Moon Knight Director: Series “Is Our Black Panther”

The Moon Knight finale featured a series of firsts. It finally introduced the goddess Ammit to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it served as the debut for the franchise’s first Egyptian superhero. On that front, Moon Knight helmer Mohamed Diab tells us he’s proud he had a hand in making the series the “Black Panther” for Egyptians around the world.

‘I have to give credit to the writers who came up with the idea of making her [May Calamawy’s Layla] Egyptian,” Diab tells us. “That was even before I came in. We [Diab and his partner Sarah] helped shape her character. And May, when she came on board, she was the best ally for Layla and her best lawyer.”

As seen in the finale of the show, Layla agrees to become the avatar for the Egyptian god Tawaret, officially transforming into the live-action version of the Scarlet Scarab.

“I honestly don’t remember who came up with the idea, but it wasn’t me, the idea of her being a superhero,” the filmmaker adds. “But definitely I knew the impact of this and am so proud of that. Do you know what’s going on in Egypt right now? This is our Black Panther.”

He concludes, “People are so proud, for the first time they feel like they’re heard, they’re seen. My daughter when she was three, she always wanted to straighten her curly hair because she always saw the princesses like Elsa or Anna. Everyone has straight hair. So now to have this beautiful girl, who’s a superhero who has curly hair, who looks like that part of the world. You don’t know how important that is. I’m so proud of that. And it’s such a big accomplishment.”

Moon Knight is now streaming in its entirety on Disney+.

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