One of the things that Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight did was that it was able to introduce a series that is almost entirely new in terms of its story, characters, and overall relation to the MCU. Nevertheless, what we do know is the fact that May Calamawy played Layla in the series, and she seems to be connected to Marc Spector. So, who is Layla in Moon Knight, and how is she connected to Marc Spector?
Layla is most likely a woman who Marc Spector was romantically linked with in the past, considering the tone of her voice in the call made by Steven. However, she is an entirely new character that has no counterpart in the comics. This means that she is an MCU original character.
It is actually quite interesting to see that Moon Knight is introducing new characters to the series or, at the very least, is changing a few details in the comics. This means that the fans of the comics should expect a story that’s entirely original, especially when it comes to the characters. Now, let’s look at what we know about May Calamawy’s Layla.
Who Is Layla In Moon Knight?
Episode 1 of Moon Knight was released and allowed us to have a lot of lingering questions in our heads, and this must be something that Marvel did on purpose to keep people guessing and wanting to see more of what’s going to happen in the series. Of course, the major questions in the series are related to Steven Grant/Marc Spector, who are very mysterious characters even though they are played by one and the same actor (Oscar Isaac).
The story introduces Steven Grant, a simple gift shop receptionist in a museum in London who is knowledgeable about the Egyptian gods. Nevertheless, he describes himself as suffering from a sleep disorder due to the fact that he often wakes up in different places and looks like he is suffering from a lack of sleep. And this is the reason why he ties himself to his bed at night.
However, in one of the scenes in episode 1, he fell asleep in woke up in Hungary with two voices talking to him. One is the Egyptian god Khonsh,u and the other one is himself but comes with a different personality. Suffering from dissociative identity disorder (DID), Steven is sometimes Marc Spector, who works as a mercenary but gets into trouble with a cult that worships the Egyptian goddess Ammit.
The leader of the cult, Arthur Harrow, wanted to retrieve the golden scarab which was in the possession of Steven. However, during the entire mess, Steven blacked out and was seemingly taken over by Marc.
After waking up back in his flat in London, Steven realized that three whole days had passed and that he wasn’t even awake the entire time. But he used the clues he picked up from what he learned when he was in Hungary to learn more about his other self. This was when he used a storage unit under Marc’s name to retrieve a few of his belongings, which included the golden scarab and a burner phone.
Back in his flat, Steven used the burner phone to contact someone named Layla, whose tone over at the other end suggested that she was concerned and that she was wondering where Marc had gone. However, Steven had no idea who that person at the other end of the line was. So, who is Layla in Moon Knight?
As of the moment, there is yet to be any full explanation as to who Layla is, as this is something that we are going to learn more about in the next episodes. However, the trailer already gives us a good idea of who Layla El-Faouly is.
In the trailer, we see that Layla actually knows that Steven is the Moon Knight because she asks him to summon the suit. At that point, Steven didn’t even know what she was talking about because he didn’t know anything about the Moon Knight or that he was the avatar of Khonshu. Instead, it is Marc Spector who is fully aware of the fact that he has the power of the Moon Knight.
That said, it is clear that the one who has a history with Layla is Marc and not Steven. This also means that they are quite close to one another because of the very fact that Layla knows Marc’s secret, which is something that not even Steven knows about.
There are also indications in episode 1 and the trailer that Marc’s relationship with Layla is something that’s more than just a friendship or a partnership. It can be presumed that they are romantically linked and may have a history as lovers in the past, as suggested when she said “our life together” in the trailer. Of course, the trailer basically shows that Marc and Layla are quite comfortable with one another.
Meanwhile, the phone call in episode 1 also allows us to understand that Layla was quite worried about Marc in a manner that suggests a romantic relationship between the two. But the extent of their relationship is something that should be answered in at least episode 2 of Moon Knight.
Is Layla In The Comics?
It might come as a surprise to many Marvel fans out there that Layla El-Faouly is not a character that was derived from the comic books. This is surprising because Marvel Studios is known for being true to the source material, especially when it comes to the characters that are introduced in the different MCU movies and series.
The closest character we could find in the comics is Layla Miller, who became prominent in the House of M storyline in the comics. She is also a mutant. However, Layla Miller has nothing to do with Moon Knight in the comics, and that means that she isn’t really the best basis we can think of when it comes to Moon Knight’s Layla.
All that said, the current belief is that Layla El-Faouly is an entirely new character that’s original to the MCU. This means that Marvel Studios isn’t shy about introducing new characters to the MCU, especially when the MCU itself has become an entirely different entity compared to the comics.
Of course, it should also be known that the people behind the Moon Knight series also introduced plenty of changes that make it different from the comics. For one, the series version of Arthur Harrow is a cult leader with magical powers. Meanwhile, his version in the comics is that of a mad scientist.
Then there’s also the fact that the series has changed a few things in the Egyptian god lineup as well. Ammit is merely a beast working under the goddess Ma’at. On the other hand, she is a major goddess in the Moon Knight series. And there’s also the fact that Taweret, another Egyptian goddess, is going to be in the series, even though this character has never been mentioned at all in the Marvel comics.
Considering that there are major changes introduced in the MCU version of Moon Knight, the conclusion that anyone can come up with right now is that Layla is an original character. But this conclusion might change in the future, especially when the next few episodes get released. It might be possible that more information will be shed on Layla’s character so that we can truly say whether or not she is original to the MCU series.
