Who is Layla in ‘Moon Knight’ and how does she know Marc?

Following the drop of the very first episode of Marvel’s latest series, Moon Knight, viewers have one particular character on their minds.

The character in question is, somewhat surprisingly, not Oscar Isaac’s Marc Spector — or Steven Grant, or Jake Lockley — but instead a character that has yet to arrive on screen. Viewers are fascinated by the character of Layla, a mysterious woman who is only featured in phone calls during the show’s first episode. They want to know more about May Calamawy’s Layla, a character that thus far has flown under the radar.

Who is Layla in Moon Knight?

The first episode of Moon Knight heaped tons of introductory information — and a few stellar Easter eggs — on viewers. Among the events of the first episode, Steven Grant — the primary personality of Isaac’s protagonist, for the time being — begins finding items around his home that don’t appear to belong to him. Among them is a phone, with several missed calls from a woman named Layla.

When the phone rings unexpectedly, Steven picks it up to find that Layla is on the other end. She informs a baffled Steven that she has been “texting and calling for months,” trying to get ahold of him, and expresses confusion over his accent. After calling him Marc, Layla’s call abruptly ends, leaving Steven even more disturbed.

Little is revealed about the character in the first episode, but trailers for the series show Calamawy’s Layla briefly interacting with Isaac’s Grant. She vocally ponders if he remembers “our adventures,” in between shots of the Pyramids and a broad, sandy expanse. The character crops up one more time near the end of the final Moon Knight trailer, informing a fully-costumed Moon Knight that he looks “different” before the trailer comes to a close.

How does she know Marc?

Layla seems to know Marc rather well, based on the brief interaction between her and Steven in Moon Knight‘s first episode. The two of them are quite well acquainted, in fact, given that Layla is actually Marc’s wife. She also might be a minor character from a mid-2000s run of Marvel comics.

While there is absolutely no confirmation that the two characters are one and the same, Screen Rant proposed an interesting possibility in a recent article; that Moon Knight‘s Layla shares a background with the only other known Layla from Marvel comics, a minor character who appeared in the X-Men’s House of M storyline. The character cycles through several abilities during her time in comics — thanks in large part to Wanda’s reality-bending shenanigans — but is ultimately instrumental in putting things back to right.

Even if she doesn’t share an identity with Layla Miller, Moon Knight‘s Layla El-Faouly has a vital role to play in the Disney Plus series. She is described as an archaeologist and adventurer, one whose history with Marc clearly stretches back years. Dialogue from the show’s first episode indicates that she hasn’t heard from Marc in months — so maybe ex-wife is a more accurate description — and that he dropped off the map some time ago.

Teasers from Marvel also indicate that Layla will have a story arc all her own in Moon Knight, which elevates the character beyond mere love interest into far more interesting prospects. It is as-yet unclear what role she will play in Moon Knight‘s season one plot, but it seems safe to say Layla is set to be a major player in Marvel’s latest series.