Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is set to kick-start with a quantum-sized bang in the shape ofAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and the surprising choice ofPaul Rudd’s light-hearted, frothy Scott Lang to be front of centre might seem like a surprising choice, but according to Marvel Studios presidentKevin Feige, the character had earned that position.
“We wanted to kick off Phase Five with Ant-Man because he’d earned that position," said Feige in an interview with Empire Magazine. “To not simply be the back-up of the comic relief, but to take his position at the front of the podium of the MCU.”
Of course, being at the front of the podium and the head of the queue gives you importance - but it also places you first in line when you need to deal with threats, and those threats don’t come much bigger than that of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), a time-travelling, multiversal-dwelling despot who finds himself stuck in the Quantum Realm, until fate brings him the opportunity to find a way out of there to wreak havoc upon worlds.
Kang is the obvious choice as you’re dealing with the Multiverse. Kang allowed us to do a new kind of Big Bad.He’s a different type of villain, warring amongst themselves as much as he’s warring with our heroes. Kang’s a very powerful person, but when we meet him he’s in a position where he needs to get that power back. He has a ship and a device that would allow him to go anywhere, and anywhen he wants if he can get it online. If only he had access to genius scientists with Pym Particles.
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Feigefurther went on to praise Majors as an actor, admitting that his diverse and dramatic range allows the Marvel team to dig deeper and stretch the potential of Kang as a character beyond places they thought possible. As a result, we will be seeing a lot more of the man beyond time in the years ahead.
“The amazing thing about Jonathan is that he’s essentially a chameleon who can take on many different personas, which is exactly what we wanted to utilise with Kang. It’s fun not knowing exactly where he’ll pop up, and in what form. Jonathan will be a very busy man for the next few years.”
Majors will reprise the role - if it even is the same role - in 2025’sAvengers: The Kang Dynastyand 2026’sAvengers: Secret Wars,at the very lease. Before then,Quantumaniawill be released on February 17, exclusively in theaters. Check out Collider’s interview with Majors below:
