Moon Knight has yet to get the live-action treatment from Marvel, but he has been given new life by a fan-made film. The movie was written and directed by Caden Butera and starred Tim Altevers as the titular hero.
Moon Knight was created in 1972 by Doug Moench and Don Perlin. He made his debut in Werewolf by Night #32 and by 1980 was starring in his own series, written by Moench and drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz. Although there have been great Moon Knight runs since, this one was by far the best in terms of defining the character. He has gone by several names over the years, the best-known being Marc Spector. One of the most fascinating aspects of the character has always been his multifaceted personality. He has had more than one identity and not even he is always clear on which one is the right one.
Caden Butera has created an impressive Moon Knight fan film. The movie was shot in the Pacific Northwest, North Idaho and Spokane, Washington to be specific. It was put together on a shoestring budget with a skeleton crew made up of passionate fans of the character. Butera stated of the film: “I, along with all the other Moon Knight fans out there, have been dying for the character to get his debut on the big screen. He’s such an awesome & complex character; I hope one day he’ll hit the limelight.”
The film undeniably has an excellent grasp on the character. It has a noir feel and explores all of Moon Knight’s identities in equal measure: There’s Steven Grant, a millionaire entrepreneur who takes down crime from the inside; Jake Lockley, a taxi cab driver on the hunt for late night criminal intel; Marc Spector, the retired mercenary searching for vengeance; and of course, Moon Knight himself. The fight scenes certainly don’t shy away from the darkness and violence of the comics, and the hero’s inner struggle is at the forefront of the narrative. There is even a nod to Khonshu, the god that Spector serves, as well as a post-credits scene teasing the arrival of his arch nemesis: Bushman. The film certainly leaves fans hoping for a sequel in which hero and villain can face off against one another.
If Batman has a Marvel analog, it’s definitely Moon Knight. Both men are wealthy, with no superpowers to speak of, and fight crime with a wide array of gadgets. They are also driven by vengeance, Bruce for his parents and Marc for the god Khonshu. Another notable similarity is that for both men, it is their Bruce Wayne and Marc Spector identities that serve as the masks, while Batman and Moon Knight have become their true selves. However, Moon Knight is no carbon copy of the Caped Crusader. He is basically Batman turned up to eleven. Bruce may be a genius, but the fact that he might also be kind of crazy is a subject that has been explored many times over the years. Mark’s broken psyche goes a step beyond that, with Moon Knight constantly struggling to keep himself from fully descending into madness. It’s a battle he does not always win.
Fans have long hoped for a Moon Knight movie. The Walking Dead star Ross Marquand has even expressed interest in playing the character. Many even hoped that Marc Spector would find a home in Netflix’s corner of the MCU. The book’s gritty feel would’ve been a perfect fit for Marvel’s street level heroes. Sadly, with Netflix canceling Iron Fist and Luke Cage within a week of each other, and giving Daredevil the ax not too long after, it would seem that the partnership between Marvel and Netflix is coming to an end. Kevin Feige has previously stated that the studio had plans for the character, but not necessarily in the near future. Until then, at least Moon Knight fans have this film to hold them over.
More: 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Moon Knight
Source: Caden Butera
