Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is going to pit its two heroes against Kang the Conqueror, a villain poised to become a greater threat than even the Mad Titan Thanos.
Director Peyton Reed teased the possible evil extent of Kang's Marvel Cinematic Universe presence in a CCXP 2022 panel with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, Ant-Man stars Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly and Kang actor Jonathan Majors. According to Reed, the third Ant-Man movie will open the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 5 with a bang and, notably, a big bad unlike anything even the Avengers have fought to date. "This is the biggest adventure that Ant-Man and Wasp have ever gone on,” he said. “We’re going to some strange places and we’re encountering an antagonist unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. And that includes Thanos.”
Why Kang is a Bigger Threat Than Thanos
The MCU’s Kang is a time-traveling baddie imprisoned in the Quantum Realm and an alternate-timeline variant of He Who Remains, the creator of the Time Variance Authority introduced in 2021 during the first season of the Disney+ series Loki. Majors reportedly agreed to play the mysterious character as a test-run for playing Kang on the big screen. Reed describes him as a calculating villain who will push Ant-Man (Scott Lang) and Hope van Dyne (The Wasp) to their limits. He added that He Who Remains in Loki is “very different” than Kang the Conqueror in Quantumania. “They’re variants, but they are extremely different people,” Reed continued. “Kang is someone who has dominion over time, but he conserves his energy. He’s a very, very scary character to deal with, as these two found out.”
Reed didn’t offer any further details about how Kang would outdo Thanos, who sought to wipe out half of all live on every level in the universe. Majors has praised the complexity of the character, saying it was the "dimensions of Kang" that drew him to the role. He has also hinted that fans will get to see multiple versions of Kang to come in the MCU. That includes the Kang he will play in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which is set for release in 2025.
Feige has praised Majors as a perfect fit for Kang as “an incredibly compelling actor who puts in the work yet makes it look effortless.” The actor, who also stars as the antagonist of the upcoming Creed III, also has the jacked physique to match. Indeed, Majors reportedly put on 10 pounds of muscle to play the villain, working out twice a day before 8 AM.
Regardless, the film will see Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), along with Hope's parents Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Lang's daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), venture into the Quantum Realm. There, they will join forces against Kang, whose muscles -- impressive as they may be -- will be the least of their worries. After all, he is capable of wiping their very existence from the surface of history.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set for release on Feb. 17, 2023.
Source: CCXP via Hyper Omelete on YouTube