Are The Midnight Sons Destined For The MCU?
Moon Knight, the latest Marvel television show, has finally made its debut on Disney+ and initial reactions have been very positive. The series follows Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, who becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life. Steven discovers that he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marc's enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt.
While it is early days for the Moon Knight television show, characters, and story, we are already thinking of where things might go next. Marvel has said that Moon Knight currently has no immediate connection with the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, at least not yet anyway. While this story is getting built from the ground up, there is will no doubt that it will be extending into the established Marvel Cinematic Universe if not during the series then definitely afterward.
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One of the most interesting potential connections to the Moon Knight story could be a tie-in with the Midnight Sons. In the Marvel comics world, the Midnight Sons were formed by Ghost Riders and Spirits of Vengeance, Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze. The group originally consisted of Ketch, Blaze, the Nightstalkers (Eric Brooks/Blade, Frank Drake, and Hannibal King), Morbius the Living Vampire, and the Guardians of the Darkhold. As the stories progressed, Doctor Strange also became an official member of the Midnight Sons. Although, he had been influencing and directing them secretly from behind the scenes prior to that.
Of course, Marvel Studios do have a habit of switching things up when it comes to their live-action projects when compared to characters and teams in their Marvel Comics depictions. Could it be that Marvel might push forward with a new team for the live-action Midnight Sons? With the Avengers as we know them looking to be more of a fond memory rather than the current focus, it makes sense that Marvel is looking for a new super team to carry through into the next phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In a recent interview with Spanish media, Moon Knight actor Oscar Isaac was asked which characters he would like to see team up. His response (translated from Spanish):
"The truth, for me, more than the Avengers, is the Midnight Sons. Imagine, with Punisher, Ghost Rider, Daredevil… I think that would be a very interesting group.”
Can we read more into this than we should? Was he hinting that we might see any of these characters or references to them in Moon Knight even if they are just brief cameos?
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we already have Doctor Strange as a fully established character. We also know that Marvel has a Blade movie project in the works and Mahershala Ali has already made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, albeit in voice only in the post-credits scene of Eternals. Morbius the Living Vampire has also made his cinematic debut. However, he is technically in the Sony Cinematic Universe, or Venom-verse, so it is unclear if he would crossover to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
There have been rumors that Ghost Rider might show up in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. If that were to happen, it would link Doctor Strange and Ghost Rider going forward, paving the way for the Midnight Sons.
It might be wishful thinking, but there are certainly enough seeds out there to lead us to believe that Marvel is looking to introduce the Midnight Sons into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also makes sense that they would use other television shows and movies to bring in new characters with the goal of bringing them all together at some point down the line. While nothing is confirmed at this time, it would certainly be no surprise to see the Midnight Sons make an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the not too distant future. Does this idea excite you?
Moon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, and May Calamity, is currently streaming exclusively on Disney+.
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