Mild-mannered and slightly jittery museum gift shop attendant Steven Grant (Oscar Issac) is suffering from severe paranoia and an agonising fear of falling asleep. Controlled by insomnia and a mind that is slowly beginning to fracture, he thoughts wander to crazy and violent dreams that see him coming face to face with a mysterious cult led by the omnipotent Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke). But soon Steven realises that these dreams are not actually ‘dreams’ but the actions of a second personality inside of him, the violent and capable Marc Spector (Isaac), a mercenary who is waging a war against Harrow’s zealots and who has pledged himself to the Egyptian Moon-God Khonshu, and who is ready to do whatever is necessary to save the world.

Anytime a new Disney+ series from Marvel Studios is announced there is a tremendous amount of fanfare and excitement and Marvel Studios’ new chapter in the ever-broadening MCU, Moon Knight is a show to be very excited for. And brace yourself for the rush because Moon Knight is unlike anything the MCU has seen before. Twisting, dark and with multiple narrative threads that weave in and out of one another along, with featuring one extremely complicated protagonist, Moon Knight is something entirely fresh. And director Mohamed Diab amps up in a bold new direction. Bringing together an intrepid globe-trotting spy story, ancient Egyptian mythology and a mind-bending character study, Moon Knight is truly different from what has come before and this first episode feels like something akin to The Bourne Identity meets Fight Club by way of Indiana Jones.

Stepping into the MCU as our newest hero is Oscar Issac in the duelling roles of Marc Spector and Steven Grant. But how is he these two individuals and how can he portray them at the same time. Well, Spector suffers from dissociative identity disorder and Grant is actually a construct of his mind that jumps back and forth between the two of them. While for the most part Episode One, ‘The Goldfish Problem’, is told from the point-of-view of Steven, Marc is hovering away in the background and as the action steps up and Steven is thrown into danger the brutal and unhinged Marc Jumps out and things get bloody very quickly. These duel roles give Isaac a lot of room to play with as an actor and he does an incredible job of convincingly playing these two different characters. As Steven, he’s a bent-over loser and hopeless reject, before instantly turning into the brooding and violent Spector. It’s interesting to watch and we’re only at the start of this complicated character journey.

Facing off against Isaac’s Spector/Grant is Ethan Hawke as religious zealot Arthur Harrow and this guy is a solid freak. Best described as a combination of Jim Jones and Josef Mengele by way of Steve Jobs, Harrow is the vehicle for the destructive and judgemental power of the Egyptian deity and demoness Ammit. A crocodile-headed god of terrifying power, Harrow and his cult are looking to unleash Ammit’s severe power onto the world once more and somehow Spector is standing in their way. And it’s Steven who gets thrown into the mess of it all. Hawke brings an uneasy calm to Harrow and there’s something extremely off-putting about his uneasy temperament and fanaticism to unleash Ammit. Being bound to Ammit’s will also gives Harrow the power to channel dangerous magic and I have a feeling we’re only going to see his power grow as this series moves forward.

Narratively Episode One ‘The Goldfish Problem’, is a terrific introduction to a brand new superhero mythology in Moon Knight and right from the start, it feels fresh. Director Mohamed Diab lets both the narrative and action play out naturally, and in line with Spector’s DID, and the result grabs your attention. Cutting back and forth between Steven and the explosive actions of Spector leads to some very intense moments and the action is thrown into overdrive in the second act of the episode and things get charged up quickly. Moon Knight has long been regarded as one of Marvel Comics more violent and unhinged characters, and the new series keeps this trait as a core part of the show. Moon Knight packs some serious violence to it and when Marc Spector takes over things get bloody quickly. Diab showcases this violence as an interesting part of the series and it certainly adds to the spy genre stylings that the new series explores.

Episode One, ‘The Goldfish Problem’, is an incredibly interesting and compelling start to this brand new Disney+ and all throughout it you’re waiting for Spector to transform into Moon Knight and take the fight to Harrow’s evil forces. It’s a moment that happens in the closing moments of the episode and damn is it BADASS to watch. Brutal and to-the-point, the closing moments of ‘The Goldfish Problem’ prove that Moon Knight is not a hero to get on the wrong side of and with his introduction we have a serious serving of grit applied to the MCU that it has long been needing. Seeing Isaac garbed in the one of a kind armour of Moon Knight, complete with his glowing white eyes is an epic moment for MCU fans and while his appearance as this new costumed hero might only be brief it promises something truly different from the MCU and we’re only at the beginning of this bold new story.

‘The Goldfish Problem’ is a terrific start to Moon Knight and the MCU has a brand new hero that you’d better watch out for. Brutal, intense and packed out with some of the most unique narrative storytelling I can remember ever seeing in the MCU, Moon Knight is a series that is about to take the MCU into a brand new direction and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Moon Knight streams every Wednesday on Disney+

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

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A brand new TV spot has just been released and it promises a zany, and quirky theme song that is sure to get you in the grove for the first episode. Check it out below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

WandaVision is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany)—two super-powered beings living idealised suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

Not only doe this new spot showcase the merging of classic American television eras with superhero drama, but we also get a taste of the new WandaVision theme song.

The spot reveals an original theme song written by Oscar®-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Frozen), who penned unique songs for several episodes, spanning from the 1950s to the early 2000s.

“WandaVision is such a cool, strange, one-of-a-kind project,” says Lopez.

“When the director, Matt Shakman—an old friend from my college days—pitched it to us, we didn’t have to think about it. We loved the bright feeling of American sitcoms mixed with the deep sense of unease the story had, and it was a really inviting challenge to help set that tone.”

Adds Anderson-Lopez, “I grew up in the ’80s watching shows from every decade on the networks all day long. Episodes from I Love Lucy, Brady Bunch and Family Ties shaped who I am and how I move through the world. So this project was a dream come true.”

Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez have also written additional songs for successive episodes of the series as it morphs in and out of different decades so that each theme is relevant to the ‘decade’ in which it is set.

With its zany, strangeness this is the MCU like we’ve never seen before and WandaVision promises some of the most exciting developments we’ve yet seen in the MCU.

WandaVision will arrive on Disney+ on January 15.

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

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But suddenly we’ve now been treated to the arrival of a brand new trailer for the upcoming Disney+ limited series, WandaVision, which will re-unite Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany’s Vision together in a six-episode series….and things are about to get strange.

Watch the full trailer below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) begin to suspect things are not as they seem as the two live their ideal suburban life.

Set to “Twilight Time” by The Platters, which gives the trailer a haunting and eerie quality, WandaVision is straight up surreal and quirky and takes audiences on a crazy ride through this weird and cooky sit-com life that they find themselves living in. A wide range of visual influences on the series episodic visual palette include The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave It to Beaver, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Roseanne, and Full House, and Marvel fans will be in for a whole new type of viewing experience.

WandaVision really is Marvel as we’ve never seen it before, and this new style of visual storytelling, and insight into the characters of Wanda and Vision is sure to keep things interesting.

I’m very excited that we’re seeing Marvel stretch into new territory like this, and this fresh approach to the series is going to be something truly wild and crazy.

WandaVision is set to arrive on Disney+ this December.

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