Daredevil: Born Again’s trailer has convinced me that Marvel must make a follow-up toMoon Knight.It has been almost three years sinceMoon Knightseason 1’s ending, and the character has failed to appear in any MCU project save forWhat If…?season 3. Despite intriguing teases about his future, the Ancient Egyptian-inclined character has been left in limbo, as audiences wait patiently for any news aboutMoon Knightseason 2. Until then, other vigilantes are taking his place at the forefront ofMarvel’s upcoming TV shows.
One such vigilante is the Man Without Fear himself, with thetrailer forDaredevil: Born Againoutlining the character’s full official return to the MCU. The trailer confirmed the show as a continuation of Netflix’sDaredevil,complete with returning cast members and a level of violence that is unlike anything else in the MCU. With this R-rated violence in mind, I am convinced that now is a better time than ever for Marvel Studios to finally delve back into the world of Egyptian gods withMoon Knightseason 2.
Daredevil: Born Again
Cast
Daredevil: Born Again follows blind lawyer Matt Murdock, who uses his heightened abilities to pursue justice in New York. As he manages a bustling law firm, former mob boss Wilson Fisk navigates political ambitions, leading both men toward a confrontation as their pasts resurface.
Firstly, it is worth exploring what exactly was part ofDaredevil: Born Again’s trailer that convinced me a continuation ofMoon Knightwould be a good idea. Overall, the show looks more brutal than anything else in the MCU. The fight scenes have much more weight and drama to them given that they mostly involve normal people who can be hurt easily, with the trailer highlighting this via Matt Murdock being attacked in his apartment. The trailer shows Matt struggling for breath as blood drips from his face onto the floor, which is an explicit shot Marvel Studios has certainly not been known for.
The ending of the trailer then doubles down on the violence. From bones being snapped and blood seeping through clothing to faces being impaled with shards of glass, it is clear thatDaredevil: Born Againis not afraid to make the show more gruesome than any other of theMCU’s many TV shows. In context, this certainly makes sense as Netflix’sDaredevilexhibited a similar - if not more gory - level of violence. From a wider perspective, though, this proves that Marvel Studios is not afraid to delve into truly R-rated properties, especially afterDeadpool & Wolverinein 2024 as well.
Moon Knight Did Not Fulfill Its Brutal, Violent Promises
The Show Was More Mature Than Others, But Not On The Level It Was Billed To Be
Regarding whereMoon Knightfits into all this, I think many would agree when I say the show did not live up to the promises of violence made by creatives at Marvel Studios. It is worth noting thatMoon Knightdoes have slightly more mature elements in it thanLokiorShe-Hulk, for example. Some fight scenes do feature the character being more aggressive than other heroes have been in the MCU, but they still paled in comparison to the likes ofDaredevil, The Punisher,and nowDaredevil: Born Again.
This would not be an issue were it not for the promises made thatMoon Knightwould open up the MCU to more mature storytelling. BeforeMoon Knightwas released, Kevin Feige interviewed withThe Hollywood Reporterto outline exactly how the show would be different from what had come before it. Feige insisted that it had been fun to see how far the boundaries could shift regarding Marvel TV shows on Disney+, implying thatMoon Knightwould be more akin to a NetflixDefendersshow than a typical MCU project.
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Feige further elaborated on these comments shortly after. The president of Marvel Studios stated that some scenes involved “Moon Knight wailing on another character, and it is loud and brutal.“Feige went on to say that his knee-jerk reaction was that the camera would pull away from this moment, before clarifying “We’re not pulling back. There’s a tonal shift.This is a different thing.” This raised excitement greatly to see a more mature MCU show, butMoon Knightdid not necessarily provide what was promised.
Many felt that Feige had builtMoon Knightup to be something it was not, which caused a great deal of disappointment…
As I alluded to, some scenes were more violent than typical MCU action beats, but not to the level that was hyped by Feige. The darker elements of Moon Knight’s backstory were also fairly mature, but not to the same gory extent as the likes of Kingpin’s childhood fromDaredevil.Overall, many felt that Feige had builtMoon Knightup to be something it was not, which caused a great deal of disappointment.
A Moon Knight Sequel Could Employ A Darker Tone Like Daredevil: Born Again
The MCU’s Recent Maturity Could Allow Moon Knight Season 2 To Deliver What Was Promised
All that being said,Moon Knightseason 2 could deliver what Feige had billed thanks to the MCU’s recent maturity, as evidenced byDaredevil: Born Again’s trailer. It is clear that the franchise is now not afraid to showcase more violence for its darker characters. TheDaredevil: Born Againtrailer is proof of this, with that show not pulling away from bloody moments as Feige promisedMoon Knightwould not. With this in mind,Moon Knightseason 2 could be made now and be better than ever.
Interestingly,Moon Knightseason 2 being more gruesome would not just be violence for violence’s sake. The show already teased a story reason to have more bloody moments thanks to the introduction of Jake Lockley, one ofMoon Knight’s alternate identities. The titular character, Marc Spector, lives with disassociative identity disorder, meaning other personalities come through his body at different moments. A mystery ofMoon Knightseason 1 was a more violent personality that was teased only by blackouts, with the final episode’s post-credit scene confirming this identity as Jake Lockley.
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Given that Moon Knight has not appeared in the MCU since 2022, Jake Lockley’s personality has not been explored further. Another element that has been left in limbo is Jake’s continued work with the god Khonshu, whom Marc and Steven - another of the former’s identities - vowed not to work for again.Moon Knightseason 2 could tell this intriguing story, using the added violence that Marvel is now clearly capable of providing to better differentiate Jake Lockleyfrom his more benevolent shared identities.
Daredevil: Born Again’s Other Moon Knight Connections Make A Sequel To The 2022 Show More Vital
Another Connection Links The Two MCU Property
Finally, the last aspect that could makeMoon Knightseason 2 more likely now than it was before is a connection between the creators of the two shows. After Marvel Studios revampedDaredevil: Born Again, directing duo Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson were hired to oversee the show. These two filmmakers have become somewhat mainstays in the MCU, having worked onLokiseason 2 before being hired forDaredevil: Born Again.
Even beforeLoki, though, Moorhead and Benson directed episodes ofMoon Knight.After working within the Marvel machine for so long and seeing how different an R-rated project can be to a PG-13 story, the directors could feel more inclined to return toMoon Knight. Moreover, the quality of their work speaks for itself, withLokiseason 2 being regarded as one of thebest-ranked MCU TV shows. As such, Moorhead and Benson returning toMoon Knightwould be overly exciting, as would their ability to carry over the more violent aspects that would fit the character fromDaredevil: Born Again.
Moon Knight
Moon Knight stars Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant, a gift-shop employee in London who discovers he has dissociative identity disorder. He shares a body with Marc Spector and together, they travel to Egypt to uncover a deadly mystery surrounding the gods.Moon Knightconsisted of six episodes and was the fifth live-action TV show in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4. Also starring in the series is Ethan Hawke as the villainous Arthur Harrow and May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly.
