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Filmmaker Mohamed Diab (Cairo 678) directed the first, third, fifth, and sixth episodes of Marvel Studios' Moon Knight, surely making him a top contender to take charge of another story featuring the character.

The Disney+ series ended on a huge cliffhanger; while Marc Spector and Steven Grant seemingly rid themselves of Khonshu, we'd later learn that a third personality - Jake Lockley - was secretly working as the Moon God's enforcer.

Updates on plans for Moon Knight have been few and far between over the past two years and Diab shared what he knows about the Fist of Khonshu's future in an interview with Deadline.

"You never know - with Marvel nothing is called finished. There could be a film, or he could go into another universe," the filmmaker shared. "Right now nothing is in talks but I definitely with Moon Knight, I would love to be involved in anything else...

Exclusive: Marvel’s Moon Knight Director Mohamed Diab has revealed fresh details about his new feature Lion, starring Egyptian megastar Mohamed Ramadan in a role inspired by Ancient Rome rebel slave Spartacus.

“It’s a period piece, a kind of Spartacus meets Braveheart set in 1850s Egypt,” said Diab, talking to Deadline on the fringes of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival.

Currently mid-way through shooting in Cairo, Lion marks Diab’s first picture back in his native Egypt since 2016 breakthrough Clash. In between times, he made the Palestine-set drama Amira, followed by directing Moon Knight for Marvel.

Diab has revealed very little about the new movie, which was originally announced under the title of Black Lion and is being billed as his most ambitious Arab-language production to date.

“It’s about slavery in the 1850s. It’s an epic film. It’s not based on a real person but inspired by true events.

Alongside the sharp direction from Mohamed Diab, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, Moon Knight stands out as one of the stronger MCU Disney+ shows. Depicting versatile actor Oscar Isaac in a fascinating dual-personality role juggling between two worlds of Marc Spector and Steven Grant, this series pulled the viewer’s heartstrings in six episodes. However, this compelling adventure has not been continued despite its massive success and eight Emmy nominations.

Oscar Isaac plays a man who suffers from Did in Moon Knight

But fans who have grown attached to the Khonshu avatar are not willing to let go just yet. They are fervently calling for the renewal of the show, especially after witnessing Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye getting renewed for another season. It seems Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios may need to reconsider his decision regarding the show after seeing this.

MCU fans demand the return of Moon Knight...

It’s a momentous Cannes for Cairo-based film professionals Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab as they mark the 15th anniversary of the creation of marketing and distribution company Mad Solutions and the 10th anniversary of spin-off the Arab Cinema Center (Acc).

Under these banners, the pair have been at the forefront of promoting Arab cinema internationally and played a part in growing its prominence on the world stage.

Acc kicks off its 10th Cannes program on Friday with a panel entitled “The Arab New Wave: The Actors” on the market’s Plage des Palmes venue.

Speakers on the panel will include iconic Egyptian actress Yousra, Mbc Studios Saudi Arabia General Manager Zeinab Abu Alsamh, top Lebanese TV presenter Raya Abi Rashed, Egyptian superstar Ahmed Malek and Yagoub Alfarhan, star of Saudi Arabia’s first film in Official Selection Norah as well as casting director Cassandra Han.

The swanky location and...

Exclusive: Newly launched Dubai-based sales company Mad World has acquired worldwide rights to Egyptian director Morad Mostafa’s Aisha Can’t Fly Away, a tense African migrant drama shooting later this year in Egypt.

The title joins the inaugural slate of Mad World, as the Arab cinema-focused sales arm of Mena distributor and talent agency Mad Solutions gears up for its Cannes Market debut next week.

Aisha Can’t Fly Away revolves around the story of Aisha, a 26-year-old African immigrant caregiver residing in Ain-shams, a Cairo neighborhood with a large African migrant community.

The film explores the intricate dynamics of a world where the authorities’ indifference to the violent tensions between Egyptians and various African nationalities has allowed different gangs to seize control. Aisha’s situation turns sour after one of these gangs offers protection in exchange for a favor.

Egypt-based South Sudanese model Buliana Simona plays Aisha in...

Top Middle East and North African independent distributor and talent agency Mad Solutions is adding a new string to its bow with the launch of Arab cinema-focused international sales company Mad World.

The Dubai-based company will make its market debut in Cannes.

Titles on its packed inaugural slate include French-Egyptian-Palestinian director Rani Massalha’s The Return of the Prodigal Son and Palestinian filmmaker Laila Abbas’s Thank You For Banking With Us. (scroll down for full line-up).

Mad World will be spearheaded by Mad Solutions co-founders Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, as well as third Managing Partner, Colin Brown, who will all assume Co-President titles.

“Until now, Arab filmmakers have been at the mercy of an international sales ecosystem with preconceived notions about what Arab cinema should be in order to travel,” commented Brown.

“We intend to challenge those limitations, exploring all manner of distribution options around the world, even unconventional ones,...

Director Mohamed Diab got started working on dramas, making his feature debut with the 2010 film Cairo 678, about “three women and their search for justice from the daily plight of sexual harassment in Egypt.” That was followed by the 2016 film Clash, which takes place entirely inside a police van and shows what happens when “a number of detainees from different political and social backgrounds are brought together by fate”. In 2021, he made Amira, which showed that a “girl’s world is turned upside down when she learns the man she grew up idolizing is not her real father.” Then he shifted gears, directing four of the six episodes that made up the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight. And now Deadline reports that Diab has signed on to direct a sci-fi thriller called Leap.

Scripted by Source Code writer Ben Ripley and produced by The Picture Company, Leap is “a high...

Director Mohamed Diab is no stranger to mind-bending sci-fi, having helmed last year’s Marvel series “Moon Knight.” Deadline reports that the filmmaker will next tackle Leap, a high concept thriller that traps passengers of a high speed train in a time loop.

The sci-fi thriller is penned by writer Ben Ripley and produced by The Picture Company.

Leap is “set aboard the Eurostar train which runs high-speed between London and Paris. Leap is a high-concept action-thriller with a grounded sci-fi idea at the center. The story follows a daring rescue mission to save one of the train’s passengers, who is trapped onboard in a never-ending time loop.”

Diab broke out last year on Disney+ series “Moon Knight,” which centered on Oscar Isaac’s character, “an ex-Marine turned mercenary whose multiple alter egos allow him to better fight crime.” The split personalities integral to the series demonstrates that Diab...

Exclusive: Mohamed Diab is set to direct Leap, a high concept action thriller script by Source Code writer Ben Ripley and produced by The Picture Company.

This follows Studiocanal’s recent acquisition of a minority stake in The Picture Company under an expanded overall deal made during Cannes. Leap is a priority project for both companies. Partners Andrew Rona & Alex Heineman will produce for The Picture Company.

Pic is set aboard the Eurostar train which runs high-speed between London and Paris. Leap is a high-concept action-thriller with a grounded sci-fi idea at the center. The story follows a daring rescue mission to save one of the train’s passengers, who is trapped onboard in a never-ending time loop.

Diab’s breakout turn came when he recently directed the Marvel Studios/Disney+ series Moon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac. Diab made his directorial debut on Cairo 678, about a trio of female vigilantes...

Mohamed Diab, director of the McU's Moon Knight on Disney+, spoke in a recent interview about the potential for a second season of the show.

The unconfirmed Moon Knight season 2 rumors have circulated for a while based on some substantial evidence, but a there’s been a lack of official confirmation of that news.

A post in August 2022 from Diab had said there was, at that point, "no talk about a future for the character yet." Then, in October, Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight) commented that "there have been some specific conversations," but the actor later clarified that "at the moment, there's no official word."

Read full article on The Direct.

Pan-Arab distributor Mad Solutions has acquired worldwide sales and distribution rights for Palestinian director Laila Abbas’ upcoming female empowerment drama “Thank You for Banking With Us!” and boarded the buzzed-about project as a co-producer.

The multi-pronged company that is active in marketing and talent representation – and has become a leading local distributor of Arabic-language films – recently branched out into international sales with Sudan’s Cannes title “Goodbye Julia.” The Cairo-based outfit, headed by Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, is also becoming more involved in packaging Arabic projects with international market prospects.

Laila Abbas is a Palestinian filmmaker, producer and academic who in 2013 made a splash with doc “Ice & Dust” about a young Palestinian woman who crosses the Atlantic ocean to search for a better life in Canada. In 2019, she was selected for Berlin Film Festival’s Berlinale Talents program to nurture emerging filmmakers.

“Thank You for Banking With Us!,” which is now in pre-production,...

This fall, Arab filmmakers will be out in force at such prestigious international fests as Venice and Toronto. Venice alone boasts six features from first- and second-time Arab directors in its official sections, plus an additional six works-in-progress at its Final Cut Production Bridge. Meanwhile, Toronto opens with “The Swimmers,” a drama from U.K. helmer Sally El Hosaini based on the journey of Syrian sisters and Olympic hopefuls Yusra and Sara Mardini, who fled the war in their home country for Germany. Yusra competed in the 2016 and 2021 Summer Olympics. An additional six Arab films will screen at the Canadian fest.

Dek: Arab filmmakers embrace genres and issues as festivals and distributors take notice

By Alissa Simon

This fall, Arab filmmakers will be out in force at such prestigious international fests as Venice and Toronto. Venice alone boasts six features from first- and second-time Arab directors in its official sections,...

Click here to read the full article.

Activist and professional football player Colin Kaepernick and his longtime girlfriend, radio and TV personality Nessa Diab, are parents.

Diab announced Sunday on Instagram that the couple welcomed a baby “a few weeks ago.”

“[W]e are over the moon with our growing family,” she wrote. “Recovering after delivery has been a journey (more on that later) and honestly I wasn’t going to share anything because this is sooooo personal to us and I realized I’m a complete mama bear! Colin is the most amazing dad and I’m soooo grateful that he is by our side for every moment of this journey.”

This is the first child for Kaepernick, who played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers and is now a free agent, and Diab, who has a show on New York radio station Hot 97 and has appeared on on...

This Moon Knight article contains spoilers.

“Why else would we be in Cairo?” When Oscar Isaac asked that question in a viral TikTok video with director Mohamed Diab, it sparked hopes that a new season of Moon Knight was in the works. After all, since the first season ended its run in May, there has been no clear sign of what the future holds for Marc Spector, Steven Grant, and Jake Lockley in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Between the show’s lack of clear connection to the rest of the MCU and the single-season deal signed by Isaac, many wondered if the series would return for another go around at all. But while no official announcement has been made, the video — and Diab’s decision to share it with the header “Moonknight season 2?” — seems to indicate that Marc Spector and his many personalities could indeed return to television screens.

Sooooo Moon Knight Season 2 Or pic.

Click here to read the full article.

The call from Marvel Studios came out of the blue, recalls composer Hesham Nazih of when the studio reached out to ask for a demo reel of his compositions. It wasn’t until weeks later, when Nazih was called in for a meeting with the Marvel music department, that he learned they were interested in having him score the latest Disney+ miniseries, Moon Knight — and that Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, who was serving as an executive producer and directing four of the series’ six episodes, had recommended the Egyptian-born composer.

Nazih’s enthusiasm for the project grew immediately once he saw the first two episodes. “The character of Moon Knight, and the character of Marc Spector [one of the many dissociative personas played by star Oscar Isaac], is so rich, so dramatically full,” he says. So, too, were the dramatic elements in the show. “There was so much going on: tension, drama,...

“We all have darkness, we all have things we need to be forgiven for and that is something important to remember” declares editor Joan Sobel. She was referring to a recent quote she read from actress Mary Louise Parker when summing up how she describes one of the core narrative arcs in the spectacular Marvel Studios six-part limited series “Moon Knight.” Sobel served as one of three editors on the series alongside Cedric Nairn-Smith and Ahmed Hafez, each of them tackling two episodes each. Watch our exclusive video interview with Sobel, Nairn-Smith and Hafez above.

“Moon Knight” was created by Jeremy Slater, based on the Marvel comics featuring the character of the same name. Slater’s vision as head writer was then shepherded during production by Egyptian helmer Mohamed Diab (who directed four of the six episodes) with collaborators Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson directing the second and fourth episodes...

When director Mohamed Diab approached the Disney+ series "Moon Knight," he was deeply concerned with making the series look and feel authentically Egyptian. A big part of that was bringing the sounds of Egypt to the production, and for that the director made a bold choice, playing songs by underground Egyptian musicians who had been banned by their own government.

Diab incorporated mahraganat, a genre of street-level Egyptian rap that has been banned by the country but grows in popularity among its people regardless. Just as hip-hop and rap gave voice to marginalized communities in America's inner cities, mahraganat developed as a type of party music that happened to...

The post The Banned Music That Gives Moon Knight Its Soundtrack appeared first on /Film.