Ethan Hawke To Play The 'Moon Knight' Villain, Opposite Oscar Isaac

Ethan Hawke has been in Hollywood long enough to see himself become the villain. The Marvel villain, that is. The Good Lord Bird star will reportedly cross swords (or whatever weapons Moon Knight uses) with Oscar Isaac as the Moon Knight villain.The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Ethan Hawke has closed a deal to play the villain opposite Oscar Isaac in Moon Knight, Marvel Studios' upcoming Disney+ series about a psychologically unstable mercenary who may or may not communicate with a lunar god who bestows the powers of super strength. Hawke will play the series' lead villain, though it is not confirmed who he will be playing.

Probably not Dracula. Probably.

Moon Knight's actual archnemesis is considered to be Raoul Bushman, his employer and a fellow mercenary who betrayed the superhero when they stumbled upon an archaeological dig that contained valuable Egyptian gold. But Moon Knight does have an ample rogues gallery of (mostly B-list) villains, including (thanks, Google) Bengal, Black Tarantula, The Bros Grimm, Bullseye, Count Nefaria, Crossfire, D'Spayre, Daken, Demogoblin, Flag-Smasher, Gypsy Moth, The Hate-Monger, Hobgoblin, The Hood, Kang the Conqueror, Madame Masque, Mr. Hyde, Mister Jip, Nightmare, Norman Osborn, Scarecrow, Taskmaster, The Zodiac, and...Deadpool? Whatever the case, Hawke has a wide range of characters to choose from — which is fitting for an actor of such wide range.

I'm of the opinion that Hawke is one of the most talented actors working today, and has the ability to light up the screen even in subpar projects. His recent pivot into unhinged character actor is pleasing even to someone who held him high as a favorite Gen-X heartthrob, and I'm excited to see what he could unleash as a Marvel villain.

The Marvel series he's been cast in, Moon Knight, is also suitably off-kilter. Based around the cult character of Moon Knight, the series will follow mercenary named Marc Spector who has dissociative identity disorder. In the comics, Spector is left for dead by his boss after the two find an archaeological dig site. Spector is approached by Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon, and given a second chance at life if he agrees to be Khonshu's avatar on Earth, and Spector agrees. Spector returns to the world of the living and develops multiple secret identities, including a millionaire named Steven Grant and a taxicab driver named Jake Lockley, which give him access to different parts of society.

Mohamed Diab, the Egyptian filmmaker behind Middle Eastern drama Clash,  and indie genre filmmaking team Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (The Endless and Synchronic) have been set for directors on the series. Jeremy Slater (Umbrella Academy, Fantastic Four) is serving as the show's writer and showrunner.

Aside from Isaac, May Calamawy, best known for her role in Hulu's Ramy, is also on the cast list. Moon Knight is aiming for a March production start in Budapest.