Moon Knight spoilers follow.
Oscar Isaac has weighed in on why Moon Knight has so many jokes in spite of its dark tone.
The latest Marvel series on Disney+ might seem grim on the surface – it's about an Egyptian moon god possessing a man already struggling with dissociative identity disorder, after all. And yet, there are lots of light moments!
Speaking to Digital Spy and other media recently, Isaac shared why it was important to make sure there was humour even in the darkest of times for the superhero.
Related: Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead on the infinite possibilities of Moon Knight
"It was very much intentional, you know, finding the tone of the humour," he said. "Because I think that's actually what disarms people, and allows people to enter it, and to really feel for Steven, especially because… [pause] I think it's less quips for me. It's more that he doesn't know he's being funny. It's the nature of the way he interacts with the world.
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"You see that he's someone who wants to connect but doesn't really have the tools to. So I think, immediately, you start to build, as an audience, a relationship with him. So that when stuff goes crazy, he's terrified, and you feel terrified with him. That was a fun thing to build."
May Calamawy, Isaac's co-star, credited the actor with being key in setting "the tone" for adding flashes of humour where necessary.
Related: Moon Knight has a fundamental problem
Those moments are definitely necessary because life for Steven Grant is fairly grim in the first episode. He's on the run from the cult of Ammit and losing track of his personal timeline — the upcoming episodes certainly look intense too!
As Grant gives over more control to his Moon Knight alter ego, will the humour fade away?
Moon Knight is now streaming on Disney+, with new episodes every Wednesday.
If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, organisations who can offer support include Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org) or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to visit mentalhealth.gov.
Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
