Moon Knight Almost Featured An Eternals Cameo
Marvel Studios' Disney+ miniseries "Moon Knight" proved the rare Marvel Cinematic Universe project that stands mostly stands on its own. Aside from visual references to the Global Repatriation Council and a brief mention of the city of Madripoor, both prominently featured in previous Disney+ series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," the series remained content in chiefly exploring Marc Spector and Steven Grant's (Oscar Isaac) relationship to one another and the grand conspiracy surrounding the Egyptian deities Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham) and Ammit (Saba Mubarak). Without any direct references to the Avengers, the Blip, or the MCU's fledgling multiverse, "Moon Knight" is largely left free to play within its own sandbox.
That's probably for the best. Series star Oscar Isaac has been clear that he did not want to commit to years of headlining a blockbuster franchise as he did with "Star Wars," and the show's London and Egyptian-set backdrop largely keeps its characters far from where they may otherwise conceivably bump into one of the dozens of other MCU characters running around Earth. Instead, "Moon Knight" settles in on an intense acting exercise from Isaac as he portrays Steven and Marc's struggle to come to terms with occupying the same body.
The lack of connections to other MCU properties in "Moon Knight" does not mean the show's creators did not try to weave in a cameo or two, though.
Moon Knight executive producer wanted to use Kumail Nanjiani's Kingo in a flashback sequence
In a recent interview with The Direct, "Moon Knight" executive producer Jeremy Slater said that he made a pitch for the series to feature the Eternals in a major action sequence intended as a flashback to showcase one of Khonshu's avatars in ancient Egypt. While the rest of the project intentionally strays far from the MCU's grasp, Slater said he wanted to work with his friend Kumail Nanjiani, who plays the "Eternals" character Kingo in Chloe Zhao's 2021 film.
"At one point, there was a flashback on the page that sort of showed one of Khonshu's Avatars back in ancient Egypt, sort of dealing with Ammit being locked away, and Alexander the Great, and all of that stuff," Slater told The Direct. "You sort of saw this Avatar team-up with the Eternals."
Slater said that he envisioned the sequence as a cold open to one of the six "Moon Knight" episodes, but logistical problems largely prevented the scene from making it to production. Slater acknowledged that it would have been too expensive to recreate ancient Egypt and use three or four "Eternals" characters. Slater said he believes losing the "Eternals" cameo was the best thing for the story; he acknowledged that making it happen would have harmed the show's budgetary needs elsewhere, particularly in its action-packed finale.
While the future of "Moon Knight" in the MCU is technically up in the air immediately after Season 1, Slater also noted that Marvel will likely find opportunities to cross the character over with other MCU properties in the future.