‘Moonhaven’: Dominic Monaghan Reveals Cast Uses ‘Mooner’ Dialect in Real Life (Exclusive)

The new AMC+ series Moonhaven has all the eccentricities fans would hope to see in a fictional sci-fi setting, and the cast has apparently adopted them enthusiastically. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, star Dominic Monaghan revealed that he and his co-star Kadeem Hardison still speak in their “mooner” dialect to this day – even when the cameras are off. He also praised the show’s unique use of dance and choreography.

Monaghan described how he approached the challenge of speaking in a “mooner” dialect from the beginning of the show. He said: “Anything that [series creator Peter Ocko] writes, I just assume that this is the vocabulary that all of the mooners have just been talking in that way for generations. So I just have it just roll out of my mouth as easily as I would be talking to you. You know, if I want to say, ‘good sun. A good warm sun,’ it’s just like saying ‘good morning.’”

Monaghan continued: “You know, I still, to this day, whenever I’m chatting with Kadeem on WhatsApp, when we’re texting each other, I say ‘migo,’ whick kind of means ‘friend’ or, like, ‘brother’ on the moon, you know? We just throw it off like it’s normal because to us, it is normal. It’s weird to an earther’s ear, but to a mooner’s ear, they hear it all the time.”

Monaghan discussed many aspects of the show’s world-building that he personally enjoyed, but the language seemed to stick out. He said: “I think the language on the moon is just really sweet, and kind of inclusive and, like, innocent. I kind of embrace it fully.” As for the choreography, Monaghan said that he and Hardison learned more dance moves than fans might have seen them perform in the first episode.

“Dancing is a huge part of the mooner community, and like any other actor out there – or, most actors – I enjoy singing, I enjoy dancing. It’s part of what it means for me to be artistic and express myself,” he said. “I just kind of approach it in the same way that I would a fight sequence or any other way of being physical. It’s a fun day at work to finish a day on set and then go into a two-hour dance rehearsal.”

Moonhaven imagines a future where issues like climate disasters and war have continued to ravage the earth, but advancements in artificial intelligence have come so far that they are seen as humanity’s greatest hope. The most powerful AI has been sequestered on the moon with a small colony of earthlings to learn from them, develop new technology and hopefully solve the earth’s many problems. The show takes place on the moon just when this plan is about to bear fruit, with a few complications threatening to doom the entire project.

Moonhaven premiered this month and is streaming now on AMC+. New episodes premiere on Fridays only on the streaming service.