Moon Knight: Who Is Taweret? (Antonia Salib’s Character)
The release of Moon Knight is fast approaching as this Disney+ original series is the newest addition to the Marvel roster of different movies and shows that are all interconnected to one another. That said, there are also new reports regarding the different characters that would be making an appearance in the movie. This includes Antonia Salib’s character, who is reported to be Taweret. So, who is Taweret in Moon Knight?
Taweret seems to be a new character in Marvel because there is no record of this character in the comics. But Taweret does have a place in Moon Knight, considering that the basis of this character is the Egyptian goddess of the same name and that the Egyptian god Khonshu plays a big role in the series.
Introducing Taweret in the series seems to be a huge move on the part of Marvel Studios, as it isn’t common for them to introduce new characters that were never seen in the comics. That said, Taweret is perhaps an entirely new character that is based on the Egyptian goddess. As such, we are here to look at what we know about Taweret and what role she could play in Moon Knight and, ultimately, the MCU.
Who Is Taweret?
Marvel has been cashing big as of late with its host of different Disney+ original series. The newest Marvel series that is just about to release on Disney+ is Moon Knight, which is an entirely new series that is based on new characters that we are yet to see in the MCU. This is unlike the other Marvel shows that we have seen on Disney+, as they are all based on characters that we have already met in previous MCU movies.
That said, Moon Knight follows the story of Marc Spector, a mercenary who suffers from a dissociative identity disorder. In the comics, Spector dies while on a mission but ends up getting revived by the Egyptian god Khonshu, who grants him the power of the Moon Knight, who is basically the god’s representative on Earth.
While we don’t know whether or not Spector dies and is revived by Khonshu in the Moon Knight series, what we do know is that, based on the synopsis, the protagonist will end up getting drawn into a mystery that involves the Egyptian gods. Of course, the god he will be involved with the most is Khonshu, who is the Egyptian god of the moon. His involvement with Khonshu is what will possibly turn him into the Moon Knight in the upcoming Disney+ series.
Of course, considering that the Moon Knight series will talk more about the different Egyptian gods and how Marc Spector plays a role in the entire mess that involves these deities, it is no secret that there will be more Egyptian gods that will be introduced to the series. One possibility is Taweret.
In an interview with Antonia Salib, who will be one of the actresses playing a role in the Moon Knight series, Variety basically confirmed in a Tweet that she would be playing the role of Taweret.
Neither Marvel nor Salib ever mentioned Taweret, but Variety probably has a source that confirmed that the actress would be playing this character. But, first of all, who is Taweret in Moon Knight?
It is worth mentioning that there is hardly any mention of Taweret in any of the official Marvel sources. This could possibly mean that this is a character that is going to be entirely new to the MCU Moon Knight series, as there is nothing in any of the Marvel databases that talks about Taweret.
However, Taweret is not an original creation of the folks behind Moon Knight. Like all of the other Egyptian gods that will be appearing in the series, Taweret is also an Egyptian deity. In fact, Taweret is described to be the Egyptian goddess of childbirth and fertility.
In Egyptian mythology, Taweret is described as a bipedal female hippopotamus with hands that resemble that of a feline. Then again, it might not be possible for Antonia Salib to have the same appearance in the series, but it could be possible that this is the same Taweret that she is going to be seen portraying in Moon Knight.
That said, the possibility of Taweret becoming an original Marvel character in Moon Knight is quite high, considering that we are yet to see anything related to this character in any of the Marvel databases. Then again, she still is based on an Egyptian deity, similar to the fact that Khonshu is based on the Egyptian god of the moon, Khonsu.
Of course, Salib also talked about how free she felt during the time she worked with the crew behind Moon Knight.
“I think with having the time with a series, you’re really able to explore all these different characters and the emotional journey that Steven and March are going through, and you really flesh it out,” Salib told Variety. “Personally, it felt like such a collaborative process, which was brilliant for such a big organization. From the moment when I read the scenes when I was auditioning to when I started working with the director Mohamed Diab and the costume team to VFX, it felt like I was given license to create my character and everyone was on board together.”
Our belief that Taweret is an entirely new character in Moon Knight is strengthened by what Salib said when she mentioned the fact that she was given the freedom to create the character through her portrayal. This isn’t something we often hear from actors playing Marvel characters because of the fact that there are clear source materials for most of the other MCU personalities.
Taweret’s Powers & Abilities
Considering that Taweret has never been portrayed in any of the Marvel comics or other types of literature, what we know about her powers and abilities are speculative at best. And we are basing what we know about the character on her portrayal as a goddess in Egyptian mythology.
As mentioned, Taweret is the Egyptian goddess of childbirth and fertility, and that means that she has the power to give life. The Ancient Egyptians probably saw Taweret as the deity to pray to whenever they wanted to conceive or give birth to a healthy baby.
There are also various sources that she also has powers that are regenerative in nature, as there are some people who prayed to her for healing. On top of that, there are also sources that suggest that she also had a role to play in the afterlife as the one who nurtured and purified the deceased in their journeys after death.
How those mythological powers related to Taweret will be used in Moon Knight’s version of Taweret is something that we are yet to see or hear anything about, considering that Taweret was never mentioned or seen in any of the Moon Knight trailers or teasers. However, it may be possible that Marvel Studios will add new powers and abilities to Taweret’s arsenal, depending on how the series portrays the character.
How Could Taweret Fit Into The MCU?
As of this moment, it is very tough to say how Taweret could fit into the entire MCU, considering that there is no clear source material regarding this character and that there is yet to be a clear synopsis on what the entire Moon Knight series will be all about.
Of course, it is also tough to say how Moon Knight will fit into the MCU because of the fact that this character is new to the MCU and is yet to be connected to any of the other MCU characters that were introduced in the previous Marvel movies and shows. And considering that we don’t even know where Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight character belongs in the MCU, we also cannot say anything about how Taweret could fit into the MCU.
It could be possible that Taweret, being a possible original creation for the Moon Knight series, is but a minor character on the show and that she won’t even have a large enough impact on the flow of events. And even if she ends up becoming a major character, the possibility of Taweret becoming a one-off character is also quite high because Marvel isn’t shy about introducing major Marvel characters that only appeared in one film.
From the looks of it, it is quite possible that Taweret will only become a minor character that may not even make it out of Moon Knight to become a part of the entire MCU. But that remains to be seen, depending on how Marvel Studios includes Moon Knight and the entire Egyptian gods conflict in the grander MCU scheme. After all, Thor, Loki, Odin, and the other Asgardians are also deities themselves.
