Moon Knight release date leaks ahead of trailer debut

The release date for Marvel Studios' Moon Knight has leaked online ahead of the Disney Plus show's trailer, which lands today (January 17).

We previously reported on the rumours that the Moon Knight release date and trailer would be revealed during the Disney Plus presentation at the 2022 Television Critics Association's winter press tour. But that speculation proved to be nothing more than conjecture.

Now, though, it seems like confirmation of Moon Knight's release date is imminent, with prominent Marvel Studios leakers suggesting that the superhero show's launch date will be unveiled alongside its official trailer later today.

According to multiple sources, including OneTakeNews – the website run by leaker BigScreenLeaks – and Nick Santos of That Hashtag Show, Moon Knight will officially launch on Disney Plus on March 30. If that's correct, it means that it'll join Loki, What If...? and Hawkeye in being released on a Wednesday. 

OneTakeNews and That Hashtag Show's reports appear to back up a December 2021 claim from ReviewedCinema's Brandon Matthews, who claimed that Moon Knight would release in late March. We've reached out to Disney about this release date leak and will update this article if we hear back.

As for the unveiling of the Marvel Phase 4 project's first trailer, the official Disney Plus Twitter account confirmed that it would be released during the NFL Super Wild Card matchup on ESPN/ABC.

It's unclear if OneTakeNews, That Hashtag Show and Matthews' claims are legitimate, but we'll find out soon enough. The NFL Super Wild Card matchup starts at 8:15pm ET today, according to The Direct, which means it'll debut at 5:15pm PT (that's 1.15am on January 18 in the UK). So we don't have a long wait to find out if Moon Knight will be the next MCU TV series to launch on Disney Plus.

Non US-based Marvel fans are likely to have to wait for the trailer to be released online, but we suspect it will be shortly after it premieres for US audiences. Once it's live on YouTube or Marvel's social media channels, we'll be sure to bring Moon Knight's first trailer and confirmed release date to you.

Moon Knight is one of five potential MCU TV shows releasing this year, with She-Hulk, Ms Marvel, What If...? season 2, and Secret Invasion also supposedly landing on Disney Plus before the year's end.

Analysis: who is Moon Knight beating up in the trailer announcement clips?

Interestingly, a few snippets of new Moon Knight footage were posted alongside the trailer's release date announcement. The brief video included a blink-and-you'll-miss-it look at Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac) in full costume, as well as a very brief glimpse of Ethan Hawke's unnamed villain. 

Of greater importance, though, is that we seemingly have confirmation of who – or, more specifically, what – Moon Knight is beating up in that bathroom scene, which was first teased during November 2021's Disney Plus Day celebrations. 

The antihero appears to be beating up a werewolf, which may lend further proof to rumors that Marvel Studios is also developing a Werewolf at Night TV show or Halloween special. 

According to reports, including The Wrap and The Illuminerdi, Golden Globe winner Gael García Bernal (Old, The Motorcycle Diaries) has been cast as the titular monster for that project. Moon Knight and Werewolf at Night have fought in Marvel comics before, so it'll be interesting to see if they duke it out on the small screen, too.

Alternatively, Moon Knight's victim may be tied to Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of the dead. In Marvel comics, an individual named Ahmad Azis claims to be the reincarnation of Araames, Priest of the Anubis. During his comic book debut in March 1985, Azis alleges that he was revived as Araames alongside Moon Knight when the Egyptian moon god Khonshu passed the Moon Knight mantle onto Marc Spector.

So the werewolf could be a henchman of Azis/Araames. If that's the case, we wouldn't be surprised if Ethan Hawke's secret antagonist ends up being Azis/Araames. Hawke has only revealed (per THR) that he's based his villain on US cult leader David Koresh, so it'll be a while before we find out which Marvel character he's actually portraying.

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