The MCU’s Moon Knight season 2 may be more likely than ever now, and Marvel Studios has already set up the perfect villain for the sophomore season.

The perfect villain for Marvel Studios’ potential Moon Knight season 2 in the MCU may have already been set up in the series’ first season. Moon Knight premiered on Disney+ in March 2022, and introduced audiences to Oscar Isaac’s Marc Spector, a mercenary with dissociative identity disorder, who also happens to be the host of the Egyptian God of the Moon, Khonshu. Khonshu grants Spector impressive abilities as the vigilante Moon Knight, and these helped Spector take on Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow during Phase 4’s Moon Knight, but the series left the future of Marc Spector and his alters uncertain.

In March 2024, Marvel Studios revealed that Moon Knight’s “Complete First Season” will be released on 4k UHD and Blu-ray, with this wording suggesting that there may be a Moon Knight season 2 in the works. There hasn’t yet been any official confirmation from Marvel Studios, but potential storylines for Moon Knight season 2 have already been set up. Most notably, Phase 4’s Moon Knight ended with the mysterious Jake Lockley, Spector’s third alter, assassinating Arthur Harrow and Ammit, setting himself up as a potential villain for Moon Knight season 2, but another powerful adversary might have also been teased.

Randall Spector Becomes The Villain Shadow Knight In Marvel Comics

One of Moon Knight’s most persistent adversaries in Marvel Comics is Shadow Knight, the alter ego of Marc Spector’s estranged brother, Randall. Randall Spector was originally introduced in 1979’s Hulk Magazine #17 as a hatchet-wielding serial killer whom Moon Knight battles following a string of killings aimed at nurses. Moon Knight and Randall’s Hatchet-Man duel in Central Park, with this spar ending in Randall’s apparent demise. However, Marvel later revealed this version of Randall to be an impostor with implanted memories, as the real Randall Spector arrived in 1992’s Marc Spector: Moon Knight #37 with similar abilities to his brother.

Randall Spector mysteriously returned as the evil Shadow Knight, a member of the Cult of Khonshu who believed himself to be the next avatar to the titular Egyptian deity. Randall had become empowered by the Egyptian Princess Nepthys, gifting him impenetrable skin and superhuman strength, and allowing him to fire radioactive blasts from his eyes. This made him a more significant threat to Marc Spector’s Moon Knight, though the powerful Sapphire Crescent helped Marc defeat his brother. Shadow Knight would make a fantastic villain for Moon Knight season 2, particularly since his origin story may have already been set up.​​​​​​​

Moon Knight Already Set Up Randall Spector’s Perfect Villain Origin Story

Randall Spector made a brief appearance, portrayed by Claudio Fabian Contreras, in Moon Knight episode 5, “Asylum,” during a flashback sequence which informed Steven Grant of his primary alter’s traumatic backstory. In Marvel Comics, Randall and Marc Spector grew up together, with both eventually joining the Marine Corps and later becoming mercenaries in Northern Italy. Their separation began when it was revealed that Randall had killed Marc’s then-girlfriend, which transformed Randall into Hatchet-Man. Marvel Studios has changed this backstory drastically, but Randall Spector’s MCU fate could still see him become the powerful villain Shadow Knight in Moon Knight​​​​​​​ season 2.

In Moon Knight episode 5, Randall Spector was confirmed to have drowned inside a cave while exploring with his brother, which contributed to Marc Spector’s mother resenting him and beginning the abuse that caused his dissociative identity disorder. While Randall never got the chance to grow up with his brother and become a mercenary, Marvel Studios could reveal that he actually survived the flooded cave, with him returning as Shadow Knight. A pile of bird bones in the shape of Khonshu during episode 5’s flashback might have teased this transition, setting up the perfect foe for Moon Knight​​​​​​​ season 2.

Why Is Randall Spector A Great Villain For Moon Knight Season 2?

Many of the villains featured in previous Marvel Studios projects have been dark opposites of the MCU’s superheroes. This includes the Abomination, the Red Skull, Kaecilius and Killmonger, and Shadow Knight fits this brief perfectly for Moon Knight. Forging the long-thought-dead Randall Spector into a supervillain would also bring a more personal, grounded narrative to Marc Spector’s MCU story, similarly to Thor’s long-running feud with Loki, which would not only help to better explain Khonshu and the Egyptian Pantheon, but also delve deeper into Marc’s own psyche, and make Moon Knight season 2 even more powerful than the original season.