Skip to main content

So, you’ve finished watching Moon Knight — now what? Go back and watch it again. And then maybe watch it a third time. At least, that’s what director Mohamed Diab hopes fans will do. Diab reflected on Moon Knight in a recent interview, noting that fans would likely notice more “loops and layers” to Marc Spector and his dissociative identity disorder on second or third viewings.

[Spoiler alert: The following story contains spoilers for Moon Knight Episode 6, “Gods and Monsters.”]

Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector, wearing Moon Knight's suit in Moon Knight.
Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector/Moon Knight in ‘Moon Knight.’ | Gabor Kotschy/Marvel Studios

‘Moon Knight’ follows a Marvel superhero with dissociative identity disorder

Moon Knight tells the story of Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac), a museum gift shop employee who begins to experience mysterious blackouts. Soon, Steven realizes that he shares a body with a mercenary named Marc Spector (also Isaac). And that’s not all: Marc uses a superhero identity known as Moon Knight to serve the Egyptian god Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham). As Marc carries out his mission of eliminating sinners, he becomes entangled in a battle with Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke), an avatar for the goddess Ammit.

Throughout Moon Knight‘s six episodes, viewers learn that Marc and Steven are two personalities in Marc’s dissociative identity disorder (DID). Marc and Steven take control of the body in sudden flashes, often leading to confusion. As Diab told Polygon, this was important in showing the audience what life with DID is like.

“That kind of disorientation — it’s not a gimmick, those blinks,” he said. “It’s not a gimmick in the action as much as this is how life feels — like you can just black out and discover that something did happen that you never thought you would do, that you were responsible for something that you didn’t do. So that was very important.”

Director Mohamed Diab said ‘Moon Knight’ fans will see more ‘loops and layers’ of Marc Spector’s disorder on a rewatch

Diab continued on to explain that Marc’s DID is so complex that it will take a few rewatches to fully grasp the story.

“There’s so many loops and so many layers. There’s a lot of things that you think, ‘OK, I understand what’s real and what’s not.’ But when you go back and question it — ‘It doesn’t feel like I know exactly what’s going on.’ And again, this is how we feel Marc and Steven’s life could be,” the director added.

Moon Knight‘s final episode sees Marc and Steven finally come to terms with each other, learning to live in unison. However, the post-credits scene then introduces a third personality that Marc and Steven aren’t even aware of — Jake Lockley. Jake, who is perhaps the most dangerous personality, still serves as Khonshu’s avatar.

Moon Knight hides clues about Jake’s existence throughout the season. According to Diab, fans will likely notice more and more of these clues with each rewatch. Plus, they may even question whether there are other personalities inside Marc.

“Who said that Khonshu’s not a voice in [Marc’s] head?” Diab told Polygon. “I’m telling you, there’s lots of things when you go back and watch it, you’re gonna think ‘OK, there’s a lot of theories here.’ It’s not a gimmick — maybe this guy’s mind is so fractured that we don’t even grasp how effed up he is.”

Will ‘Moon Knight’ have a season 2?

Related

Moon Knight Could Be the Bane of the Avengers’ Existence, According to Director

Marc and Steven seemingly found closure with each other in the finale, but Jake’s introduction opens the door for more conflict. Does that mean fans can expect Moon Knight Season 2? Unfortunately, Marvel has not announced plans to continue the show yet, and it was billed as a limited series. However, Diab has said he feels confident that Marc, Steven, Moon Knight, and even Jake could live on elsewhere in the MCU.

“[Moon Knight is] so interesting that I think he’s going to stay, but what’s going to happen next?” Diab told Collider. “Is he going to be on another season? Is it going to be a film? [Will] he join someone else? My guess is yours.”

Moon Knight Season 1 is now streaming on Disney+.

How to get help: To connect with mental health resources near you, visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website.