Ever since the firstMoon Knighttrailer dropped, there’s been something about Marvel’s next Disney+ series that’s had the entire internet talking. It’s not the incredible costume, or the wild Ancient Egyptian-inspired mythology of the MCU’s new nocturnal crime-fighter – it’s the bizarre British(ish) accent adopted by Oscar Isaac in the role of Steven Grant, one of many identities held by the show’s title character. Part Dick Van Dyke, part Dickensian orphan, part soft-spoken-bloke-down-a-London-pub, it’s an odd voice to hear emerging from Isaac’s mouth, and might take a while for British viewers in particular to settle with. Even Isaac himself poked fun at it (“My waking life, and dreams!”) in a video where he and co-star Ethan Hawke react to the trailer.
Speaking to Empire in the newMoon Knightissue, Isaac opened up about that voice, hinting at the character choices behind the unusual accent. “I stand by the sound of Steven 100 per cent,” he says. “It’s cool [the accent] got people excited, and some were like, ‘That sucks!’ and others were like, ‘That’s great!’ But there are reasons…” The exact reasons, he wouldn’t be drawn on – but he did hint that it’s not supposed to be an entirely convincing British accent. “That voice is about where Steven’s from, where he’s living now, and some of his believed heritage,” he teases. “It’s not an idea of what Brits actually sound like.”
Isaac stayed in the voice for two months while shooting the show – and the idea of having different accents for Moon Knight’s various personas (also including Marc Spector, an American) came from the man himself. “In the initial script, the difference between Steven and Marc was in attitude,” says writer Jeremy Slater. “It was Oscar who said, ‘What about an accent?’” If you needed any more convincing, director Mohamed Diab says answers are on the way. “Anything Oscar does is deliberate,” he promises. “I won’t comment any more than that…” In the meantime, we’ll be over here trying to tell the difference between our waking life, and our dreams.
Read Empire’s full Moon Knight feature in this month’s issue – talking to stars Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke and May Calamawy, writer Jeremy Slater, director Mohamed Diab, Marvel boss Kevin Feige and more about the arrival of the MCU’s wildest hero yet, with tons of exclusive new images. On sale Thursday 17 February, and available to pre-order online here. Moon Knight streams on Disney+ from March 30.