Note: After this article was published, the original interview source appears to have deleted any mention of Mohammed Diab's criticism of Black Adam. The reason for the alteration is currently unknown.
Moon Knight director Mohammed Diab criticized Black Adam for failing to capitalize on its representation potential.
Diab called out the Warner Bros. in a recent interview with Filfan. "I was really annoyed with DC when they set Black Adam in a fictional middle eastern country as an excuse to cast non-Egyptians, when it was obviously meant to be in Egypt," Diab said. "Representation opportunities shouldn’t be wasted... But it’s not a full mistake since it’s based on an iteration of the comics that doesn’t mention Egypt."
Black Adam's first comic book appearance in 1945 established the character as hailing from ancient Egypt. Despite his origin, the JSA comics in the 2000s changed his birthplace to the fictional North African nation of Kahndaq. Black Adam still retains elements of his original Egyptian backstory, including the Egyptian Gods from whom he derives his superpowers. Several other characters in the upcoming Black Adam adaptation -- including Aldis Hodge's Hawkman and Sarah Shahi's Adrianna Tomaz -- also have ties to Egypt in the comics.
Diab said he was eager to avoid a similar situation with Moon Knight by ensuring the cast and crew reflected the show's connection to Egypt and its culture. "I wanted to showcase Egyptian talents as much as I could. Every culture should be represented by its people so I hired actors, an editor, a costume designer, an art director and a composer who are all Egyptian," he said.
Diab's comments follow reports that Marc Spector/Moon Knight won't be Jewish in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series, unlike the character's original comic book depiction. This has led to some fans calling out the upcoming Disney+ series for making the same representation error Diab criticized the Black Adam production of making. Writer Alan Zelenetz -- who previously wrote the Moon Knight comic -- defended the show's decision to ignore Marc Spector's Jewish roots. "If [Moon Knight's] not Jewish because there’s a good artistic reason he’s not Jewish, that’s perfectly OK. I don’t care, " Zelenetz said.
Moon Knight's approach to its protagonist's mental health issues has proven less controversial by comparison. Head writer Jeremy Slater recently spoke about his efforts to imbue the series with "a positive message about mental health." Slater went on to say that the Moon Knight production team researched disassociative identity disorder to ensure it was portrayed accurately and sensitively in the show.
Moon Knight premieres on Disney+ March 30. Black Adam arrives in theaters on Oct. 21.
Source: Filfan, via The Direct.