‘Moon Knight’ Episode 1: Who Voices Khonshu? He Was the ‘Perfect Person’ to Play the God
Moon Knight introduces multiple new Marvel Cinematic Universe characters in the first episode, including Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant and Marc Spector. Isaac’s characters have dissociative identity disorder, which means that Steven and Marc are two of his personalities. And fans also got their first tease of the mysterious Egyptian moon god, Khonshu, in the Moon Knight series premiere.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Moon Knight Episode 1, “The Goldfish Problem.”]
A recap of ‘Moon Knight’ Episode 1
The Moon Knight series premiere begins with Oscar Isaac playing Steven Grant, a timid museum gift shop worker. The audience quickly learns that Steven’s relationship with sleep is quite complicated. He routinely blacks out and has memories of another life. So, Steven has an intense sleep routine that includes multiple locks and ankle restraints.
One day, Steven wakes up in a field with no memory of how he got there. He hears a voice in his head that complains that the “idiot” is in control, and it tells Steven to give power back to Marc. This voice in Moon Knight is Khonshu, but fans will likely find out more about him later.
Guards start shooting at Steven, so he runs away and happens upon a cult in a village. Arthur Harrow leads the cult, and he has a special connection to the goddess Ammit. The armed men find Steven, and Arthur demands that he give him a scarab that he somehow has in his possession. Steven continues to blackout and wakes up to discover that he’s killed the guards that have chased him.
Steven wakes up in his room, and he thinks that it was all a dream. However, two days have passed without his knowledge. And Steven finds a ringing cell phone hidden in his apartment. He picks it up, and a woman, Layla, is on the other end. She calls him Marc, but Layla hangs up when he expresses his confusion.
The following day, Arthur tracks down Steven at work and sends a monster after him. However, Marc gets through to Steven, and Steven relinquishes control of his body to the mercenary. He turns into Moon Knight and kills the monster.
Who voices Khonshu in ‘Moon Knight’?
Marvel Studios created the character of Khonshu with CGI, but F. Murray Abraham provides the voice for the god in Moon Knight.
Abraham is a prestigious actor who is most famous for playing Antonio Salieri in Amadeus, for which he earned an Oscar for Best Actor. He also starred in Scarface, Star Trek: Insurrection, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Isle of Dogs. Moon Knight is his first MCU role.
In Marvel comics, Khonshu is an Egyptian moon god who saved Marc Spector’s life. Marc lay dying at the foot of Khonshu’s statue when the god decided to revive him. But his help didn’t come without a price. Khonshu asked that Marc become a conduit for him as Moon Knight and save and protect innocent people as the vigilante. The audience will likely learn more about Khonshu and Marc’s backstory as Moon Knight continues.
Oscar Isaac explains why F. Murray Abraham was the perfect choice for Khonshu
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Oscar Isaac sang his praises for F. Murray Abraham’s work as Khonshu in Moon Knight.
“He was the perfect person to bring the gravitas to that character,” the actor and executive producer explained. “We were talking about the nature of Khonshu’s voice and the fact that F. Murray — apart from just having an incredible voice — is also of Syrian descent. So, there is a tie to the Middle Eastern mythology there.”
Isaac added, “I talked to him about the character and how I see him as a representation of the trauma and the punishment and the vengeance that Marc is, in a way, enslaved to.”
According to the actor, Khonshu and Marc/Steven will have a tumultuous relationship in Moon Knight. Over the course of the series, it becomes unclear whether or not Isaac’s characters can trust the Egyptian moon god.
New episodes of Moon Knight air Wednesdays on Disney+.
