If you’re a fan of existential genre films made on a shoestring budget that come packing ambitious ideas and sinister undertones, then the chances are high that you’re already more than familiar with the work of filmmaking duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead.
The pair have delivered acclaimed features Resolution, The Spring, Endless, and Synchronic, while they recently helmed two episodes of Netflix smash hit Archive 81. Next up is their first foray into superhero territory, with Benson and Moorhead wielding the megaphone on a pair of Moon Knight installments for Marvel Studios.
On the surface, the arena of superhero blockbusters doesn’t seem to be in their wheelhouse, but Benson explained to The Playlist that there really isn’t much different between DIY cinema and the big budget realm of the Netflix or the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“They really complement each other. They fulfill you in different ways, but then they’re also incredibly similar. When you go onto a gigantic set, once you walk past all the trailers and the giant trucks, the craft is basically the same. You got a camera; you got actors, you have to tell people what to do all that. The phone also isn’t ringing to go do Two And A Half Men. It’s stuff that’s kind of like what we already do. Archive 81 definitely shares DNA with The Endless and Resolution. You’ll see with same with Moon Knight.”
As pair of the independent scene’s most consistent and creative writers, directors, actors, cinematographers, producers, and much more, those in the know are seriously hyped about seeing what Benson and Moorhead can bring to the MCU’s table, and Moon Knight could end up serving as the launchpad to even bigger projects further down the line.