The Moon Knight Filmmakers Plotted Action Scenes That Were Never Intended To Be Seen
Marvel is about to unleash their new TV show upon us, and "Moon Knight" is aspiring to fill in the void in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a new weird, action-packed, psychological thriller story. It's a risky move for Marvel, at least according to head honcho Kevin Feige. The show promises a more grounded and brutal approach to violence, and with a protagonist clearly suffering from mental illness the likes of which we haven't seen in the MCU yet.
The show follows Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac), a gift shop worker at a museum in London who suffers from dissociative identity disorder, with his alternate personality being that of an American mercenary named Marc Spector. Turns out Marc goes on wild adventures filled with action and danger when Steven is asleep, not that we ever get to see it since we stick with Steven's point of view. Still, that doesn't mean the filmmakers don't know what happens during those missing hours.
It's about the things you don't see
Speaking to /Film about "Moon Knight," director Mohamed Diab spoke of planning out Marc Spector's action sequences that Steven never sees as if they were part of the show.
"They were written and then omitted," Diab said. "By the way, this is my favorite bit in the action of the whole show. How many times did you see big action sequences and then after, 'Oh, you know what? I got bored. I know what's going to happen. He's going to win.'"
He's not wrong, action can be tricky to pull off in superhero movies because we know that the hero will be undefeated. Seeing the aftermath without knowing what happened can be terrifying, especially when dealing with a story about dissociative identity disorder. Diab continued:
"Or you don't care. But small or big, our action is unpredictable. In any moment, there's a blackout. And all of a sudden, what the hell happened? If you missed it, you're not going to understand what's going on. So I always told my action team, 'Guys, this is brilliant, and the best thing about it is those moments.' And it's not a gimmick. I always love to have something fresh, but it's not a gimmick, because it feels like someone who has DID. Those blackouts and those jumps are sometimes exactly how a lot of people who have DID feel."
"Moon Knight" premieres on March 30, 2022, on Disney+.