun to explore his interactions with Spider-Man, which were some of the funniest in the comics. Of course, he wants to use the opportunity to further explore the personality of Jake that was introduced at the end of the season finale’s post-credit sequence.

    I would love to see more of Jake, see life through Jake’s point of view at some point. The best thing about starting a new story is the Marc and Steven dynamic is going to change because they’re now living in one body. So it’s such an interesting world. I want to see Layla, who doesn’t like being an avatar and how is she going to live with that or is she going to reject that or is she going to come to terms with her being a superhero? I love all that. So I hope we can put all that in a blender and just play with it.

    Mohamed Diab

    Now, the question will be if they’ll truly just skip a second season overall and just jump directly into a film. They technically set up everything they needed to focus on a more violent storyline with the character which builds upon Lockley’s violent tendencies. There’s a chance they might go the Midnight Sons route as a way to keep the character in a separate project before returning for a second season. Diab also mentions spending more time with Layla, which might become its own Disney+ spinoff series to further explore Egyptian culture and the fallout from the Avatar’s deaths. So, there’s a lot of potentials.

    Source: The Wrap

  • EXCLUSIVE: Mohamed Diab On Layla’s Missing Ending in ‘Moon Knight’ Finale

    EXCLUSIVE: Mohamed Diab On Layla’s Missing Ending in ‘Moon Knight’ Finale

    The Moon Knight finale, “Gods and Monsters”, provided the MCU’s first Egyptian superhero in May Calamawy’s Layla, who became the avatar of the goddess Tawaret. As Tawaret’s avatar, Layla became the Scarlet Scarab and teamed up with the re-resurrected Moon Knight to stop Arthur Harrow from unleashing Ammit’s preemptive justice on the world.

    While the episode gave closure to central plot of the series and left Marc and Steven in a seemingly good place, what it did not give was any sort of closure to Layla’s arc, leaving fans wondering what’s next for the newly empowered hero. According to director Mohamed Diab, the open-ended nature of Layla’s journey was intentional:

    I would say that it’s left open so we can play with it the way we want. She can stay in Egypt. She can go back to London. She can be a superhero. I can’t wait for myself to see her and Taweret on a journey driving each other crazy. I think it’s left open for a reason because in the next journey, you need to think of all those things and flesh them out in a very thorough way.

    Diab’s creative decision is smart in that it doesn’t paint him, or whoever picks up the character next, into any corners. By letting Layla walk away without any hints as to where she might turn up next, there can be no sense of expectations on the part of audiences as to what “should” be next for the Scarlet Scarab, only myriad possibilities of what COULD be next, as Diab indicates. Whatever is next for the hero, Calamawy’s turn in Moon Knight has set her star in the sky and provided another new hero whose importance off-screen transcends whatever comes next on-screen.

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Moon Knight’ Producer Talks Reimagining the Scarlet Scarab for the MCU

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Moon Knight’ Producer Talks Reimagining the Scarlet Scarab for the MCU

    The Moon Knight finale had more than a few surprises up its sleeve, but its biggest may have come in the form of May Calamawy‘s Layla El-Faouly. After being introduced as an original character, fans began to view Layla as an updated version of Marc Spector’s comic book love interest Marlene Alraune. However, the show’s final episode revealed her to be quite a bit more. A big twist has Layla bonding with the goddess Tawaret and transforming into a version of the Scarlet Scarab, an obscure character from Marvel lore and the first Egyptian superhero.

    In an exclusive interview with Murphy’s Multiverse, Moon Knight producer Grant Curtis explained how Scarlet Scarab came to be a part of the show and why Calamawy’s Layla was the perfect choice for the role:

    We had an incredible female protagonist. Whether or not she had wings in the previous episode, she was already a superhero in her own right. When you start looking at the Marvel canon for potential superheroes, we found the Scarlet Scarab. We learned that was Egypt’s first superhero and what an incredible actress in May Calamawy to lead that charge. It was a natural merging of two different stories into one character. I think it worked quite well.

    Grant Curtis

    In the comics, Scarlet Scarab is a man named Abdul Faoul, a version of whom is revealed to be Layla’s father in the MCU series. Faoul gains supernatural abilities from a mystical scarab amulet and vows to rid Egypt of all foreign invaders. He comes into conflict with the superhero Invaders during World War II but eventually sides with them against the Nazis. His amulet, and Scarlet Scarab title, are eventually passed down to his child, in a similar manner to Layla picking up her father’s torch in Moon Knight.

    It’s unknown if Layla will continue to appear as the Scarlet Scarab going forward, or if this was simply a one-time appearance. The character’s fate is left in the air at the end of the Disney+ series. If fans are lucky, though, Marvel will find a way to keep revitalizing this long-forgotten hero for years to come.