Moon Knight writer Jeremy Slater explains why the series uses Arthur Harrow as its main villain instead of Marc Spector's comic book nemesis Bushman.
Writing on Twitter, Slater explained that the creative team felt the need to create a new adversary rather than pull from Moon Knight's rogues gallery. "His only recognizable villain was Bushman, who just felt too close to Black Panther's Erik Killmonger," explained Slater. "So we decided to invent a villain instead. Ethan Hawke in particular was instrumental in creating Harrow." While Arthur Harrow did debut in Moon Knight Vol. 2 #2, the villain ever only appeared in a single issue.
Hawke has previously opened up about what drew him to the role of Arthur Harrow, noting that the character's sinister motivations were enough to hook him. "Your gut leads you," Hawke said. "The uber-rich villain mastermind isn't interesting to me. I love the ones who believe that they're a good person and that's why they have to kill you. That, I find really terrifying."
Arthur Harrow seemingly represents a new kind of villain that has yet to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: A cult leader. While little is known about what's driving Harrow, Hawke has openly stated that David Koresh was the main inspiration behind his MCU role. Koresh is the notorious leader of the Branch Davidians who was involved in the infamous siege of Waco in 1993.
Hawke's enthusiasm for his Moon Knight villain was reportedly apparent from the start. According to director Mohamed Diab, the Hollywood star agreed to the role before he even read the script for the series. "Ethan is someone that is -- everyone sees him as this great, legendary, independent film actor, and joining the superhero world is something big," said Diab. "So when Oscar [Isaac, who co-stars in Moon Knight] first approached him and then I talked to him about it, we pitched him the idea, but I told him please don't read the script. Not that the script is bad, but when you work with him, you have to get from him." According to Diab, Moon Knight is the first project in 35 years that Hawke signed on to without first reading the script.
Fans wondering how Harrow will push Marc Spector to his limits won't need to wait much longer. The first episode of Moon Knight is now available on Disney+.
Source: Twitter