Over the next few weeks, if you see Marc Spector going on a rampage from corridor to corridor in a manner that seems eerily similar to something you’ve seen before, it’s because Moon Knight director Mohamad Diab has taken a lot of influence from the action sequences in Chad Stalenski’s John Wick.
In a recent chat with The Wrap to celebrate the long-anticipated premiere of the Disney Plus series, Diab revealed that the method of filming John Wick (played by Keanu Reeves) going about killing his foes with whatever’s handy is something that inspired him when helming the new MCU web series.
I definitely used the new movement of shooting action with less cuts and how grounded it is. And I used John Wick. I used a lot of different stuff. All my movies are very grounded in reality. I would love to capture reality. If I’m going to do action, if I’m going to do comedy, if I’m going to do anything, it has to come from a grounded reality.
Further elaborating on how John Wick cinematics have influenced Marc Spector’s solo outing, Diab said:
That was the main thing about it. And definitely what a lot of movies are trying to do right now. 10 years ago, the action was all about cutting so much, the effect of Paul Greengrass. And he does it better than anyone else. And now the new effect on action is less cuts, seeing the real action happen. But that’s harder, by the way, to capture it and still have the same dynamic.
In terms of that action, we’re definitely appreciating those John Wick vibes from Moon Knight, which is, surprisingly enough, a step away from Marvel’s formulaic approach to superhero storytelling.
Moon Knight will continue next week on April 6.