The MCU continues to grow ever larger as its next show Moon Knight is set to hit Disney+ starting on March 30th. The series will star coveted actor Oscar Isaac as the titular character and will dare to explore a few darker aspects of the MCU's mystical side. In an interview with Empire magazine, Kevin Feige said of the character:

"He’s brutal. It’s been fun to work with Disney+ and see the boundaries shifting on what we’re able to do. There are moments [in the series] when Moon Knight is wailing on another character, and it is loud and brutal, and the knee-jerk reaction is, ‘We’re gonna pull back on this, right?’ No. We’re not pulling back. There’s a tonal shift. This is a different thing. This is Moon Knight.”

However, despite having an A-list star backing a project from the most successful film franchise of all time, the highly anticipated 'Moon Knight' series still has some serious hurdles to overcome if it's going to follow in the footsteps of the five MCU shows that paved the way for its creation.

First MCU Show to Star a Debut Character

Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight
Marvel Studios

While Marvel is no rookie when it comes to adapting their characters for television shows (Daredevil, Agents of Shield, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, etc.), Moon Knight will be the first official show of the established MCU that will focus primarily on a debut character. The first five shows the MCU introduced on Disney+ (WandaVision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Loki, What If...?, Hawkeye) all centered around firmly established characters in the MCU that fans have known, embraced, and loved for years. Heck, even What If...? spent ten episodes following the MCU's main core characters rather than taking the opportunity to introduce audiences to new ones.

Now, it's highly plausible that some known MCU characters will make appearances or cameos in Moon Knight, but having this be the first MCU show that centers around a brand-new character certainly adds to the stakes.

Needs to Live up to Daredevil & The Punisher

Moon Knight Following Daredevil & Punisher
Marvel Studios 

Regardless of the fact that Moon Knight will be the first official MCU show to star a debut character, there will still be high expectations for the anti-hero as it will have to live up to the two most notorious anti-hero shows Marvel has created: Daredevil and The Punisher. The shows that were recently removed from Netflix and heading to Disney+ are widely regarded as two of the best shows that Marvel has created to date, as well as the actors in the titular roles being praised for their renditions of the superheroes.

Related: These Actors Starred in Both Marvel & DC Movies

Both Daredevil and The Punisher are seen as two of the darkest, most brutal heroes in the Marvel Universe, and Moon Knight is right behind them on that list. With reports stating that Moon Knight will bring a new level of brutality to the MCU, fans can only hope that the show will rival the malicious fight scenes and dark overtones that its predecessors gifted to the world.

Competing With The Batman

matt-reeves-the-batman-gotham
Warner Bros.

The MCU is far from being dethroned by the DCEU and will likely stay that way for years to come. That said, Matt Reeve's The Batman hit theaters recently, becoming an instant success for the DC Universe among both fans and critics alike. The film has set the 2022 bar rather high for how an anti-hero project should satisfy its audience. For fans who might be unaware, Moon Knight is often described as the "Batman of the Marvel Universe" as he shares many of the same physical qualities/traits/powers as the Dark Knight.

Related: Explained: What is Robert Pattinson's The Batman Fighting Style?

Since fans had been waiting for The Batman for so long, it's not hard to imagine that they'll continue to run to theaters to watch the film over and over again. Suppose that happens and the movie stays in theaters for several months. In that case, Moon Knight may have to inadvertently compete against DC's most famous character, forcing the series to get unfair comparisons and judgments that it might not have received had it debuted at a different time of the year.

Following & Preceding Two Major MCU Projects

Doctor-Strange-2-Trailer-2
Marvel Studios

As already stated, the MCU tested out their five debut series by using firmly established characters that fans already knew and loved. This allowed the studio to put out two movies starring new characters (Shang Chi, Eternals) in a row without having to worry too much about how audiences did (or didn't) embrace them. The shows gave audiences enough content that even if they weren't thrilled with the new movies, they still couldn't complain.

Moon Knight has been given the Herculean task of not only following a major MCU project but preceding one as well. Spiderman: No Way Home was a phenomenal success (critically and financially), and it blew away all expectations. Meanwhile, the next MCU film set to release, Doctor Strange 2, is arguably the most anticipated MCU project since Avengers: Endgame. With the pressures of being the first MCU show to debut a character, living up to successful runs by anti-heroes like Daredevil and The Punisher, and having to compete against one of the best DC projects to date in The Batman, the added pressures of being sandwiched between two MCU films starring characters meant to lead the franchise into the future seems like enough to break Moon Knight before it even begins.

However, fans will soon learn that this anti-hero is strong enough to carry the heavy expectations.