Following the premiere of its final episode last Wednesday, Moon Knight head writer Jeremy Slater has revealed some new behind-the-scenes details about the process of producing the Oscar Isaac-led series. Speaking with The Direct, Slater confirmed that the original script included special cameos from “three or four” Eternals including Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo. The Eternals cameos were initially set as a big action sequence, serving as a cold open for one of the episodes.
“I tried very hard to get the Eternals into the show, just because I’m buddies with Kumail Nanjiani… I want[ed] some Kingo,” Slater said. “At one point, there was a flashback on the page that sort of showed one of Khonshu’s Avatars back in ancient Egypt, sort of dealing with Ammit being locked away, and Alexander the Great, and all of that stuff. You sort of saw this Avatar team-up with the Eternals. It was a really fun scene, but again, it was so massively expensive to recreate Ancient Egypt, to sort of bring in 3 or 4 of the Eternals to have this big action sequence.”
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The major cameos were ultimately scrapped due to their high production value, with everyone agreeing that it was the right decision for the show’s direction. The canceled MCU connection also allowed the audience to solely focus on Moon Knight’s introduction.
“It was one of those things where it was a very fun scene, and it would have been a great cold open to one of the episodes, but it also would have had to come out of our budget somewhere else, and probably would have hurt our finale along the way,” Slater revealed. “So, that was the cameo I had to cut. It hurt, but it was also the right thing to do for the show, and I think everyone sort of collectively agreed. There’s plenty of time in the future to team this guy up with other characters in the MCU and start building these connections; let’s not force something just because the other shows have all had it.”
Moon Knight stars Golden Globe winner Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant/Marc Spector, marking the fan-favorite superhero’s live-action debut. It also features Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow, F. Murray Abraham as the voice of Khonshu, and May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly.
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Based on the character created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin, Moon Knight hails from head writer and executive producer Jeremy Slater (The Umbrella Academy). The episodes are directed by acclaimed filmmaker Mohamed Diab, along with Synchronic duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead.
Executive producers are Isaac, Diab, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, Grant Curtis, Trevor Waterson, and Rebecca Kirsch.
