Ethan Hawke, who portrayed Arthur Harrow on Disney+'s Moon Knight, admitted the Marvel Cinematic Universe may not be hospitable to directors.
Hawke told IndieWire that he felt Marvel Studios gave much more creative freedom to their actors than to their directors. "That group of people is extremely actor-friendly. They might not be director-friendly, and that could be what [Martin] Scorsese and [Francis Ford] Coppola are talking about. But they love actors," he said. "I think [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige had a great thing happen with Robert Downey Jr. and he understood that Downey's passion was a large part of the success. When actors are excited by a part, audiences get excited about watching them. Feige understood the algorithm there, so they're extremely respectful toward the process. The best thing about Moon Knight for me was [Oscar Isaac's] performance. It's a gonzo thing that happens to have a giant budget — a pretty out-there performance."
In the same interview, Hawke explained his lack of interest in making any long-term commitments to the MCU. Despite this, however, the actor hasn't completely shot down the possibility of reprising his Moon Knight character. Although his character was implied to have been murdered by Jack Lockley (Isaac) during the finale's mid-credits scene, Hawke said Arthur Harrow "doesn't seem dead to [him]," hinting at his possible return to the franchise.
Hawke is far from the first person to give his thoughts on Scorsese's controversial MCU take. In 2019, the director described the franchise as not being real "cinema" and compared them to theme parks. Comic book writer and podcaster Kevin Smith recently offered his own view on the topic. "You're asking a guy who made Goodfellas what he thinks about [Spider-Man], what do you think you're going to get? He's a very serious filmmaker, and he's a man who's of a certain age and stuck in his ways. You should not be surprised that's his response," Smith said. "For every old filmmaker who's like, 'I don't get it,' there's a bunch of young filmmakers who are like, 'I get it and I want to do it.' We don't have to ostracize the people that maybe don't get or aren't into the same movies we are."
Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, Moon Knight has been praised by critics and fans alike for its depiction of Dissociative Identity Disorder, which Isaac's character has in the show. The actor revealed recently that many real-life DID patients have responded positively to Moon Knight. "I've been very moved by some of those responses and really gratified because that was the goal," Isaac said.
Moon Knight is currently streaming on Disney+.
Source: IndieWire