Moon Knight is the latest hero to arrive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and after a few months devoid of new content following Spider-Man: No Way Home, the new Disney+ series is getting plenty of attention. That includes both cast members and characters they’ve played, and with Moon Knight himself a relatively obscure figure in the Marvel pantheon, many fans are coming to both him and his supporting cast for the first time.
That includes Khonshu, a major figure in Moon Knight’s story who provides the hero with both his powers and his mission. The character’s origins stretch all the way back to Moon Knight #1 in 1980, which he shared with Marc Spector, and which will presumably inform the new series. Considering Khonshu’s importance, and the prominence of the MCU overall right now, it’s no surprise that they found a notable actor to play him: F. Murray Abraham.
Khonshu was originally a figure from Ancient Egyptian mythology, strongly associated with the moon. The Oxford Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology depicts him as a friend of humanity, bringing the light of hope when things look darkest. Accordingly, he’s often connected with travelers – matching the moon’s journey across the sky, as well as its various cycles – and he was said to protect those who had to walk the roads at night. The cyclical nature of the moon also gave him a strong connection to healing and fertility, as well as the ability to drive away evil spirits.
All of this made for easy fodder for a compelling comic book character. Marvel had already enjoyed great success mining ancient mythology – resulting in the likes of Thor and Hercules, among others – and Moon Knight was no exception. The comics version of Khonshu is a rebel against the celestial order led by Ra, the god of the sun. He endeavored to protect those who could not protect themselves, and bring justice to those humans the other gods had failed. Since he could not directly enter the mortal plane, Khonshu chose a human to act in his stead – the Moon Knight – and granted them powers to take revenge on the unjust.
The MCU’s version of Khonshu sticks reasonably close to that, but adds a few wrinkles, which is where Abraham’s casting becomes important. According to the character’s official description from Marvel, Khonshu “has walked the earth for centuries waging a one-god war on perceived injustices, but his actions have made him an outcast among his fellow gods,” which forces him to rely on Marc Spector as Moon Knight. This isn’t always a beneficial arrangement for Spector, who has to pay the toll for the god’s endless demands for vengeance.
How and why remains to be seen – for the MCU at least – but given the figure’s nebulous moral status, Abraham makes an outstanding choice to voice him. The actor has a lengthy and wildly varying resume, but was launched to stardom after 1984’s Amadeus, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. His character, Antonio Salieri, was a talentless hack scheming against the infinitely more talented Mozart, even as he reveled in his rival’s musical gifts. That figure’s duplicity allowed the actor to branch out into a variety of roles, including The Name of the Rose, Finding Forrester, Last Action Hero, Star Trek: Insurrection and Mimic.
His hefty list of credits -- including a number of prominent backstabbers -- makes him a natural not only for Khonshu’s imperious commands, but in his apparent need to hustle Spector into continuing to work for him. It takes a careful balance of elements to do that properly, especially for characters who aren’t well-known outside of comics fans. Abraham's casting is a signal not only that Moon Knight takes that challenge seriously, but that its content is strong enough to attract an actor of his caliber.
Marvel's Moon Knight premieres March 30 on Disney+