Marvel’s Moon Knight: The Creative Clash Behind the Scenes That Shaped the Series

When Marvel’s Moon Knight premiered on Disney+ in 2022, it stood out as an unconventional entry in the MCU. The eight-episode miniseries struggled to balance the expected CGI-heavy action of a Marvel production with a deeper exploration of dissociative identity disorder. The result? A divisive reception—some fans embraced the antihero’s chaotic antics, while others found them exhausting. Star Oscar Isaac’s portrayal, including his distinctive English accent inspired by U.K. presenter Karl Pilkington, became a focal point of discussions about his performance.

Jeremy Slater, the writer behind Mortal Kombat II, was initially tasked with developing Moon Knight for Marvel. However, he was notably absent from the show’s press tour and promotional rollout. The reasons for his departure remained unclear until Slater recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter (THR) about the experience.

Reflecting on his career, Slater admitted that early on, he “fight[s] notes and reactions from my collaborators.” However, he noted that over the past decade, his work in television has taught him that “collaboration is the name of the game,” fundamentally changing his approach to writing.

Slater addressed the specifics of his exit from Moon Knight during production, emphasizing his respect for Marvel:

“I certainly don’t want to say anything bad or negative about Marvel or my time there. They took a chance on me, and they let me assemble a really great writers’ room. I was really, really proud of the work that we did. The end result was I left the project over creative disagreements with the director. The two of us simply had very different visions on what the show should be about. Ultimately, he won that creative battle, so I stepped away. He then brought in his own team of writers to create a show that was his vision and the story that he wanted to tell.”

Slater did not name the director involved in the creative clash. Given that Moon Knight’s episodes were helmed by Mohamed Diab, Justin Benson, and Aaron Moorhead, speculation has centered on Diab, who directed the majority of the series.

Slater, who also produced The Umbrella Academy, described his experience at Marvel as “certainly not a traditional showrunner experience where the writer is the boss.” He added, “I can’t speak to what the process is like now,” but noted, “I know a lot of writers who have gone through the development process at Marvel and have had great times. It’s just that the pairing of writer and director is always really, really tricky. When it works—like I think it did on Mortal Kombat II with Simon McQuoid—it is magical and wonderful. But when it doesn’t work, it’s probably really frustrating for everyone involved.”