Ethan Hawke Credits Oscar Isaac For Drawing Him Into Marvel’s ‘Moon Knight’
AsWandaVisioncontinues to surprise fans with a powerful story about superhero grief, the future of Marvel Studios on the small screen looks extremely promising. The comic book movie studio will soon be digging into characters who have yet to be properly adapted for film or television, and that includes some of their weirder, more obscure characters. One such character isMoon Knight, who is getting his own series on Disney+. ActorEthan Hawkerecently confirmed that he’ll be taking a role in the series, and he also explained what compelled him to work with Marvel Studios, despite being somewhat critical of superhero movies in the past.
Before we get toMoon Knight, let us recall that Ethan Hawke came under fire a bit back in 2018 when he seemed to create a distinction between what constitutes a great movie compared to a great superhero movie. UsingLoganas an example, here’s what Hawke had to say toThe Film Stage:
“Now we have the problem that they tell usLoganis a great movie. Well, it’s a great superhero movie. It still involves people in tights with metal coming out of their hands. It’s not Bresson. It’s not Bergman. But they talk about it like it is. I went to seeLogancause everyone was like, ‘This is a great movie’ and I was like, ‘Really?No, this is a fine superhero movie.’ There’s a difference but big business doesn’t think there’s a difference. Big business wants you to think that this is a great film because they wanna make money off of it.”
After the backlash, Hawke backtracked and clarified what he really meant when speaking toCollider:
“I was talking about a much more nuanced point about money in America and what our obsession with the accumulation of wealth is. Scott Derrickson’sDoctor Strangeis amazing, Chris Nolan’sDark Knight, James Mangold’sLogan, I cited those because they’re my favorites, and people took [it as] me criticizing them. What I was trying to say [is] we need a community that’s making all kinds of movies. It’s a part of it, and I think it pisses people off because they don’t want to go back to the ghetto where comic books weren’t taken seriously as art, and I agree with that.”
So Hawke doesn’t necessarily have anything against superhero movies. But even if he did, there appears to be one element ofMoon Knightthat drew him to the project. First, Hawke said, “Well, it’s where I’m at as an actor. A lot of it, to be honest, I love the fact thatMoon Knightis a lesser-known story and allows more creative freedom. The director isMohammed Diaband he’s a brilliant guy.”
But it was actuallyOscar IssacleadingMoon Knightthat really compelled Hawke to take the role. The actor explained onThe Ringer’s podcastThe Watch(viaComicBook.com):
“A lot of it is Oscar, to me, to be honest with you. I find him to be a very exciting player in my field. I like what he’s doing with his life. He reminds me of the actors, when I first arrived at New York, that I looked up to. Oscar’s younger than me, and I like the way he carries himself, and I like the way he thinks. And in general, good things happen when you’re in the room with people that you like the way they think, right?”
Oscar Issac will probably be the reason a lot of more casual Marvel fans tune intoMoon Knightas well. The actor has culled quite a following since taking one of the major roles in the newStar Warstrilogy over the past few years. It also helps that Isaac will be one of the first major Latino superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Combine that with how weird theMoon Knightcomics have been over the years, and we have the makings of yet another exciting series from Marvel Studios.
