What Accent Oscar Isaac Is Doing In Moon Knight

Disney+ Day unveiled the first footage for Moon Knight and revealed Oscar Isaac is using a peculiar accent for the show; here’s what it is and why he’s doing it. Moon Knight has been one of Marvel’s most anticipated upcoming Disney+ series, with comic book readers eager to see how the studio will translate the character and story of Marc Spector from page to screen. Of course, that excitement was only buoyed by the announcement that Marvel had tapped bona fide A-lister Oscar Isaac for the role of Moon Knight.

Throughout his career, Isaac has shown incredibly versatile range, an actor who always understands exactly what to bring to every role. He may be best-known for playing Poe Dameron in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but Isaac’s talent has shown in everything from indie films to sci-fi tentpoles. No matter what role he’s in, Oscar Isaac always seems to make the right choices regarding character. That’s exactly why more than a few who watched the Moon Knight footage were left scratching their heads at Isaac’s seemingly deliberate choice to do a pronounced accent in the show.

However, in the context of the character of Moon Knight and what the MCU is potentially doing with Marc Spector, it makes sense. The accent Oscar Isaac is aiming for in Moon Knight is an East London accent, or what is better known as a cockney accent. It’s an accent traditionally held by the London working class, specifically from a specific area in and around London. In movies, it’s an accent usually reserved for minor criminals and thugs (Guy Ritchie, in particular, is fond of employing it in his movies), or for blue-collar, lower-class characters. Knowing Moon Knight’s background, however, it’s likely that it’s not an accent Oscar Isaac will use permanently in the show.

In the comics, Marc Spector suffers from dissociative identity disorder (DID). Currently, he has five distinct personalities, with each playing a very distinct but important role in his life. One of those personalities is Jake Lockley. Jake is a salty cab driver who acts as Moon Knight’s information-gathering persona who interfaces with street-level criminals and informants. He borders on being a lowlife, often aggressive, and the one the quickest to engage in violence. In the comics, he’s been the dominant personality for stretches at a time, until some more recent personas have started to share the load. With Oscar Isaac having to portray a number of different, distinct characters, he’ll have to differentiate them and it’s very likely that the cockney accent he’s using in the Moon Knight teaser is for Jake Lockley.

Of course, it’s also possible that the MCU has considerably retconned Marc Spector’s origin and backstory from the comics. Instead of being an American former CIA operative, U.S. Marine, and mercenary, it’s certainly possible that he’ll be part of London’s criminal underbelly, particularly as the MCU seems to quietly be building up Britain’s MI-13 and/or Midnight Sons team from the comics in Marvel’s own Dark Universe. But that would be unlikely as it would considerably change the character, so the cockney accent belonging to Jake Lockley is the most reasonable explanation. Next year will bring more answers when Moon Knight hits Disney+.

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