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‘Moon Knight’ Costume Designer Meghan Kasperlik On “Portraying The Real Egypt”

For Moon Knight, it was important for costume designer Meghan Kasperlik to put in the research and honor the ancient Egyptian influences. The series is nominated for eight Emmys, including Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes for Kasperlik.

The Disney+ series follows Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac), who discovers he has been granted the powers of the Egyptian moon god Khonsu. Kasperlik incorporated Egyptian symbols into the costumes, with hieroglyphs, Khonsu’s oath, and mummy wrappings, to honor not only the Moon Knight comic series, but the ancient Egyptian story of Khonsu as well.

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The series finale “Gods and Monsters” was chosen by Kasperlik for Emmy consideration due to the number of custom-built suits and monsters shown. Taweret’s costume was special for Kasperlik, as each member of her team had a hand in the hippopotamus goddess’s look.

DEADLINE: What did the creators of the series have in mind for the costume design?

MEGHAN KASPERLIK: Working with Marvel is great because the world is never too big and you are able to pitch ideas. This was going to be the first time that Moon Knight was coming to life from comic to screen and all wanted to the costumes to be epic. The Moon Knight costume, Scarlet Scarab and Harrow changed in design from the beginning of the process to screen. The journey to get to screen was a beautiful transition and I was so happy to be a part of helping create these characters.

But the costumes are not just all about the suits. We had an Egyptian Director, Mohamed Diab, and it was very important to him that we were portraying the real Egypt. Honoring Ancient Egypt but also honoring the people living there today. I did a tremendous amount of research about Egyptian culture and it is showcased throughout the series in both the fantasy costumes and the contemporary costumes.

DEADLINE: What was the inspiration for Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight costume?

KASPERLIK: Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight was of course inspired by the comic, but also by Ancient Egypt and this included the origin story from Khonshu. Incorporating Egyptian symbols, hieroglyphs, Khonshu’s oath, and mummy wrappings seemed like a lot, but they came together harmoniously. When Oscar put the suit on the first time, Moon Knight came to life.

DEADLINE: Why was “Gods and Monsters” chosen for consideration in your category?

KASPERLIK: I chose “Gods and Monsters” because the episode showcases most of the gods and monsters that were custom built for the series, all of the super suits in the series, the Avatars, the Egyptian people in Cairo, etc. The finale shows Moon Knight, Mr Knight, the reveal of Scarlet Scarab, Harrow, Khonshu, Amit, and Taweret in all their glory. That episode is a great showcase of all of the hard work my team put into the show and was a great celebration at the end.

DEADLINE: What was your favorite costume to design this season?

KASPERLIK: Each costume in the series has meaning to me. I love the way that so many of the suits came together and the reveal of each on set. The costume that holds so much personal meaning to me is Taweret. She came together by every person in my department having a hand in building. From the sourcing of fabric, Luca, our in house metal smith, hammering the metal for her neckpiece, head piece and jewelry, Aleanza, the in house leather worker, hammering the leather with custom made hieroglyph stamps, Agi, one of my tailors, being meticulous with the build of the costume, and Wilberth creating the beetle and back piece to complete the costume. Each time Antonio Salib put the costume on it was a proud moment for myself and my team.

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