Oscar Isaac turned heads with The Force Awakens‘ Poe Dameron. He was a very fun Star Wars character that seemed to have near-limitless storytelling potential, with many noting his obvious chemistry with co-star John Boyega. But, by the time The Rise of Skywalker rolled around, the character’s arc took on a non-sensical direction.
Poe’s arc never really developed and in the final installment of the sequel trilogy, it was clear director J.J. Abrams didn’t know what to do with him, as proven by the nonsensical revelation that he’d managed to squeeze being a drug-smuggler into his career. On top of that, he was saddled with one of the film’s most notorious lines: “somehow Palpatine returned.”
With such a disappointing experience, it is understandable for Isaac to have second thoughts about associating with another gigantic House of Mouse franchise. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he explained why he still signed up for the MCU in Moon Knight.
“I had so much hesitation. So much. I was like, ‘I just finally got out of a long time of being a part of the Star Wars universe,’ which I loved doing, but it definitely took up a lot of my time. So I was excited to get back to more character studies and smaller films. But this came my way, and my instinct at first was like, ‘This is probably not the right thing to do.’ But there was just something about the Steven character that was speaking to me a little bit.”
We Got This Covered has seen the first four episodes of Moon Knight and it’s obvious what Isaac saw in the show. The competing personalities of the protagonist are a wonderful showcase for his chameleonic acting skills, with timid Londoner Steven Grant a million miles from the handsome and confident characters he’s generally cast as.
The show also gives him an opportunity to flex his comedic muscles, with him describing his starting point for Moon Knight as “What would Peter Sellers do if he was asked to be in a Marvel movie?” Kevin Feige has talked a big game about this show being “brutal” and while the hero doesn’t pull any punches, the overall tone is goofy comedy.
I, for one, am fascinated to see how Moon Knight goes down with audiences. We can post our full impressions when the review embargo lifts on March 29, with the first episode airing on Disney Plus on March 30.