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Moon Knight Director Reveals Why Scarlet Scarab Was Gender-Swapped


Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight has finally stepped out of the spotlight as Disney+'s first series slated for 2022. The show's amazing conclusion reveals a brighter future not just for Isaac's titular character, but also for May Calamawy's Layla as she becomes Taweret's avatar and transforms into the MCU’s Scarlet Scarab.

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In the latest episode of Marvel Studios: Assembled, Moon Knight cast and crew discussed Layla's transformation as the Scarlet Scarab, a mantle originally owned by Abdul Faoul or his son Mehemet Faoul in the source material.

Marvel producer Grant Curtis shared how the 'traditionally male' narrative fits perfectly into the show.

“We zeroed in on an Egyptian superhero in the Marvel universe named the Scarlet Scarab. Traditionally it’s a male character who goes and reappropriates Egyptian artifacts from people who have stolen or gotten them by ill means and returns them to the rightful owners. And we thought, ’Man, the way our narrative is teeing up, that lines up with exactly what we needed for our show.’”

Moon Knight director Mohamed Diab admitted that Calamawy's hero wasn't even in the initial plan and just came up during the filming process of the show. “The show didn’t start with the Scarlet Scarab," Diab said. "But seeing May and developing her as an Egyptian character, step by step, the idea came up. Let’s make her into a superhero.”

Well, Moon Knight's decision to introduce Calamawy as Scarlet Scarab definitely paid off. Aside from that, the character's chemistry with either Steven Grant or Marc Spector was undeniably admired by the fans. Layla's development into the Scarlet Scarab was also a great character arc, rather than giving the character a typical love interest role for the show.

In Marvel Comics, aside from being a male villain, Scarlet Scarab doesn't really belong to the Moon Knight arc. Instead, Scarlet Scarab is originally a villain for Captain America. Given Marvel Studios' decision to introduce Scarlet Scarab with Layla, it would certainly give Calamawy an opportunity to represent a fresh version of the character.

Moon Knight is available to stream on Disney+.

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