Moon Knight’s May Calamawy confirms that the Disney+ series left room for Scarlet Scarab’s future MCU appearances to fully define her powers.
Moon Knight kept Scarlet Scarab’s powers vague so that they could be fully revealed in the character’s future Marvel Cinematic Universe appearances, according to star May Calamawy.
Calamawy addressed Layla El-Faouly’s loosely defined set of supernatural abilities in a recent interview with Inverse. “It’s funny because I wanted all [the comic book version of Scarlet Scarab’s] powers,” she recalled. “He can zap strength from the different people he’s fighting and take their powers. He can fly. I was like, ‘Guys, I want all of this!’ I think they purposely wanted to keep Scarlet Scarab’s powers a mystery so they could be expanded on.
Calamawy debuted as Scarlet Scarab in Moon Knight Episode 6, “Gods and Monsters,” after Layla agrees to become the avatar of the goddess Taweret. Layla’s transformation into Scarlet Scarab grants her a suit of armor complete with wings that allow her to fly and that also serve as shields. She also demonstrates superhuman strength, speed and durability, as well as the ability to conjure swords from thin air. Scarlet Scarab’s male comic book counterparts share these abilities, however, they can also shoot magical force beams and drain the powers of others. Calamawy’s comments suggest the MCU version of Scarlet Scarab may one day perform these feats, too.
The Egyptian-Palestinian actor certainly seems eager to find out exactly what her character is capable of. Calamawy recently confirmed that she’d be happy to play Layla El-Faouly again, whether that’s alongside Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight or in a Scarlet Scarab spinoff. “A Moon Knight movie would be wonderful. Now, if they are open to a Scarlet Scarab spinoff I’m not going to say no. (laughs). Or not even a Scarlet Scarab spinoff, even a Moon Knight Season 2,” she said.
Calamawy’s eagerness to reprise the role is impressive, considering the intense physical training required to portray Scarlet Scarab. The Moon Knight star recently shared a behind-the-scenes video of the grueling workout regime she underwent to prepare for the Disney+ series. It included extensive aerobics, weightlifting, parkour and combat training.
Moon Knight also required Calamawy to mimic the performance of another actor, Antonia Salib, during a scene in which Layla channels Taweret. She recently revealed that the decision for her to deliver Taweret’s lines instead of Salib was made shortly before the scene was shot. “[Director] Mohamed [Diab] came to me 30 minutes before we started filming, and was like, ‘I actually want you to embody Taweret,'” she said “And I was like, ‘What?'”
All six episodes of Moon Knight are currently streaming on Disney+.
Source: Inverse
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