Marvel Studios' Moon Knight is just a few days away, as the series hopes to expand on the cinematic universe that is the MCU. While it's exciting to see Marvel Studios release plenty of new content, it can also be fun to look back on how far the MCU has come and the big releases that paved that way like 2008's Iron Man, a film that ranks at the top of the MCU list for Moon Knight star Oscar Isaac.
What seemed just like another superhero film with Iron Man would eventually grow into one of the most popular franchises of all time, which has now resulted in 27 films and several series all in one shared universe. Even with the MCU continuing to expand in its fourth phase, a phase filled with plenty of cosmic additions, it's no surprise that the 2008 film that saw Robert Downey Jr. Play the genius inventor and armored hero for the first time still resonates extremely well with moviegoers.
Promoting Moon Knight at a premiere at the British Museum in London, Isaac was told that he was the best thing to happen to Marvel since Downey Jr. "That's high praise. You know, that first 'Iron Man' is my favorite... It's still my favorite Marvel movie," the star told On Demand Entertainment in response. It's no surprise that Isaac would have the film that started it all for the MCU at the top of his list. Iron Man has become one of the highest ranked MCU projects on Rotten Tomatoes (with a current score of 94%) and also went on to earn a couple of nominations at the Academy Awards
Even with its critical and box office success, a big reason for the MCU's success comes down to the audience being emotionally invested in the heroes, and Iron Man is one of the few MCU films more interested in establishing a main hero rather than desperately trying to set up future films. And while many of the films and now series do set up future events, it always comes down to creating great characters first that will have fans wanting to see more of them. Of course, as Isaac revealed in the past, Iron Man continues to influence the MCU, including Moon Knight.
Isaac recently revealed in another interview that a big inspiration for his depiction of Moon Knight stemmed from Iron Man and Downey Jr.'s performance. "It felt ‘handmade,'” Isaac said about Moon Knight. “And it’s the first legitimate Marvel character-study since Iron Man. I thought, ‘Maybe I can hijack this thing. Maybe this is the chance to do something really fucking nutty on a major stage.’” Based on his comments and knowing which MCU film is his favorite, it appears that Isaac and the Moon Knight series as a whole will deliver something very reminiscent of the first Iron Man.
As for Moon Knight, the series will follow Isaac as Marc Spector, a mercenary who embodies the complicated vigilante and suffers from a dissociative identity disorder. Spector was a former US marine facing death before his life fell within the hands of Khonshu, the ancient Egyptian god of the Moon, for whom he has now become a conduit. The series will also star Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow, the series' main antagonist, Gaspard Ulliel as Anton Mogart/Midnight Man, Lucy Thackeray as Donna, and May Calamawy in an undisclosed role.
Moon Knight will be available to stream on Disney Plus on March 30, 2022.
Source: On Demand Entertainment/YouTube