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Every Planned & Cut MCU Cameo & Reference In Moon Knight
Though Moon Knight had only a few connections to the MCU, several cameos and references were planned but eventually cut. Here's what they were.

Every Planned & Cut MCU Cameo & Reference In Moon Knight

Several MCU cameos and references to established characters were originally on the cards for Marvel’s Moon Knight. However, the series featured no surprising cameos and very few MCU references. Ultimately, it was a very contained story that relied only on the Moon Knight mythos from the comics.

Up until Moon Knight’s release, the story of every MCU show hinged on characters and events from previous Marvel movies. Because Moon Knight centered on a new MCU character, the show’s events didn’t need to tie in with Avengers: Endgame or any other Marvel movie. Unlike shows such as WandaVision, Hawkeye, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Thanos’ snap and the repercussions of his battle with the Avengers had no relevancy to Moon Knight. Rather than focus on existing MCU concepts, Moon Knight introduced new ones via the titular character’s stories in Marvel Comics. Through the Egyptian gods, the series was able to dive into an unexplored corner of the MCU.

Originally, there would have been moments where Moon Knight’s place in the MCU would have been strongly felt. Comments from those involved with the show have confirmed that references to important MCU characters and cameo appearances from some familiar faces were discussed at various points in the show’s development process. But for different reasons, none of them made it into the series. Here’s every planned MCU cameo and reference in Moon Knight and why they were cut.

Moon Knight Cut Mystery MCU Cameos From The Beginning & End

According to Moon Knight director Mohamed Diab, “crossovers” were planned for Moon Knight episode 1’s first scene and the final scene of Moon Knight episode 6. But as the scripts changed, both were removed from the plan. He called the choice “a collective decision,” in which it was agreed upon that Moon Knight didn’t need MCU connections, despite the “rule” that Marvel projects typically end with something that links it to the wider MCU. Diab hasn’t discussed the identities of either cut character, but several options have been suggested. Given Moon Knight’s role in the supernatural side of the MCU, a second cameo from Mahershala Ali’s Blade could have been on the table. And Mark Ruffalo’s proximity to Moon Knight’s filming location made Bruce Banner or Smart Hulk an additional candidate.

Moon Knight Cut References To Thor: Love & Thunder’s Gorr

Due to the uncertainty surrounding Moon Knight’s release date, some scripts included references to Thor: Love and Thunder’s Gorr the God Butcher. Before the show went into production, Moon Knight’s writers and producers weren’t clear on when it would release in conjunction with Thor 4. Since Christian Bale’s MCU villain is set to go on a crusade against the gods, there was a plan for his actions and the deaths of his victims to be discussed on the show. Moon Knight showrunner Jeremy Slater claimed there was one script that recognized Gorr’s story as a past event, while there was another that set it up. It appears that if Gorr was to be mentioned at all, it would have been in Moon Knight episode 3 when the Egyptian gods convened to talk about Arthur Harrow. Any talk of Gorr was removed when Marvel decided that a reference to him would have felt out-of-place.

Moon Knight Writers Discussed A Dane Whitman/Black Knight Cameo

As a historian who works at a museum in London, Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman easily could have fit into an early episode of Moon Knight where he could have briefly interacted with Oscar Isaac’s Steven Grant. This was acknowledged by Slater, who confirmed that discussions about this very scenario did take place in the writers’ room. They didn’t pan out, though, as Slater said that there was no room in the story for Dane to suit up as Black Knight. As the showrunner pointed out, having Harington show up as Dane Whitman (but not Black Knight) wouldn’t be worth the cost of including him. He also said that as a fan, he’d be “pissed off” if Dane’s guest appearance didn’t involve the character taking part in the action. It looks like viewers will have to wait a bit longer to see Eternals’ Dane Whitman wield the Ebony Blade and don the Black Knight armor for the first time.

Moon Knight’s Pitch Included Werewolves (But Not Werewolf By Night)

Marvel’s untitled Halloween Disney+ special is expected to introduce werewolves into the MCU by delivering a story about its Werewolf by Night character. Interestingly, there was a point where the werewolf concept could have been established ahead of the special. As a result of Marvel’s plans for Werewolf by Night, that specific character was never going to be used, but a werewolf could have appeared. Since Moon Knight was introduced as a monster hunter in the pages of Marvel’s Werewolf by Night comic, Slater included a fight between Marc and a 12-foot-tall werewolf monster in his original pitch. Obviously, that fight didn’t happen, possibly because Moon Knight found other ways to explore the monster hunter side of Moon Knight’s character. The inclusion of Ammit’s jackal monsters could have been what erased the need for any werewolf scenes.

Moon Knight Cut A Line Referencing A Kang The Conqueror Variant

A variant of Kang the Conqueror – the villain of the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania movie – was referenced in a script for a Moon Knight episode. In a scene where Steven was to rant about Egyptian history, he was supposed to mention the name “Rama-Tut,” which is a title once held by Kang in the comic books. For a reason that hasn’t been explained, Moon Knight’s Rama-Tut Easter egg was cut from the final draft. That being said, a logo that matched Rama-Tut’s design was subtly included on a jacket worn by one of Arthur Harrow’s henchmen.

On the surface, Moon Knight might seem like an odd place for a nod to the time-traveling Avengers villain and the character who took over the TVA in Loki’s ending, but his comic history actually would have made Moon Knight’s MCU story an appropriate setting for a Kang reference. The comics explained that Kang the Conqueror and the time-traveling Egyptian Pharoah known as Rama-Tut were one and the same. Rama-Tut represented a phase in Kang’s life when he relocated to Egypt and became its pharaoh. Eventually, he grew tired of this life and transitioned into his role as Kang the Conqueror. In other stories, Marvel has utilized Rama-Tut as an alternate timeline version of Kang. With variants being so important to Kang’s MCU story, there’s always a chance that Rama-Tut will appear in some capacity in a future MCU movie or show.