Moon Knight creator and head writer Jeremy Slater has revealed that a "big action sequence" involving the Eternals was scrapped from the show. Moon Knight recently concluded on Disney+ with a satisfying and action-packed finale that wrapped up the central storyline but also teased more conflict between the titular superhero’s various personalities. The show stars Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector, a mercenary suffering from dissociative identity disorder who becomes the avatar of the Egyptian Moon God Khonshu and gains supernatural abilities as the superhero Moon Knight.
Owing to the Moon Knight’s exploration of Egyptian mythology and powerful gods, the Eternals were intended to cameo in the series. In an interview with The Direct, Jeremy Slater revealed that he tried to get the Eternals into the show, especially Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo, who happens to be a good friend of his. An entire flashback sequence was mapped out that would’ve featured the Eternals, Khonshu and his avatar, the villainous Goddess Ammit, and Alexander the Great, all fighting in ancient Egypt. Ultimately, the scene was scrapped due to budgetary and other concerns. Here is what Slater said:
"I tried very hard to get the Eternals into the show, just because I'm buddies with Kumail Nanjiani. I wanted some Kingo. At one point, there was a flashback on the page that sort of showed one of Khonshu’s Avatars back in Ancient Egypt, sort of dealing with Ammit being locked away, and Alexander the Great, and all of that stuff. You sort of saw this avatar team-up with the Eternals. It was a really fun scene, but again, it was so massively expensive to recreate Ancient Egypt, to sort of bring in 3 or 4 of the Eternals to have this big action sequence."
The Eternals Cameo Was Cut To Keep Moon Knight A Standalone Series
Ever since its announcement, Moon Knight has been marketed as a standalone series. And rightly so, considering it is the only MCU Disney+ series yet that introduces an entirely new character. Moon Knight is one of Marvel’s most compelling and grounded superheroes, and featuring celestial beings like the Eternals would have been overkill, especially with six episodes to work with, a limited budget, and Egyptian Gods already present in the show. Slater further explained the reasons behind the canceled cameo, saying:
"It was one of those things where it was a very fun scene, and it would have been a great cold open to one of the episodes, but it also would have had to come out of our budget somewhere else, and probably would have hurt our finale along the way. So, that was the cameo I had to cut. It hurt, but it was also the right thing to do for the show, and I think everyone sort of collectively agreed. There’s plenty of time in the future to team this guy up with other characters in the MCU and start building these connections; let's not force something just because the other shows have all had it."
To be fair, an Eternals vs. Egyptian gods fight would have been super cool to watch, but a limited series like Moon Knight probably wasn’t the place for it. Also, it would have been contradictory to the Eternals' non-interference rule.
As for Moon Knight’s future, there are conflicting reports about season two, but with the way the show ended, Marc Spector and all his personalities will return eventually, maybe in a future MCU project, a solo movie, or perhaps a Disney+ exclusive movie. That would be a first for Marvel.
Moon Knight is available to stream on Disney+.