Moon Knight costume designer explains how Oscar Isaac's heritage informed Jake Lockley's look

Moon Knight episode 6 still
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Moon Knight costume designer Meghan Kasperlik has broken down the symbolism hidden in Jake Lockley's collar – which was heavily inspired by Oscar Isaac's own Guatemalan heritage.

Episode 6 of Moon Knight gave us a subtle introduction to Marc Spector's third identity, Jake Lockley. In the comics, Jake is a gritty taxi driver with connections to the criminal underworld. In the episode's final scene, Arthur Harrow, now with Ammit trapped inside of him, is wheeled out of the Sienkiewicz Psychiatric Hospital and led into a limo by a mysterious man in a newsboy cap. Harrow warns Khonshu, who is sitting inside the limo, that he and Ammit cannot be killed. Khonshu dismisses this and briefly explains Marc Spector's troubled nature before saying, "Meet my friend, Jake Lockley." 

"Now is your time to lose," Jake says in Spanish before shooting Harrow in the head.

In the scene, the light shines on Jake's collar, which appears to have an intricate and deliberate pattern. Kasperlike explained the design via Instagram saying that she knew the reveal needed to catch the audience's eye and that she wanted Jake to have a "silhouette similar to the comic, with details to discuss."

"It was discussed that Jake would give his lines in Spanish," she said. "Being that Oscar is Guatemalan, and had given a performance like no other, I wanted to add a detail from his heritage to honor [him]. "

Kasperlik took symbols from the Mayan calendar in order to incorporate dates that are important to both Isaac and the MCU and mixed them with ancient Egyptian symbols in order to create a design that showcases "the hold Khonshu has on these characters."

Incorporated into the intricate design on Jake's collar are Khonshu's Egyptian symbol, the Mayan calendar date of the first Marvel issue where Moon Knight appears, the Mayan Calendar symbol for both Isaac's birthday and the birthday of Isaac's real-life brother and acting double Michael Hernandez, as well as many of the ancient Egyptian symbols used throughout the show.

Kasperlik also told Metro that she hid symbolism in Layla's costume in the psychiatric hospital that would foreshadow her transformation into the Scarlet Scarab. The intricacy in the costuming is just one of the many incredible details in Moon Knight that make the show a pretty special work of art.

For more, check out our list of all the upcoming projects in Marvel Phase 4.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.