Moon Knight: Ethan Hawke Surprised by Creative Freedom on Marvel Set
When the Marvel Cinematic Universe first began it didn't seem like the directors helming their films had much creative freedom. Along the years that has changed as Marvel Studios loosened up, and hired some brilliant minds like Taika Waititi, The Russo Bros, and Academy Award-winner Chloe Zhao. Moon Knight star Ethan Hawke was even shocked by how much creative freedom they had with the series. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hawke described his initial fear of lack of creativity and shock when there was a ton of freedom.
"Through much of my career, the higher the budget went up, the higher the fear quotient went up, and from the people in charge, there was a lot less creativity on set because there was so much fear. But there's something about the success that Marvel has achieved that empowers them to be confident and not be fearful," Hawke told the trade. "I'm only guessing here, but somehow in the DNA between Kevin Feige's relationship to Robert Downey Jr., there's something really good that happened between the producorial-actor relationship. They have tremendous faith and belief in the actor's ability to contribute. That opening scene is a great example of them using your creativity to help get you to invest in the show and to come up with original ideas. So I was really impressed by that. Oscar poured himself into this part. At one point when Oscar and I were rehearsing, I said to him, 'You realize that they're being so kind? They believe in us so much that if this doesn't work, it's our fault. We can't blame anybody.'(Laughs.) But that's really empowering as a performer. Yes, you have to work in their kitchen, but they're going to let you work."
Marvel Studios' Moon Knight will be one of the most mature MCU projects to date and will have a bit of mystery– akin to the previously released Disney+ series, WandaVision. During the red carpet premiere for the series, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige discussed the similarities between WandaVision and Moon Knight. Feige revels that, like WandaVision, Moon Knight slowly reveals what's really going on with the titular character.
"This series is very much a mystery, and the audience is right with the lead character, Steven Grant. He wakes up in the morning and he struggles to figure out what is happening to him and what is going on. The audience is with him on that journey throughout all six episodes. For us, it's really fun, almost akin to WandaVision, as each episode something else is uncovered. We travel down that journey with Oscar's character."
Everything we've seen from Moon Knight so far makes the series look like it'll be full of surprises. The Marvel Studios series will probably be one of the more interesting projects to come from the studio and we're excited to see the series upon its release. Marvel Studios' Moon Knight is set to hit Disney+ on March 30, 2022.
The streaming service describes the series as: "Moon Knight follows Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, who becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life. Steven discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marc's enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt."
Are you excited to see Moon Knight when it hits Disney+? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @NateBrail up on Twitter!