The opening scene of Moon Knight was Ethan Hawke’s idea

The series premiere of Moon Knight is here, and the reviews are in: Marvel’s latest Disney+ show is off to a great start. Moon Knight’s premiere episode, “The Goldfish Problem,” introduced viewers to both Oscar Isaac’s titular hero as well as the show’s main villain Arthur Harrow, played by Ethan Hawke.

To the surprise of many fans, the show actually begins with a cold open scene of Harrow crushing up a bunch of glass and pouring it into his shoes as a form of personal penance. It’s an intriguing, weird opening that fits the show well. While we originally thought this scene might be a nod to Harrow’s comic book origins (he has a toxic relationship with the idea of overcoming pain), it turns out that it was all Hawke’s idea.

“That idea came from me trying to figure out my character,” Hawke explained to The Wrap. “And I was trying to figure out what was his secret? You know, a lot of deeply spiritual people you find out later — like St. Francis and other people — would wear a hair shirt or do strange things to overcome suffering, right? And so I thought, what if this guy secretly poured glass in his shoes? I don’t exactly know how the idea came to me.”

The seed of an idea quickly formed into a full scene in Hawke’s mind. Once he had the bones for what the actual sequence would look like, he pitched it to Marvel Studios.

"I had this kind of vision. I pitched them that, ‘What if he was listening to Bob Dylan and pouring glass in his shoes?’ And the whole Marvel team loved the idea. I kind of thought of it as a single page portrait in a graphic novel, like, what would that be? And so we just shot it, and we weren’t sure what we’re going to do with it. And then they decided to open the series on it. But I think it gives the villain a little strangeness."

Also, just in case you’re worried, no feet were actually harmed in the making of this production. “It’s not comfortable, but it doesn’t cut,” Hawke added about the artificial glass. “I’m not that dedicated to my craft.”

This opening scene firmly establishes the weirdly dark tone of the series. It may not be the most action-packed of Marvel’s cold opens, but it certainly catches your attention.

It’s really interesting that the whole scene was Hawke’s idea. Arthur Harrow is a minor villain in the Moon Knight comics (he only appears in a single issue), so there was a lot of room for the actor and writers to shape the character. Hawke previously spoke about how he drew inspiration from charismatic cult leaders like David Koresh. Hearing this story, it sounds like he was given a lot more creative freedom than actors usually get on Marvel projects. In the MCU, the talk is mainly about restrictions on filmmakers and how difficult it can be to craft stories that fit into the wider tapestry of the Marvel mythos. But it sounds like Moon Knight goes in the other direction, which is great and only makes me more excited to see the rest of the series.

Oscar Isaac compares Star Wars, Marvel, and Dune fans

Hawke’s story about shaping his character lines up pretty well with what Oscar Isaac has said about the show. Initially, Isaac was hesitant to take on the project due to concerns about the kinds of creative restrictions we just mentioned. But it turns out that Moon Knight was a much more liberating experience than he expected.

“My reservations were about whether there was really going to be room to create and collaborate, and having a voice in forming the story and the character and the journey of the whole thing,” Isaac told E! News. “To my wonderful surprise, it ended up being one of the most creatively collaborative, fulfilling experiences that I’ve had.”

"I certainly went back to the comics and looked through them. I took inspiration from them. I had the art department give me a bunch of different covers and photos from the comics and I had them all around my trailer, so at every moment I was immersed in the aesthetic that is Moon Knight."

Isaac calling a Marvel show one of the most collaborative experiences he’s ever had holds a lot more weight when you think about all the different projects he’s had a hand in. He’s the only actor currently who has featured in Star Wars, Dune, and now the MCU, which means he’s interacted with all three of those fandoms and considered the differences between them.

“I think Star Wars was particularly frenzied, especially for The Force Awakens,” the actor said. “It was bringing back the story. It had been a while, it was a whole new chapter in the saga. That was like a religious frenzy that was happening there. Dune is much more akin to Lord of the Rings, very literary. People have lived with those books for a very long time, so those are fascinating conversations.”

"With the MCU, what’s exciting is that it’s a little known character. Definitely there are some people who have been fans of it for a long time—he’s been around since 1975. But still, it’s a relatively obscure character. So the opportunity to introduce him into the world, and to a whole set of new fans, that’s also one of the most exciting parts of this whole thing."

Moon Knight may not have been a household name before the Disney+ series, but you can bet he’s going to be once it’s through.

Moon Knight airs new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+. You can find our review of the premiere episode here:

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h/t Syfy Wire