TV Review: ‘Moon Knight’ Is Stronger On Ghoulish Atmosphere Than Superhero Excitement

Amber Dowling Live award shows continued to prove they’re a hit with viewers, as once again the April 3 Grammy Awards and the March 27 Academy Awards landed in the No. 1 and 2 spots on Variety’s Trending TV chart for the week of April 4 to 10.Last week the Grammys earned a record-making 56.9 million engagements.

“Moon Knight,” that villain is the chillingly calm Arthur Harrow. But as it happens, Ethan Hawke didn’t look to other villains in pop culture for inspiration on being scary; he looked to real life “television preachers.”Episode 2, now streaming on Disney+, makes a pretty big reveal about Harrow too: he used to be the Moon Knight. Or rather, he was Khonshu’s avatar as Marc Spector and Steven Grant are now.

's second episode finds Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) frantically trying to unravel the mysteries of his other identity, Marc Spector, and his vengeful, masked alter ego. However, as the bumbling, newly fired British Museum worker tries to piece together what he's learned about the dangers he's suddenly facing, he comes across far more questions than answers. The confusion is only compounded by the introduction of Layla El-Faouly (May Calamawy), an archaeologist and adventurer, who — as Steven finds out when she pleads with him to sign their divorce papers -- is also Marc's wife.Layla initially doesn't believe Steven when he protests that he's not actually the husband she's looking for.

, the MCU’s latest series now streaming on Disney+, Arthur Harrow’s ambitions are becoming a bit more clear, as the cult-like leader reveals to Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) his plans to resurrect another Egyptian god, Ammit. While speaking to ET’s Will Marfuggi, Ethan Hawke opens up about playing the cryptic antagonist, who blurs the lines of a typical villain, and his Thanos-like intentions. Given that the titular superhero is someone who has dissociative identity disorder, exhibits multiple personalities and is possessed by Khonshu, Harrow couldn’t be a typical villain.

Michael Mann’s first directorial effort since 2015’s “Blackhat” comes to HBO Max this Thursday, April 7th, with the highly anticipated debut of “Tokyo Vice,” the loose adaptation of the memoir of the same name by Jake Adelstein. At first, the series seems like a perfect fit for the director of “Miami Vice,” “Collateral,” and “Public Enemies.” It’s another stylish venture that centers on morally questionable men and the women who find themselves both drawn to them and betrayed by them.

As a long-term Marvel fan I've been a bit conflicted by the Disney+ TV shows. All in all, barring Hawkeye which might now top my list of essential run-up-to-Christmas geek viewing, I've found them a mixed bag with moments of brilliance but a lot of issues around pacing, canon and general tone. I hate to say it but Disney+ has never really hit the mark with me for Marvel TV in the way the Netflix shows, particularly Daredevil and The Punisher, did.

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Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.Marvel has added a new live-action series to its growing lineup this week with the debut of “Moon Knight” on Disney Plus.The highly anticipated show, starring Oscar Isaac as the franchise’s infamous antihero, marks the fifth comic series that the streamer has adapted for the screen, following wildly successful hits such as “WandaVision” and “The Mandalorian.” It’s also the first time that the Moon Knight character, whose story has been explored in dozens of comic issues since 1970, will be featured heavily onscreen.The story starts off by following a British gift shop employee named Steven Grant (Isaac), who is haunted by nightmarish visions seemingly caused by a mysterious force that’s taken over his mind. Soon enough, it turns out those visions are really the real, dissociative states of Mark Specter, another character played by Isaac that shares Grant’s body and identity but is also a human embodiment of the Egyptian god Khonshu.

Angelique Jackson SPOILER ALERT: Do not read unless you’ve watched the series premiere of Marvel Studios’ “Moon Knight,” now streaming on Disney Plus. “Moon Knight,” the latest entry in to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is as much a story about the gods of Egypt as it is about superheroes.

Marvel Studios have released a brand-new series featuring a new character for the MCU – Moon Knight, played by award-winning actor Oscar Isaac and also starring Ethan Hawke and May Calamawy.

, the latest MCU series on Disney+, stars Oscar Isaac as the titular superhero with dissociative identity disorder who shares a psychic connection with Egyptian god Khonshu. While Moon Knight has multiple personalities – Marc Spector, Steven Grant and Mr.

Major spoilers for “Moon Knight” episode one follow.The premiere episode opens not on Oscar Isaac but rather Ethan Hawke, playing Arthur Harrow. We didn’t know much about his character before the show and we honestly don’t know all that much after the first episode. But this initial scene certainly sets the stage: we see him at a desk.

Oscar Isaac leads the MCU’s latest original series,, as the titular superhero with dissociative identity disorder possessed by the Egyptian god, Khonshu, and his multiple personalities, Marc Spector, Steven Grant and Mr. Knight, who all find themselves on a mythological (and psychological) adventure akin to.

Bow wow!Ethan Hawke, who stars in the upcoming Viking epic “The Northman,” has shared some intriguing details about his new work on-screen with his acting “hero,” Willem Dafoe, in an interview with GQ UK.Hawke, 51, described a wild memory while filming that he and Dafoe, 66 won’t soon forget, involving nudity, animal noises and “Viking acid.” In the film, he and Dafoe are overcome by their animalistic instincts while tripping on “Viking acid,” leading them to strip down and play like wolves.The two hedonists star in a tale about a Norse king, played by Hawke, who is murdered, then avenged by his son, a bearded and brawny Alexander Skarsgård. Tellingly, Dafoe assumes the role of Heimir the Fool.“We have one amazing scene,” Hawke said.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticLast year, Marvel made a serious run at using streaming TV to do something qualitatively different than what it does on the big screen. With “WandaVision,” the first of its series to stream on Disney Plus, the studio used familiar characters to animate a story that, in its early going, was substantially more pliable and strange than what they were willing to attempt in a heavily leveraged movie.

While a fascinating idea of hero as unreliable narrator lies within, encouraged by intriguing notions of mental health issues, there are frustrating elements to the new series “Moon Knight” that begs the question of whether Marvel Studios will ever figure out how to make truly great television. Because while they’ve got a pretty terrific formula for making entertaining movies and thus far have made good-to-ok TV, Marvel is a machine stuck in the mold of plot, within a medium that always favors character.

“Moon Knight”Wednesday, March 30, Disney+Marvel Studios’ latest Disney+ original series (its sixth) is a relatively deep cut character – Marc Spector (played by Oscar Isaac), a man who, depending on the comic book run, is truly inhabited by a deity from ancient Egypt or just deeply unhinged mentally. We are introduced to Spector via one of his alter egos, sheepish British museum employee Steven Grant (Isaac goes full Dick-Van-Dyke-in-“Mary Poppins”), who is soon plagued with visions of a mystery man who looks an awful lot like himself, as well as nightmarish creatures with animal heads that look like old gods.

Marvel Studios is the dominating force in the superhero genre and they continue to deliver various characters, balancing both the popular and the obscure. We’ll be seeing “Moon Knight,” “Ms.

EXCLUSIVE: Richard Rider aka Nova looks to be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as sources tell Deadline Marvel is developing a Nova project with Sabir Pirzada on board to write. It is unknown at this time whether this will be developed as a feature film or one of limited series for Disney+. As always Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige will produce.

Use that platform when you’ve got it, right? In the spotlight arguably more than he’s ever been in the past, “Moon Knight” director and executive producer Mohamed Diab has been very vocal about using Middle Eastern culture and, specifically, Egypt in modern superhero projects. The country plays a significant role in the new Marvel Studios streaming series as Egyptian mythology is directly tied to Marc Spector/Steven Grant’s alter-ego, Moon Knight.