Moon Knight Isn’t Part Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Is Moon Knight not part of the larger story?
This article is more than 2 years old
One of the big appeals of the movies and TV series coming from Marvel Studios is the fact that in most cases, no story stands alone. Even when one of the Marvel films isn’t crowded with a bunch of superhero guest stars, it’s still taking place in the overall continuity. But now, a recent quote from Marvel has fans worried that they’ve been fooled into thinking the upcoming Disney+ miniseries Moon Knight will be part of the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe including the Avengers films and more.
As reported by Murphy’s Multiverse, Moon Knight producer Grant Curtis wrote in a recent press release that the upcoming miniseries has “no current attachment to the MCU. [Moon Knight is] brand-new, and he’s going on a brand-new adventure. We really think the fans are going to enjoy it.” He also speaks of the character, “taking Marvel Studios to its Iron Man and Tony Stark roots. That was a character that was obviously built from the ground up, and it is the same with Marc Spector.”
So while we may need to wait for the series to premiere on Disney+ to know for sure — or at least, some kind of clarifying statement from Curtis or someone else at Marvel Studios — it doesn’t seem like Curtis is saying Moon Knight isn’t part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s narrative. The key here is his use of the word “current.” In other words, you won’t need to have seen Avengers: Endgame or WandaVision to understand the premise of Moon Knight. Oscar Isaac won’t walk past television screens featuring newscasters talking about “the blip.” Seen in this context, Curtis’ words aren’t that different what James Gunn has said in the past about his Guardians of the Galaxy films. He called the first entry “a standalone film” that — outside of the brief appearance of Thanos — was completely separate from the rest of the MCU’s narrative. But of course as we’ve seen in Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, the Guardians are indeed a part of the MCU and were eventually impacted by the larger events.
This does call into question some of the reports that have emerged in the lead-up to Moon Knight. For example, last week it was reported that Mark Ruffalo would make an appearance in the miniseries as Bruce Banner aka the Hulk. Having a giant green dude show up in Moon Knight would very much qualify as an “attachment to the MCU.” Then again, after all the denials during the lead-up to Spider-Man: No Way Home, should we ever believe any “official” word from Marvel Studios again?
Well, one thing at least seems absolutely clear — whether or not any other characters from the wider MCU show up in Moon Knight, Oscar Isaac will be playing enough separate personas to form his own team. Just as he does in the comics, the hero of Moon Knight suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder and displays at least five different personalities: Marc Spector, Steven Grant, Jake Lockley, Moon Knight, and Mr. Knight. The latter is a splinter from Moon Knight, who dresses in a white sports suit and acts as a private investigator.
