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Credit: Inside the MagicGuided by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and currently under the ownership of The Walt Disney Company, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has revolutionized the superhero movie genre, and made a lasting impact on the film industry. The culmination of the MCU’s Phase Three through Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) marked a milestone for the MCU, showcasing its remarkable expansion and establishing its dominance in the entertainment realm. This also concluded the first three phases of the MCU, known as the Infinity Saga.
Now, a whole new age of the MCU is about to begin in the Multiverse Saga.
Related: What Is Marvel’s “Secret Wars”? MCU’s New Phase Five and Six Explained
The MCU’s major problem
With a new Saga consisting of Phase Four, Phase Five, and Phase Six now embarking on its second act, the MCU is in for a bit of a shake-up. New competition in the form of ex-Marvel director and now-DC Studios CEO, James Gunn’s DC Universe, will force Marvel Studios into considering their next steps carefully. No longer can the MCU reign uncontested as the king of superhero genre films — the MCU needs to bring something new to the table to keep Marvel fans and casual audiences coming back for more.
With recent scandals such as Jonathan Majors’ allegations of domestic violence and assault putting the MCU into turmoil possibly without Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (2025) and Avengers: Secret Wars’ (2026) main, Thanos-equivalent Big Bad villain, Feige and Co. are most likely scrambling behind the scenes to salvage their plans for the MCU. Delays are now basically inevitable since the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike and reported exits of main Avengers movie writers, so it seems like Marvel are looking to shore up their roadmap with some exciting new heroes.
Who is Marvel’s new female superhero, the Scarlet Scarab?
Deadline confirms in a recent article about the upcoming Gladiator starring May Calamawy, that her MCU superhero character is in for some “big plans” if Marvel Studios has their way. The character of the Scarlet Scarab, AKA Layla El-Faouly has already been briefly introduced in Moon Knight (2022). Created by Jeremy Slater (who also serves as head writer) and directed by Mohamed Diab, Moon Knight is a miniseries on Disney+ that adapts the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the titular Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac). The first Moon Knight season centers around Marc Spector and Steven Grant, two alter egos of a former mercenary with dissociative identity disorder (DID), as they become embroiled in a mysterious plot intertwined with Egyptian deities.
In the show, May Calamawy plays Layla El-Faouly/Scarlet Scarab, who is the wife of Isaac’s Marc Spector, who transforms into the vigilante Moon Knight to combat supernatural threats worldwide. His other personalities include ruthless Jake Lockley and timid Stephen Grant — who eventually takes on the form of Mr. Knight when in “superpower mode”, also empowered by the Egyptian god Khonshu. The cast also features Karim El Hakim and F. Murray Abraham as Khonshu, Ethan Hawke as antagonist Arthur Harrow, Khalid Abdalla as Selim, and Gaspard Ulliel as Anton Mogart.
What are Marvel’s plans for the Scarlet Scarab?
The character of the Scarlet Scarab has in fact been adapted from an older, male superhero from the Marvel Comics — who is actually Layla’s father in the MCU, Professor Abdul Faoul. Faoul AKA the Scarlet Scarab in the comics was a part of the Sons of the Scarab who sought to rid Egypt of British colonial forces, even aligning briefly with the Super-Axis team (based on the real World War II Axis Powers) to achieve this end. He did his fair share of fighting Nazis though, when he realized they were attacking Egyptians. It would certainly be interesting if Marvel Studios pulled something similar with Layla’s character, who now might operate as the Scarlet Scarab as an avatar of the hippo goddess, Taweret (Antonia Salib) — goddess of life and fertility.
Seeing as Layla’s take on the Scarlet Scarab is being introduced to the Marvel Comics (as shown here by the official Moon Knight Twitter account), its safe to assume that her role will indeed be expanded. Who knows how powerful she might turn out to truly be?
Moon Knight’s past and present collide in ‘Moon Knight’ #25, followed by the comic debut of the Scarlet Scarab in ‘Moon Knight: City of the Dead’! 🌙 Read more: https://bit.ly/3osoqXZ
Moon Knight's past and present collide in 'Moon Knight' #25, followed by the comic debut of the Scarlet Scarab in 'Moon Knight: City of the Dead'! 🌙 Read more: https://t.co/MKSuErCpqz pic.twitter.com/3x0Xqozz1x
— Moon Knight (@moonknight) April 19, 2023
What do you think of Layla El-Faouly as the Scarlet Scarab in the MCU? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Stan Lee’s Marvel Comics have definitely come a long way. Ever since Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) parted from the original six Avengers team, a lot has happened in Marvel Entertainment. Marvel Studios’ recent theatrical release, the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord tales his space-roving pals on a final adventure across the galaxy. Upcoming Ironheart Disney+ series stars Marvel Studios newcomer Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, while Secret Invasion (2023), follows Samuel L. Jackson as Director Nick Fury and tells of his spacetime and Krull-centric exploits. Right now, you can watch Moon Knight (2022), She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), and Netflix Marvel favorites like Daredevil (2016) and Marvel’s Jessica Jones (2015). Don’t want to watch a full series? Check out Marvel Studios Special Presentation short films — from the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) to Werewolf by Night (2022), there’s something for everyone.